Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior software engineer managers and software engineers lead 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 software engineer manager and a software engineer lead. Additionally, a senior software engineer manager has an average salary of $147,474, which is higher than the $125,565 average annual salary of a software engineer lead.
The top three skills for a senior software engineer manager include java, emerging technologies and software development. The most important skills for a software engineer lead are java, python, and software development.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $147,474 | $125,565 |
| Hourly rate | $70.90 | $60.37 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 299,566 | 342,462 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Senior Software Engineer Manager oversees software development and helps manage the team to accomplish milestones on a specific project. The Senior Software Engineer Manager's task is to guide, instruct, and junior train developers and ensure efficiency and quality. The senior developer also checks every detail of the software, order adjustments in problematic areas of the program, and does troubleshooting during finalization. The Senior Developer is the primary contact person in the software development team and advises the company on the proper path to take when planning a new software.
A Software Engineer Lead is focused on developing and testing software programs. They manage a team of software engineers that design enterprise software products and operating systems.
Senior software engineer managers and software engineers lead have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Average salary | $147,474 | $125,565 |
| Salary range | Between $106,000 And $205,000 | Between $93,000 And $168,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior software engineer manager and a software engineer lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior software engineer managers' and software engineers lead' demographics:
| Senior Software Engineer Manager | Software Engineer Lead | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |