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The differences between senior product developers and lead software developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior product developer and a lead software developer. Additionally, a lead software developer has an average salary of $115,072, which is higher than the $114,125 average annual salary of a senior product developer.
The top three skills for a senior product developer include product development, java and AWS. The most important skills for a lead software developer are java, architecture, and application development.
| Senior Product Developer | Lead Software Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,125 | $115,072 |
| Hourly rate | $54.87 | $55.32 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 212,955 | 309,029 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior product developer leads product development activities to deliver quality products. In this role, they are in charge of delivering assigned project portfolios within the development plan through liaison with external and internal stakeholders. Their responsibilities include ensuring effective management of budgets, tracking of product development activities within the projects assigned to the team, promoting technical guidance to the production team in ensuring appropriate level support, managing specific product development activities across the supply chain, and integrating and promoting a positive working environment for the development team.
A lead software developer is responsible for creating and designing software applications and systems to support business functions and client requirements. Lead software developers analyze specifications to build efficient applications, conduct multiple quality testing, and enhance the user's interface. They also coordinate with the design engineers to modify and improve the features of existing software applications for optimal performance. A lead software developer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in considering the current technology trends to meet demands.
Senior product developers and lead software developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Developer | Lead Software Developer | |
| Average salary | $114,125 | $115,072 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $148,000 | Between $87,000 And $151,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Hotel Tonight, Inc. | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior product developer and a lead software developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Developer | Lead Software Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior product developers' and lead software developers' demographics:
| Senior Product Developer | Lead Software Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 86.5% Female, 13.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |