Director of manufacturing engineering vs engineering program manager

The differences between directors of manufacturing engineering and engineering program 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 of manufacturing engineering and an engineering program manager. Additionally, a director of manufacturing engineering has an average salary of $160,810, which is higher than the $122,604 average annual salary of an engineering program manager.

The top three skills for a director of manufacturing engineering include lean manufacturing, continuous improvement and project management. The most important skills for an engineering program manager are project management, program management, and software development.

Director of manufacturing engineering vs engineering program manager overview

	Director Of Manufacturing Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Yearly salary	$160,810	$122,604
Hourly rate	$77.31	$58.94
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	86,306	148,543
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a director of manufacturing engineering do?

A director of manufacturing engineering oversees an organization's product development and manufacturing operations, ensuring procedures adhere to industry standards and regulations. They primarily set goals, develop strategies to optimize processes, conduct regular assessments and reviews, manage engineering teams, and coordinate with engineers and other experts in developing manufacturing plans. They also have the authority to make significant decisions, negotiate deals and contracts, and supervise the recruitment of employees. Moreover, a director of manufacturing engineering spearheads operations while implementing company policies and vision.

What does an engineering program manager do?

As an engineering program manager in the world of technology, it is their main responsibility to lead the development of important modules of new technology such as display, camera, touch ID, etc. It is their job to ensure that modules are correctly built according to specifications and given timeline. They drive day-to-day engineering related activities at the vendor's factory to meet overall program ideas. They are knowledgeable of the hardware process development and other features like display or camera design.

Director of manufacturing engineering vs engineering program manager salary

Directors of manufacturing engineering and engineering program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Manufacturing Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Average salary	$160,810	$122,604
Salary range	Between $113,000 And $227,000	Between $95,000 And $157,000
Highest paying City	Hayward, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Apple	Meta
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between director of manufacturing engineering and engineering program manager education

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

	Director Of Manufacturing Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Director of manufacturing engineering vs engineering program manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors of manufacturing engineering' and engineering program managers' demographics:

	Director Of Manufacturing Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 95.4% Female, 4.6%	Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 11.7% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.0% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between director of manufacturing engineering and engineering program manager duties and responsibilities

Director of manufacturing engineering example responsibilities.

Manage state-of-the-art extrusion plant with single screw and twin screw technology and co-extrusion capability.
Host FDA inspections, ISO certification and third party audits.
Ensure compliance with NSF, FDA, UL, CSA, CE, FCC and other regulatory standards.
Institute an ISO compliant procedure program.
Evaluate, purchase and install CNC equipment for die manufacturing.
Process encompasses high speed metal cutting, grinding, CNC machining, polishing, and plating.

Engineering program manager example responsibilities.

Manage & assist component qualification through PPAP approval process.
Manage prototyping, optics, and tooling for Harley-Davidson aftermarket turn signal and brake lenses.
Manage several projects simultaneously, with excellent track record for ensuring team on-time IP delivery.
Manage committees and task forces ensuring synchronization of CNC training and skills need to promote successful CNC careers.
Work closely with PMO to understand product portfolio needs and manage internal and external resources to meet those goals.
Lead IPT meetings to provide status, address programmatic and customer concerns, assign priorities, assess risk and identifyopportunities.

Director of manufacturing engineering vs engineering program manager skills

Common director of manufacturing engineering skills

Lean Manufacturing, 10%
Continuous Improvement, 10%
Project Management, 6%
Sigma, 6%
R, 5%
Product Development, 5%

Common engineering program manager skills

Project Management, 15%
Program Management, 14%
Software Development, 6%
Scrum, 4%
Risk Management, 3%
Continuous Improvement, 3%

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Director Of Manufacturing Engineering
Director Of Manufacturing Engineering vs Engineering Program Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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