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The differences between senior operations engineers and senior infrastructure engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior operations engineer and a senior infrastructure engineer. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $117,765, which is higher than the $112,583 average annual salary of a senior operations engineer.
The top three skills for a senior operations engineer include python, AWS and cloud. The most important skills for a senior infrastructure engineer are cloud, AWS, and linux.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,583 | $117,765 |
| Hourly rate | $54.13 | $56.62 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 141,825 | 78,855 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Senior operations engineers are engineering professionals who ensure that the operations of an organization are working properly and meet both factory and management specifications. These engineers are required to create maintenance procedures that are adaptable to the existing maintenance management software for the newly installed facilities and equipment. They must provide technical support to the organization's operations, such as project design, plant optimization, project management, and startup. Senior operations engineers must also implement effective process improvements so that they can increase productivity and reduce production costs.
A senior infrastructure engineer specializes in designing and developing systems and infrastructures based on client preferences and industry standards. They have the duty to identify and understand the project's needs, streamline project requirements, produce drafts, create prototypes and models, and establish tests to identify potential issues and ensure the projects' quality. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has the authority to make decisions, train and supervise junior engineers, establish goals and timelines, provide technical support, and implement policies and guidelines.
Senior operations engineers and senior infrastructure engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average salary | $112,583 | $117,765 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $153,000 | Between $87,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior operations engineer and a senior infrastructure engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior operations engineers' and senior infrastructure engineers' demographics:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3% | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.4% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 10.7% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |