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.
Director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of manufacturing engineering resumes:
- 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.
- Introduce progressive automation of regression test infrastructure as well as API test framework while meeting release schedules.
- Lead the creation of the factory strategy and establish a method of execution through the use of KPI.
- Coordinate clinical trials, write product & process and sterilization qualification/validations and FDA regulatory submissions.
- Supervise maintenance, repairs and installations for all environmental and operations issues including HVAC and energy management.
- Develop and deploy production-quality HPC Linux through leading company-wide engineeringeffort.
Director of manufacturing engineering skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Directors Of Manufacturing Engineering are proficient in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Manufacturing Engineering that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Lean Manufacturing, 10%
Key contributor in design of innovative Lean Manufacturing Work Cell incorporating quick tool change, electrical quick-disconnects, flex labor/operator x-training.
- Continuous Improvement, 10%
Improved manufacturing margin consistently by 4 percentage points through continuous improvement process, consolidating MRP systems and applying Toyota Production System technology
- Project Management, 6%
Improved the collaboration with product development and project management to manage future design iterations.
- Sigma, 6%
Led Lean Six Sigma deployment for business unit producing power systems for military, aerospace, and medical applications.
- R, 5%
Improved weld procedures and prepared plant for ASME U, UM, and R stamp audits.
- Product Development, 5%
Develop staff through their involvement in product development teams with project responsibility from initial project concept through validation.
Most directors of manufacturing engineering use their skills in "lean manufacturing," "continuous improvement," and "project management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of manufacturing engineering to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of manufacturing engineering do because "architectural and engineering managers evaluate information to solve problems." Additionally, a director of manufacturing engineering resume shows how directors of manufacturing engineering use analytical skills: "directed over 40 engineers and technicians in test, failure analysis, automation and process engineering activities. "
Math skills. directors of manufacturing engineering are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities, because "architectural and engineering managers use calculus and other mathematics to develop new products and processes." A director of manufacturing engineering resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "bench marked and monitored product quality to the technical support calls statistics for improvement of product validation methodology. "
Organizational skills. director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "architectural and engineering managers keep track of many workers, schedules, and budgets simultaneously." This resume example shows what directors of manufacturing engineering do with organizational skills on a typical day: "led launch of value stream organizational structure in all 3 qualitest manufacturing plants. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in director of manufacturing engineering job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what directors of manufacturing engineering do. Director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities rely on this skill because "architectural and engineering managers must effectively convey information and expectations related to projects." You can also see how director of manufacturing engineering duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "acted as a liaison between the manufacturing and design engineering departments to foster better communication during and after product designs. "
The three companies that hire the most director of manufacturing engineerings are:
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Director of manufacturing engineering 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of manufacturing engineering and research and development director. For instance, director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities require skills such as "lean manufacturing," "continuous improvement," "sigma," and "lean six sigma." Whereas a research and development director is skilled in "oversight," "business development," "strategic direction," and "due diligence." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Research and development directors really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $167,250. Comparatively, directors of manufacturing engineering tend to make the most money in the automotive industry with an average salary of $167,890.research and development directors tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of manufacturing engineering. In fact, research and development directors are 1.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 12.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of manufacturing engineering vs. Research and development manager
A research and development manager is responsible for supervising project development procedures to support business operations and identify business opportunities that would pave the way for more revenue resources and profits. Research and development managers monitor the production plans from the conceptualization to the final outputs, inspecting inconsistencies and flaws in every phase and revising strategies as needed to achieve the required specifications and requirements. They delegate tasks to the staff, oversee progress, and conduct research and development programs to maximize productivity and team efforts.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real director of manufacturing engineering resumes. While director of manufacturing engineering responsibilities can utilize skills like "lean manufacturing," "continuous improvement," "lean six sigma," and "process engineering," research and development managers use skills like "customer service," "patients," "c++," and "c #."
On average, research and development managers earn a lower salary than directors of manufacturing engineering. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, research and development managers earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $143,083. Whereas directors of manufacturing engineering have higher pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $167,890.research and development managers earn similar levels of education than directors of manufacturing engineering in general. They're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 12.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of manufacturing engineering vs. Engineering/maintenance manager
Engineering and maintenance managers are skilled executive professionals who manage the daily activities of the engineering department while directing the maintenance of all types of machinery in a manufacturing plant. These managers are required to develop preventive maintenance procedures and inspections for all manufacturing equipment so that they can reduce machine downtime. They must ensure that contractors are trained to respond to emergencies and follow all the processes that are documented within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Engineering and maintenance managers must also create a budget to manage the expenditures related to plant equipment upgrades.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of manufacturing engineering are more likely to have skills like "product development," "process engineering," "product design," and "process control." But a engineering/maintenance manager is more likely to have skills like "capital projects," "osha," "facility maintenance," and "plant maintenance."
Engineering/maintenance managers earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $98,678. Directors of manufacturing engineering earn the highest pay from the automotive industry, with an average salary of $167,890.Most engineering/maintenance managers achieve a lower degree level compared to directors of manufacturing engineering. For example, they're 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of manufacturing engineering vs. Engineering operations manager
Engineering Operations Managers are responsible for managing mechanical or electrical repair and maintenance activities. Their duties include supervising the facility's daily operations, directing engineers, contractors, and subcontractors in executing a project, forecasting maintenance, and operation costs, preparing an annual budget, and leading strategic sourcing initiatives. Other duties include training staff, working with the human resource team to plan development initiatives, and processing payment applications, orders, invoices, and change requests. An Engineering Operations Manager also conducts procedures for contract bidding of maintenance activities. They are essential in facilitating communication between teams in engineering and operations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between directors of manufacturing engineering and engineering operations managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a director of manufacturing engineering might have more use for skills like "design engineering," "mfg," "dfm," and "aerospace." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineering operations managers require skills like "engineering operations," "linux," "plumbing," and "employee development. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for engineering operations managers, with average annual pay of $123,284. Comparatively, the highest director of manufacturing engineering annual salary comes from the automotive industry.The average resume of engineering operations managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to directors of manufacturing engineering. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of director of manufacturing engineering
Updated January 8, 2025











