Design manager vs design engineering manager

The differences between design managers and design engineering managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a design manager and a design engineering manager. Additionally, a design engineering manager has an average salary of $143,603, which is higher than the $102,637 average annual salary of a design manager.

The top three skills for a design manager include sketch, project management and visualization. The most important skills for a design engineering manager are CAD, project management, and aided design.

Design manager vs design engineering manager overview

	Design Manager	Design Engineering Manager
Yearly salary	$102,637	$143,603
Hourly rate	$49.34	$69.04
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	61,273	102,491
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a design manager do?

A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience. They coordinate with the creative team and present the design ideas to the management, ask for final approval, perform revisions as needed, and follow the budget goals. A design manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the design team's concerns and needs.

What does a design engineering manager do?

A design engineering manager is in charge of overseeing engineering projects and managing a team of design engineers, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to ensure that projects adhere to the budgets and schedules, set objectives and guidelines, organize staff schedules, liaise with external parties such as vendors and suppliers, and develop designs according to the project's needs and the clients' preferences. They must also handle issues and concerns, resolving them in a prompt and efficient manner.

Design manager vs design engineering manager salary

Design managers and design engineering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Design Manager	Design Engineering Manager
Average salary	$102,637	$143,603
Salary range	Between $69,000 And $150,000	Between $104,000 And $197,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Meta	Google
Best paying industry	Technology	Construction

Differences between design manager and design engineering manager education

There are a few differences between a design manager and a design engineering manager in terms of educational background:

	Design Manager	Design Engineering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Design manager vs design engineering manager demographics

Here are the differences between design managers' and design engineering managers' demographics:

	Design Manager	Design Engineering Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%	Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.1% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between design manager and design engineering manager duties and responsibilities

Design manager example responsibilities.

Help achieve status of medical device manufacturer through the FDA.
Manage several consultants preparing contract documents on the various NYC let and NYS let projects.
Manage and collaborate with ASIC library/memory vendors.
Manage design, tooling, equipment implementations and process improvements for foundry/machining metalworking manufacturer of automotive OEM products.
Design blueprints, bills of materials, FEA as required.
Include producing FDA and ISO-9000 level documentation of the project.

Design engineering manager example responsibilities.

Manage all inside and outside tooling and design work, programming of the CNC turret presses and laser cutting equipment.
Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Perform analysis including amplifier RF loop budgets and are a key contributor to the RF architecture.
Introduce SolidWorks for equipment design, component analysis, customer presentation, and photo rendering of products for marketing purposes.
Work closely with assembly to develop a BOM structure in MRP that optimize both the assembly and engineering release processes.
Lead engineering efforts of design, drawing creation, BOM development, test plan creation, manufacturing reviews and safety reviews.

Design manager vs design engineering manager skills

Common design manager skills

Sketch, 8%
Project Management, 8%
Visualization, 5%
User Experience, 4%
PowerPoint, 4%
Design Process, 4%

Common design engineering manager skills

CAD, 10%
Project Management, 8%
Aided Design, 6%
Solidworks, 6%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
Mechanical Design, 4%

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Design Manager
Design Manager vs Design Engineering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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