Staff mechanical engineer vs senior mechanical designer

The differences between staff mechanical engineers and senior mechanical designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a staff mechanical engineer and a senior mechanical designer. Additionally, a staff mechanical engineer has an average salary of $108,997, which is higher than the $103,765 average annual salary of a senior mechanical designer.

The top three skills for a staff mechanical engineer include CAD, mechanical design and solidworks. The most important skills for a senior mechanical designer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Staff mechanical engineer vs senior mechanical designer overview

	Staff Mechanical Engineer	Senior Mechanical Designer
Yearly salary	$108,997	$103,765
Hourly rate	$52.40	$49.89
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	158,987	71,958
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

What does a staff mechanical engineer do?

A staff mechanical engineer designs and develops engines, tools, and machinery. Staff mechanical engineers create products like refrigerators, power tools, car engines, and turbines. They take part in cross-departmental and multi-functional design teams. They write handbooks, bulletins, and reports for use by department or staff. They have to lead project management from making ideas to launching the product. The skills they need to know to include mechanical design, product development, electrical systems, and detail orientation.

What does a senior mechanical designer do?

A Senior Mechanical Designer is responsible for creating effective mechanical designs for their company and developing mechanical concepts in accordance with project requirements. They assist the engineering manager in coaching other mechanical engineers to develop design skills.

Staff mechanical engineer vs senior mechanical designer salary

Staff mechanical engineers and senior mechanical designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Staff Mechanical Engineer	Senior Mechanical Designer
Average salary	$108,997	$103,765
Salary range	Between $82,000 And $144,000	Between $81,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Rivian	Google
Best paying industry	Automotive	Automotive

Differences between staff mechanical engineer and senior mechanical designer education

There are a few differences between a staff mechanical engineer and a senior mechanical designer in terms of educational background:

	Staff Mechanical Engineer	Senior Mechanical Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	Michigan Technological University	Carnegie Mellon University

Staff mechanical engineer vs senior mechanical designer demographics

Here are the differences between staff mechanical engineers' and senior mechanical designers' demographics:

	Staff Mechanical Engineer	Senior Mechanical Designer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 16.9% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 11.4% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between staff mechanical engineer and senior mechanical designer duties and responsibilities

Staff mechanical engineer example responsibilities.

Manage the development, prototyping, and implementation of tools and processes for production.
Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Solve heat transfer problems relate to air and liquid heat exchangers using ANSYS CFX and thermal calculations.
Obtain UL & CSA agency recognition.
Collaborate with program managers and senior engineers to complete HVAC designs.
Solve fluid mechanic problems using ANSYS CFX and mechanical stress problems using Pro/Mechanica.

Senior mechanical designer example responsibilities.

Lead FPGA development of key digital communication component used in successful demonstration of spacecraft radio link.
Create and modify very large assemblies in Creo which are used to create drawings for top level spacecraft assemblies.
Generate fabrication and assembly drawings for fabrication of commercial/Industrial water heaters and boilers base on ISO 9000 and AWA standards.
Perform complex interference fit checks, motion studies, and tolerance stack-up analysis on large assemblies using Pro/E - Creo software.
Verify all design factors including performance, tolerances, fitting, materials, surface finish and BOM for components and systems.
Improve dynamic response of microscope using ANSYS vibration simulation.

Staff mechanical engineer vs senior mechanical designer skills

Common staff mechanical engineer skills

CAD, 9%
Mechanical Design, 7%
Solidworks, 7%
FEA, 6%
Mechanical Systems, 5%
Product Development, 4%

Common senior mechanical designer skills

CAD, 12%
Mechanical Design, 11%
GD, 5%
Creo, 5%
Autocad, 4%
FEA, 4%

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Staff Mechanical Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer vs Senior Mechanical Designer

Updated January 8, 2025

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