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The differences between senior solutions engineers and lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior solutions engineer and a lead engineer. Additionally, a senior solutions engineer has an average salary of $110,210, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a senior solutions engineer include cloud, healthcare and database. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Solutions Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $110,210 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $52.99 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 177,826 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Senior Solutions Engineers are information technology (IT) professionals employed by a company that sells software solutions. They would often lead a group of solutions engineers. They usually partner with salespeople in going on fieldwork to clients. They get to know the clients and understand their needs based on the problem areas. Senior Solutions Engineers would then create programs, software, or network infrastructure that would address the clients' specific needs. They should be able to showcase these programs to clients to make them want to get one. As such, Senior Software Engineers should be good communicators and negotiators.
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 solutions engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Solutions Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $110,210 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $152,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Roku | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior solutions engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Solutions Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior solutions engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Senior Solutions Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.5% Asian, 10.9% White, 74.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 7% | 5% |