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The differences between senior technical developers and lead developers 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 technical developer and a lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $112,642 average annual salary of a senior technical developer.
The top three skills for a senior technical developer include java, emerging technologies and javascript. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Senior Technical Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,642 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $54.15 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 325,032 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior technical developer develops top-notch software architecture and software design. Besides identifying, prioritizing, and executing tasks under the software development field, senior technical developers also develop tools and various applications by creating clean and efficient code. These professionals work hand-in-hand with vendors and internal team members to correct and enhance products. Other duties performed by senior technical developers include updating software with modern technologies, validating and verifying tests, reviewing and debugging code, and automating tasks by using the right tools and through appropriate scripting.
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
Senior technical developers and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Technical Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $112,642 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $145,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior technical developer and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Technical Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior technical developers' and lead developers' demographics:
| Senior Technical Developer | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.0% Female, 22.0% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |