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The differences between senior quality assurance engineers and lead engineers 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 quality assurance engineer, becoming a lead engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $106,802, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance engineer include QA, java and python. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,802 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $51.35 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | - | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 254,258 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A senior quality assurance engineer oversees the testing procedures conducted in software development, ensuring technical accuracy and efficiency. They are primarily responsible for working alongside software designers and quality engineers, reviewing quality control reports, inspecting specifications, and devising particular test procedures. Moreover, it is also essential to troubleshoot issues and identify any inconsistencies or bugs. As someone with more experience in the team, they must supervise and serve as a mentor to the younger quality assurance engineers in the joint effort to develop efficient software.
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
Senior quality assurance engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,802 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $138,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurance engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |