What does a director of systems engineering do?
A director of systems engineering oversees the systems engineering department in a company, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Having more knowledge and experience in the field, they are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, managing budgets and timelines, conducting evaluations to ensure the efficiency of all systems and procedures, performing research and analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, and implementing solutions against problem areas. Moreover, as director of systems engineering, they must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while enforcing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
Director of systems engineering responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of systems engineering resumes:
- 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.
- Enhance some third party Java applets used in some pages.
- Migrate the help desk ticketing system to a cloud base solution.
- Support 200 + Linux server hosting business in two small data centers.
- Customize and configure software using Perl, HTML, Java, and server-side Javascript.
- Specialize in enterprise network design and QoS strategies to support converge IP voice, video, and data environments.
- Design a wireless (RF) and ambulatory sensor device to monitor and report various biological functions of a patient.
- Evaluate network architecture from VoIP application perspective for RTP performance and signaling transport and provide input to IP network architect.
- Demonstrate RF co-channel interference from original design.
- Assist customers in the design of their network infrastructure and define new/custom software requirements for engineering to meet customer requirements.
- Project include translations, regulatory filings, establishing configuration options in production, and interfacing with logistics provider base in U.K.
- Promote to Sr. VP base on successful vehicle designs and proof of concept vehicles.
Director of systems engineering skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Directors Of Systems Engineering are proficient in Systems Engineering, Infrastructure, and Cloud. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Systems Engineering that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Systems Engineering, 12%
Interfaced with customer to define system requirements; worked with systems engineering to translate customer needs into technical requirements.
- Infrastructure, 7%
Collaborate with corporate C-level management teams and subsidiaries to provide concrete guidance in information technology governance and enterprise infrastructure management challenges.
- Cloud, 5%
Created and delivered cloud based development platform unifying four distinct development environments resulting in $50M annual savings.
- Project Management, 4%
Position required staff and project management, budgetary bid response preparation, project scheduling and collaborative staff recruiting and hiring.
- C++, 3%
Developed real-time C++ image/video processing algorithms for ophthalmic imaging/surgical robotics.
- SAN, 3%
Designed and implemented high availability techniques into the solution (clustering technology / SAN technology / NAS technology).
"systems engineering," "infrastructure," and "cloud" are among the most common skills that directors of systems engineering use at work. You can find even more director of systems engineering responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. Many director of systems engineering duties rely on leadership skills. "architectural and engineering managers lead teams, which requires an ability to organize, direct, and motivate others.," so a director of systems engineering will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of systems engineering responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "provided customer support leadership for north america region for system lsi soc products. "
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for directors of systems engineering to perform their duties. For an example of how director of systems engineering responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "architectural and engineering managers evaluate information to solve problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of systems engineering: "provided technical leadership and mentored staff in analysis and test activities. ".
Communication skills. director of systems engineering responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "architectural and engineering managers must effectively convey information and expectations related to projects." This resume example shows what directors of systems engineering do with communication skills on a typical day: "lead system architecture, user interface design, system wide testing and communication protocol standardization. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for director of systems engineering responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of directors of systems engineering all the time, as "architectural and engineering managers keep track of many workers, schedules, and budgets simultaneously." An excerpt from a real director of systems engineering resume shows how this skill is central to what a director of systems engineering does: "developed long and short term infrastructure & organizational security roadmap. "
The three companies that hire the most director of systems engineerings are:
- Citizens Alliance51 directors of systems engineering jobs
- Humana50 directors of systems engineering jobs
- Raytheon Technologies9 directors of systems engineering jobs
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Compare different directors of systems engineering
Director of systems 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, director of systems engineering responsibilities require skills like "systems engineering," "infrastructure," "cloud," and "san." Meanwhile a typical research and development director has skills in areas such as "oversight," "due diligence," "intellectual property," and "clinical trials." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Research and development directors earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $167,250. On the other hand, directors of systems engineering are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $173,567.On average, research and development directors reach similar levels of education than directors of systems engineering. Research and development directors are 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 10.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of systems 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of systems engineering responsibilities requires skills like "systems engineering," "infrastructure," "cloud," and "san." But a research and development manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "patients," "c #," and "visualization."
On average, research and development managers earn a lower salary than directors of systems 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 systems engineering have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $173,567.In general, research and development managers achieve similar levels of education than directors of systems engineering. They're 0.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 10.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of systems engineering vs. Design manager
A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience. They coordinate with the creative team and present the design ideas to the management, ask for final approval, perform revisions as needed, and follow the budget goals. A design manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the design team's concerns and needs.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from director of systems engineering resumes include skills like "systems engineering," "infrastructure," "cloud," and "c++," whereas a design manager is more likely to list skills in "sketch," "visualization," "user experience," and "powerpoint. "
Design managers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $121,279. Comparatively, directors of systems engineering have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $173,567.design managers typically earn lower educational levels compared to directors of systems engineering. Specifically, they're 9.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of systems engineering vs. Technical director
A technical director is responsible for monitoring the technical efficiency of operations. Technical directors inspect audio and visual equipment, lighting systems for productions, and other technical processes. They ensure that all the equipment is in proper working condition, identify and troubleshoot defects, and deliver high-quality project results. They also monitor expenses, forecast sales reports, and create cost estimates for the systems needed for the project completion, following the clients' specifications to gain satisfaction. A technical director must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to manage operational processes with maximum accuracy.
Types of director of systems engineering
Updated January 8, 2025
