How To Become An Automation Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is an automation lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The automation lead is primarily responsible for testing, operating, and maintaining automated machinery in manufacturing facilities or automated software in corporate companies. They lead the automation team in meeting project requirements, complying with guidelines and protocols, and producing high-quality results.

Automation leads are also often involved in creating new automated machinery or systems, developing new strategies for optimal automation processes, and conducting new research for automation innovations. They work closely with their automation team but also spend a lot of time communicating with other relevant departments.

Many automation leads have at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, and other similar majors. Apart from education, experience in automation development is also a typical requirement for this role, preferably in a leadership position. Moreover, aspiring automation leads must exhibit great skills in communication, leadership, project management, and business strategy.

In the U.S., the average salary of an automation lead is around $91,000. If you want to become one, you can find many opportunities in the corporate world, especially in the technology sector.

ScoreAutomation LeadUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $106,261

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.99%

Black or African American 6.24%

Hispanic or Latino 8.82%

Unknown 4.70%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 19.32%

male 80.68%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

5.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.1

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an automation lead

Explore automation lead education requirements

Most common automation lead degrees

Bachelor's

63.6 %

Master's

21.5 %

Associate

6.0 %

Start to develop specific automation lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	10.17%
Python	9.20%
C++	4.29%
C #	4.29%
Automation Framework	3.99%

Complete relevant automation lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New automation leads learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an automation lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real automation lead resumes.

Research automation lead duties and responsibilities

Help manage and keep track of products through entire SDLC.
Manage coding of automate tests including unit, code UI and load testing.
Perform inter-departmental audits documenting ISO compliant results with associate corrective action requests in order to achieve company-wide certification.
Execute the regression scripts and send the HTML reports for functional team in each sprint cycle.

Get automation lead experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an automation lead. The most common roles before becoming an automation lead include quality assurance lead, quality assurance engineer team lead and quality assurance analyst.

Prepare your automation lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your automation lead resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an automation lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Automation Lead Resume templates

Build a professional Automation Lead resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Automation Lead resume.

Apply for automation lead jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an automation lead job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do automation leads rate their job?

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Automation Lead reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Pros

New field to work with compassion.

Cons

Low pay structure as compared to the efforts put in.

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019