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What is a director of systems engineering and how to become one
As the systems engineering director, your duty is to oversee the functioning of an organization's systems and infrastructure. You will ensure that the installation, configuring, testing, and maintenance of the hardware and software of a system is carried out successfully and oversee the availability of numerous servers.
You will work with systems engineers and oversee the development of new products. You will also ensure that technical standards are met and that deadlines are adhered to. In the event of technical glitches, it is your responsibility to troubleshoot these issues.
Your job as a systems engineering director is a tough one and requires a master's degree in engineering or computer science and at least five years' experience in a managerial position.
What general advice would you give to a director of systems engineering?
Dr. Wayne Wakeland Ph.D.
Professor and Systems Science Program Chair, Portland State University
Avg. Salary $165,127
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 2%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%
Asian 13.44%
Black or African American 3.03%
Hispanic or Latino 8.61%
Unknown 4.63%
White 70.13%
Genderfemale 7.35%
male 92.65%
Age - 48American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 48Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Director of systems engineering career paths
Key steps to become a director of systems engineering
Explore director of systems engineering education requirements
Start to develop specific director of systems engineering skills
Skills Percentages Systems Engineering 11.84% Infrastructure 6.96% Cloud 5.08% Project Management 3.77% C++ 3.39% Complete relevant director of systems engineering training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of systems engineering learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of systems engineering based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of systems engineering resumes.Research director of systems engineering duties and responsibilities
- Manage various development groups including Linux/UNIX systems administrators, DBA's, and network engineers.
- Lead the division ISO-9000 certification effort as the ISO management representative and are certified as an ISO-9000 internal auditor.
- Manage consolidation and transformation of processes to deliver infrastructure services through a streamline process that provide better integration with all platforms.
- Extend the corporate and development environments into the AWS cloud.
Get director of systems engineering experience
Generally, it takes more than 10 years to become a director of systems engineering. The most common roles before becoming a director of systems engineering include senior systems engineer, systems engineer team lead and manager, systems engineering.Prepare your director of systems engineering resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of systems engineering resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of systems engineering resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable director of systems engineering resume templates
Build a professional director of systems engineering resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of systems engineering resume.
Apply for director of systems engineering jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a director of systems engineering job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first director of systems engineering job
Are you a director of systems engineering?
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Average director of systems engineering salary
The average director of systems engineering salary in the United States is $165,127 per year or $79 per hour. Director of systems engineering salaries range between $113,000 and $239,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do directors of systems engineering rate their job?
Director of systems engineering reviews
Able to see ideation to fruition and achieve success together as a team.
If company is not supportive of new technology advancement.
Being able to solve technical problems and manage staff for work
Indecisive colleagues and related problems because if their lack of ability and skills
Updated January 8, 2025
