Design manager vs manufacturing engineering manager

The differences between design managers and manufacturing 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 manufacturing engineering manager. Additionally, a manufacturing engineering manager has an average salary of $112,535, 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 manufacturing engineering manager are continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, and project management.

Design manager vs manufacturing engineering manager overview

	Design Manager	Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Yearly salary	$102,637	$112,535
Hourly rate	$49.34	$54.10
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	61,273	83,671
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
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 manufacturing engineering manager do?

Manufacturing engineering managers manage manufacturing process development and enforcement. The managers maintain the proper functionality of a product and the efficiency of cost. They ensure the cohesive work between manufacturing departments and the engineering team. Their main responsibility is to design and operate integrated systems for economically competitive and high-quality products. They need to have skills in teamwork, technical knowledge, information technology, and commercial awareness. It is also necessary for them to have strong leadership skills.

Design manager vs manufacturing engineering manager salary

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

	Design Manager	Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Average salary	$102,637	$112,535
Salary range	Between $69,000 And $150,000	Between $81,000 And $155,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Automotive

Differences between design manager and manufacturing engineering manager education

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

	Design Manager	Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Design manager vs manufacturing engineering manager demographics

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

	Design Manager	Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%	Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5%
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, 11.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between design manager and manufacturing 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.

Manufacturing engineering manager example responsibilities.

Manage engineering changes with product engineering on the introduction of new product launches using PFMA analysis and DFM principles.
Manage technical staff, work with marketing group to define research projects, define opportunity windows and establish schedules.
Lead facility design and layout to meet JIT principles and company's evolving quality system with SPC monitoring and reporting.
Manage and monitor machinery maintenance to comply with ISO preventive maintenance guidelines.
Lead business intelligence infrastructure stabilization efforts resulting in above goal sigma scores.
Implement industry standards for manage service provisioning and delivery across carrier-class fiber-optic network.

Design manager vs manufacturing engineering manager skills

Common design manager skills

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

Common manufacturing engineering manager skills

Continuous Improvement, 9%
Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Project Management, 5%
Sigma, 5%
Lean Six Sigma, 4%
Product Development, 3%

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Design Manager
Design Manager vs Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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