Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical design engineers and lead design 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 technical design engineer and a lead design engineer. Additionally, a lead design engineer has an average salary of $108,490, which is higher than the $75,599 average annual salary of a technical design engineer.
The top three skills for a technical design engineer include design drawings, windows and infrastructure. The most important skills for a lead design engineer are CAD, project management, and lead design.
| Technical Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $75,599 | $108,490 |
| Hourly rate | $36.35 | $52.16 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 173,548 | 118,073 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A technical design engineer specializes in designing a company's products and systems, ensuring quality and efficiency. Among their responsibilities include performing extensive research and analysis, understanding and identifying the needs of every project, developing prototypes and test structures, and coordinating with experts. There are also instances when they must conduct maintenance checks on current systems, executing repairs when necessary. Furthermore, as a technical design engineer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff, coordinating them while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
A Lead Design Engineer produces design solutions that can be purchased, installed, and commissioned effectively. They are also responsible for the cost-effectiviness and safety of new designs.
Technical design engineers and lead design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $75,599 | $108,490 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $82,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between a technical design engineer and a lead design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between technical design engineers' and lead design engineers' demographics:
| Technical Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 15.5% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |