Director, hardware engineering vs process engineering manager

The differences between directors, hardware engineering and process 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 director, hardware engineering and a process engineering manager. Additionally, a director, hardware engineering has an average salary of $182,954, which is higher than the $124,640 average annual salary of a process engineering manager.

The top three skills for a director, hardware engineering include RF, product development and hardware development. The most important skills for a process engineering manager are project management, sigma, and lean manufacturing.

Director, hardware engineering vs process engineering manager overview

	Director, Hardware Engineering	Process Engineering Manager
Yearly salary	$182,954	$124,640
Hourly rate	$87.96	$59.92
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	63,781	87,396
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

Director, hardware engineering vs process engineering manager salary

Directors, hardware engineering and process engineering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Hardware Engineering	Process Engineering Manager
Average salary	$182,954	$124,640
Salary range	Between $128,000 And $260,000	Between $94,000 And $165,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Emergent BioSolutions
Best paying industry	Start-up	Technology

Differences between director, hardware engineering and process engineering manager education

There are a few differences between a director, hardware engineering and a process engineering manager in terms of educational background:

	Director, Hardware Engineering	Process Engineering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Chemical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Director, hardware engineering vs process engineering manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors, hardware engineering' and process engineering managers' demographics:

	Director, Hardware Engineering	Process Engineering Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1%	Male, 85.7% Female, 14.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 17.9% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 12.7% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between director, hardware engineering and process engineering manager duties and responsibilities

Director, hardware engineering example responsibilities.

Lead contract purchasing, PCB fabrication, contract board assembly, and ICT test fixture fabrication.
Select and manage contract resources for industrial design, mechanical design and fabrication, and PCB layout.
Manage design, tooling, equipment implementations and process improvements for foundry/machining metalworking manufacturer of automotive OEM products.
Hire to build world-class hardware development team including RF engineers.
Train subordinates to use FEA.
Involve in the design of a chip tray which incorporates RF antennas.

Process engineering manager example responsibilities.

Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Support FDA regulatory and ISO requirements with QA department through process engineering and support of CAPA program.
Pioneer SPC program including implementation of methodologies for corrective action.
Ensure water systems are OSHA compliant.
Implement plant wide remediation plan to comply with FDA requirements.
Design, contract fabrication and testing of OSHA compliant safety harness anchors.

Director, hardware engineering vs process engineering manager skills

Common director, hardware engineering skills

RF, 9%
Product Development, 8%
Hardware Development, 7%
Firmware, 6%
Mechanical Engineering, 5%
Hardware Products, 5%

Common process engineering manager skills

Project Management, 9%
Sigma, 8%
Lean Manufacturing, 6%
Lean Six Sigma, 6%
R, 4%
Direct Reports, 3%

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Director, Hardware Engineering
Director, Hardware Engineering vs Process Engineering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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