Design manager vs engineering supervisor

The differences between design managers and engineering supervisors 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 an engineering supervisor. Additionally, a design manager has an average salary of $102,637, which is higher than the $97,535 average annual salary of an engineering supervisor.

The top three skills for a design manager include sketch, project management and visualization. The most important skills for an engineering supervisor are HVAC, plumbing, and project management.

Design manager vs engineering supervisor overview

	Design Manager	Engineering Supervisor
Yearly salary	$102,637	$97,535
Hourly rate	$49.34	$46.89
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	61,273	57,046
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
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 an engineering supervisor do?

An engineering supervisor is responsible for monitoring the engineering operations of an organization, developing strategic processes and techniques to improve staff's performance, and facilitating training and programs to maximize productivity. Engineering supervisors evaluate technology procedures and reports to identify and design new opportunities that would generate more resources for revenues and profits. They also meet with clients and handle their business requirements and specifications, informing them of other services that the company offers. An engineering supervisor resolves project complaints and implements business plans to achieve high-quality deliverables.

Design manager vs engineering supervisor salary

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

	Design Manager	Engineering Supervisor
Average salary	$102,637	$97,535
Salary range	Between $69,000 And $150,000	Between $72,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Apple
Best paying industry	Technology	Automotive

Differences between design manager and engineering supervisor education

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

	Design Manager	Engineering Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Design manager vs engineering supervisor demographics

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

	Design Manager	Engineering Supervisor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%	Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2%
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, 8.9% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between design manager and engineering supervisor 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.

Engineering supervisor example responsibilities.

Lead Kaizen initiatives to continue improving fulfillment operations.
Implement and maintain ISO certification; become first industrial boiler manufacturer to achieve certification.
Achieve exceptional productivity and quality performance by deploying data analytics and localizing operational KPI metrics.
Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Ensure adherence to UL, NEC, CE and OSHA regulations and guidelines, in addition to company's design policies.
Authorize to troubleshoot equipment, debug controllers, and oversee robotic programming.

Design manager vs engineering supervisor skills

Common design manager skills

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

Common engineering supervisor skills

HVAC, 9%
Plumbing, 8%
Project Management, 7%
Preventive Maintenance, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%

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Design Manager
Design Manager vs Engineering Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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