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The differences between senior staff systems engineers and lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior staff systems engineer, becoming a lead engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior staff systems engineer has an average salary of $139,932, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a senior staff systems engineer include java, systems engineering and C++. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Staff Systems Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $139,932 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $67.28 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 237,501 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Senior staff systems engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Staff Systems Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $139,932 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $108,000 And $181,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior staff systems engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Staff Systems Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior staff systems engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Senior Staff Systems Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 8% | 5% |