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The differences between software development engineers lead and software design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a software development engineer lead and a software design engineer. Additionally, a software development engineer lead has an average salary of $119,557, which is higher than the $98,799 average annual salary of a software design engineer.
The top three skills for a software development engineer lead include java, API and python. The most important skills for a software design engineer are software development, python, and software design.
| Software Development Engineer Lead | Software Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $119,557 | $98,799 |
| Hourly rate | $57.48 | $47.50 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 343,868 | 315,080 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Lead software development engineers take responsibility for providing technical mentorship and guidance to a team consisting of software engineers. The engineers implement codes with high quality in a test-driven and agile environment. They develop software development plans and assign related tasks to their team members. It is their job to lead different aspects regarding application development such as requirements application, and database design, implementation, and gathering. Also, they develop access/usage and sales analytic reports.
A software design engineer or SDE is part of a software development enterprise. Software design engineers determine the problems or issues and figure out how to establish programs to ease and automate the situations. They fabricate style sheets for the management of the individual aspects of huge engineering projects. It is their job to develop strategies for hardware architecture and software engineering. They also handle and mentor engineering interns for professional guidance.
Software development engineers lead and software design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Development Engineer Lead | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $119,557 | $98,799 |
| Salary range | Between $91,000 And $155,000 | Between $74,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | PitchBook Data | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a software development engineer lead and a software design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Software Development Engineer Lead | Software Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between software development engineers lead' and software design engineers' demographics:
| Software Development Engineer Lead | Software Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2% | Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.7% 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, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |