What does a design manager/senior designer do?
A design manager/senior designer spearheads and oversees projects, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. It is their responsibility to manage design teams, lead the planning and research stages, set goals and guidelines, liaise with internal and external parties, and develop strategies according to the projects' requirements. They must also evaluate the staff's performance and resolve issues should any arise. Moreover, as a design manager/senior designer, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
Design manager/senior designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real design manager/senior designer resumes:
- Hire and manage a team of visual designers and CSS developers who support 50+ shipping products and common UI frameworks.
- Review requirements, for UI work coordinate associate.
- Oversee design, prototyping, and development of the solution.
- Compose technical drawings and plans for the projects from sketch to construction.
- Integrate new tools for user testing, prototyping, design and web development.
- Coordinate themes for the toys that create fresh direction for the TV animation.
- Design HTML email newsletters for viral marketing campaigns, product updates and company news.
- Deliver LEED, entitlements, historic tax credits, complex engineering coordination, fast-track construction while strengthening client relationships.
- Devise PowerPoint presentations to dealers, buying groups and interior design students to utilize in combination with theme boards.
- Produce PowerPoint slideshows for engineering staff as needed.
- Develop initial sample specifications from original sample or design sketch.
- Develop various procedures and BIM platforms and ensure proper execution.
- Compile and maintain 3D AutoCAD library for laboratory and production equipment.
- Conduct user testing, research, and visualization documentation, that supports consumer personas and product specifications.
- Help in preparing a database of all projects leading to better organization and subsequent increase in productivity.
Design manager/senior designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Design Managers/Senior Designer are proficient in Sketch, Project Management, and User Experience. They’re also known for soft skills such as Artistic ability, Computer skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Design Managers/Senior Designer that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sketch, 10%
Initiated and oversaw development from initial concept sketch to final production, working closely with Chinese engineering and manufacturing vendors.
- Project Management, 7%
Project Management for over 20 new construction and renovation projects simultaneously.
- User Experience, 6%
Led global web initiatives related to visual design, usability, user experience, website architecture, globalization and localization.
- SR, 4%
Served as a Sr. Project Editor, Managing Editor, and Sr.
- PowerPoint, 4%
Coordinated with account managers to create and revise PowerPoint and Keynote decks for company clients while providing realistic turn around time.
- Autocad, 4%
Compiled and maintained 3D AutoCAD library for laboratory and production equipment.
Common skills that a design manager/senior designer uses to do their job include "sketch," "project management," and "user experience." You can find details on the most important design manager/senior designer responsibilities below.
Artistic ability. One of the key soft skills for a design manager/senior designer to have is artistic ability. You can see how this relates to what design managers/senior designer do because "graphic designers must be able to create designs that are artistically interesting and appealing to clients and consumers." Additionally, a design manager/senior designer resume shows how design managers/senior designer use artistic ability: "create engaging, artistic design concepts, marketing copy and campaign approaches to drive consumers to aetna/coventry products. "
Computer skills. Many design manager/senior designer duties rely on computer skills. "most graphic designers use specialized graphic design software to prepare their designs.," so a design manager/senior designer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways design manager/senior designer responsibilities rely on computer skills: "supervised and mentored team in autocad and land desktop software applications, maintained computers. "
Creativity. This is an important skill for design managers/senior designer to perform their duties. For an example of how design manager/senior designer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "graphic designers must be able to think of new approaches to communicating ideas to consumers." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a design manager/senior designer: "provided strategic leadership for del monte package design and brand identity while driving forward innovation and creative solutions. ".
Time-management skills. design manager/senior designer responsibilities often require "time-management skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "graphic designers often work simultaneously on multiple projects, each with a different deadline." This resume example shows what design managers/senior designer do with time-management skills on a typical day: "led a team of 150 cad personnel in providing on time cad support to various projects. "
Analytical skills. Another crucial skill for a design manager/senior designer to carry out their responsibilities is "analytical skills." A big part of what design managers/senior designer relies on this skill, since "graphic designers must be able to perceive their work from their consumers’ point of view to ensure that the designs convey the client’s message." How this skill relates to design manager/senior designer duties can be seen in an example from a design manager/senior designer resume snippet: "assisted with the development of cad standards and directed all collaboration procedures and data exchanges between departments and outside firms. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a design manager/senior designer does. Design manager/senior designer responsibilities require this skill because "graphic designers must communicate with clients, customers, and other designers to ensure that their designs accurately and effectively convey information." This resume example highlights how design manager/senior designer duties rely on this skill: "led package design research in multi region package research, as well as virtual shoppability and communication at shelf. "
The three companies that hire the most design manager/senior designers are:
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Design manager/senior designer vs. Engineering director
An engineering director or director of engineering is an individual who manages a team of engineering managers and coordinates all the engineering activities within the organization. Engineering directors work closely with the organization's executives to develop new strategies to reduce unnecessary costs and time to complete their projects. They must understand and interpret complex sets of data such as profits, losses, or value of liabilities to identify problems and come up with solutions. Engineering directors must also ensure that safety protocols are implemented in the workforce.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a design manager/senior designer are more likely to require skills like "sketch," "user experience," "sr," and "powerpoint." On the other hand, a job as an engineering director requires skills like "java," "architecture," "infrastructure," and "aws." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Engineering directors tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $164,120. In contrast, design managers/senior designer make the biggest average salary, $138,722, in the retail industry.engineering directors tend to reach higher levels of education than design managers/senior designer. In fact, engineering directors are 10.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Design manager/senior designer vs. Research and development director
A research and development director spearheads and oversees the research and development initiatives and projects in a company. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, establish timelines and budgets, direct and manage different departments, liaise with internal and external parties, gather and analyze data to implement solutions against problem areas, and utilize expertise in developing strategies to optimize company operations. Moreover, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while promoting the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, design manager/senior designer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sketch," "user experience," "sr," and "powerpoint." Meanwhile, a research and development director has duties that require skills in areas such as "r," "fda," "oversight," and "business development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Research and development directors earn a higher average salary than design managers/senior designer. But research and development directors earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $167,250. Additionally, design managers/senior designer earn the highest salaries in the retail with average pay of $138,722 annually.In general, research and development directors achieve higher levels of education than design managers/senior designer. They're 9.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for design manager/senior designers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.
Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida
Design manager/senior designer vs. Vice president of engineering
A Vice President Of Engineering manages all aspects of the company's engineering product development activities. They are responsible for strategic planning, production designing, quality assurance, and problem resolution.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from design manager/senior designer resumes include skills like "sketch," "user experience," "sr," and "powerpoint," whereas a vice president of engineering is more likely to list skills in "architecture," "cloud," "infrastructure," and "java. "
Vice presidents of engineering earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $141,200. Comparatively, design managers/senior designer have the highest earning potential in the retail industry, with an average salary of $138,722.vice presidents of engineering typically earn higher educational levels compared to design managers/senior designer. Specifically, they're 9.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Design manager/senior designer vs. Engineering supervisor
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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between design managers/senior designer and engineering supervisors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a design manager/senior designer might have more use for skills like "sketch," "user experience," "sr," and "powerpoint." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineering supervisors require skills like "plumbing," "preventive maintenance," "customer service," and "continuous improvement. "
In general, engineering supervisors earn the most working in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $114,222. The highest-paying industry for a design manager/senior designer is the retail industry.engineering supervisors reach similar levels of education compared to design managers/senior designer, in general. The difference is that they're 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of design manager/senior designer
Updated January 8, 2025











