Director, product engineering vs engineering program manager

The differences between directors, product 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, product engineering and an engineering program manager. Additionally, a director, product engineering has an average salary of $178,842, which is higher than the $122,604 average annual salary of an engineering program manager.

The top three skills for a director, product engineering include cloud, product engineering and java. The most important skills for an engineering program manager are project management, program management, and software development.

Director, product engineering vs engineering program manager overview

	Director, Product Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Yearly salary	$178,842	$122,604
Hourly rate	$85.98	$58.94
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	128,322	148,543
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a director, product engineering do?

A director of product engineering usually works at manufacturing plants where they oversee production operations from planning to execution. They lead all initiatives, set goals and roadmaps, establish production schedules and guidelines, take part in recruitment procedures, coordinate internal and external parties, and build positive relationships with industry partners. They may also participate in developing new products, enhancing existing processes, and making significant business decisions. Moreover, a director, product engineering implements industry standards and company policies, creating new ones as necessary.

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, product engineering vs engineering program manager salary

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

	Director, Product Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Average salary	$178,842	$122,604
Salary range	Between $127,000 And $251,000	Between $95,000 And $157,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Google	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between director, product engineering and engineering program manager education

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

	Director, Product Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	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, product engineering vs engineering program manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors, product engineering' and engineering program managers' demographics:

	Director, Product Engineering	Engineering Program Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%	Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 17.3% White, 67.0% 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, product engineering and engineering program manager duties and responsibilities

Director, product engineering example responsibilities.

Negotiate contract, manage relationship with 3rd party supplier of T.38 Fax over IP technology.
Institute engineering processes to achieve ISO certification.
Manage and coordinate all hardware/software engineering, installation, and service of HVAC temperature control system projects.
Implement scheduling plan changes to allow QA to flow more smoothly.
Assist in the implementation of ISO [] including procedures, work instructions, and forms development.
Coordinate QA department, responsible for all qualification activities and ensure all products are qualify per JEDEC qualification standards.

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, product engineering vs engineering program manager skills

Common director, product engineering skills

Cloud, 9%
Product Engineering, 8%
Java, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Product Design, 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, Product Engineering
Director, Product Engineering vs Engineering Program Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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