Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical design engineers and senior 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 senior design engineer. Additionally, a senior design engineer has an average salary of $104,698, 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 senior design engineer are CAD, project management, and RF.
| Technical Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $75,599 | $104,698 |
| Hourly rate | $36.35 | $50.34 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 173,548 | 127,035 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 senior design engineer is responsible for creating mechanical and electrical designs for machines and systems, following clients' specifications and business guidelines. Senior design engineers also assist junior design engineers with their tasks, sharing best practices and techniques, and suggesting adjustments as needed. They also oversee the manufacturing process, inspect possible inconsistencies, and revise plans without exceeding the agreed budget or compromising the quality. A senior design engineer must be keen with details and highly organizational, especially on meeting deadlines with the highest client satisfaction.
Technical design engineers and senior design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $75,599 | $104,698 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $80,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical design engineer and a senior design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 senior design engineers' demographics:
| Technical Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |