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The differences between senior product developers and product leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior product developer, becoming a product lead takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product lead has an average salary of $118,828, 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 product lead are product management, project management, and architecture.
| Senior Product Developer | Product Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $114,125 | $118,828 |
| Hourly rate | $54.87 | $57.13 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 212,955 | 95,557 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
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 product lead is responsible for monitoring the development of new products and services of an organization, starting from brand conceptualization to official market release and distribution. Product leads identify effective product management by conducting data analysis and evaluating market statistics of customer demands. They coordinate with the clients on their specifications and requirements, including the budget limit and timely deliverables. A product lead manages the brand promotion on media platforms, creating content that adheres to the target audience.
Senior product developers and product leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Developer | Product Lead | |
| Average salary | $114,125 | $118,828 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $148,000 | Between $86,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Hotel Tonight, Inc. | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior product developer and a product lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Developer | Product Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between senior product developers' and product leads' demographics:
| Senior Product Developer | Product Lead | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% |
| 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, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |