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Engineering and operations director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

7 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. John Ballato,

Dr. John Ballato

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical engineering and operations director skills. We ranked the top skills for engineering and operations directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.7% of engineering and operations director resumes contained direct reports as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an engineering and operations director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 engineering and operations director skills for your resume and career

1. Direct Reports

Here's how engineering and operations directors use direct reports:

Directed operations for 310 central offices in Colorado and Wyoming, consisting of 605 technicians and 32 management direct reports.
Directed annual capital budget of $23M, and lead team of 7 direct reports and organization of 90+.

2. Engineering Operations

Here's how engineering and operations directors use engineering operations:

Manage the Engineering Operations team responsible for identifying, documenting, auditing and implementing process improvements.
Supervised 30 engineering operations staff members responsible for retention and recruitment.

3. Project Management

Here's how engineering and operations directors use project management:

Trained project managers in project management methods to effectively and efficiently produce innovative new products on schedule and at target costs.
Introduced lean six sigma techniques and project management to address ongoing defects while improving process capability and product quality.

4. Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of improvement of products, services, and processes with the help of innovative ideas. It is an organized approach that helps an organization to find its weaknesses and improve them.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use continuous improvement:

Spearheaded support operations of a new functional fixed network equipment organization by establishing a continuous improvement team of senior managers.
Direct Lean Six Sigma implementation, safety / quality / cost reduction initiatives, and continuous improvement activities.

5. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use business development:

Worked closely with executive management as part of product/business development and strategy team.
Key responsibilities included company strategic planning, business development, customer management, proposal development, and engineering execution and delivery.

6. Sigma

In Greek alphabets, sigma is the 18th letter that means "to sum up". In statistics, the lower case symbol of sigma is the unit of measurement for standard deviation which is used to assess the variability in a given set of data. While the upper case symbol is for summation notation means to add up all the given numbers in the data set.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use sigma:

Championed the implementation of Six Sigma strategy project in operations.
Culled $2 million out of the operating budget using Lean / Six Sigma process reforms.

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7. Architecture

Here's how engineering and operations directors use architecture:

Reduced product introduction time by 33% by developing wafer level test methodology to characterize sense-amplifier imbalance in 2T2C-memory architecture.
Advised senior leadership on architecture deficiencies and potential network security threats.

8. R

R is a free software environment and a language used by programmers for statistical computing. The R programming language is famously used for data analysis by data scientists.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use r:

Coordinated customer design effort with manufacturing capabilities resulting in successful hermetic fiber optic T/R module.
Interfaced the following programs: Appendix R, Fire Protection, Design, EQ and 50.59.

9. Lean Six Sigma

Here's how engineering and operations directors use lean six sigma:

Contributed executive-level project leadership, strategy and business expertise to cross-functional project teams utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodologies.
Introduced/established Tiffany's Lean Six Sigma program.

10. Product Development

Product development is the complete procedure of creating a product from concept until release of the final product. Product development has many stages after which a product is released into the market. Identifying the need, creating the opportunity, conceptualizing a product, and providing a solution, all are different stages of product development.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use product development:

Designed and implemented a stage-gate new product development process that slashed development times and significantly enhanced predictability.
Managed all product development activities including providing product quotes and initiation of new contracts.

11. HVAC

Here's how engineering and operations directors use hvac:

Supervised maintenance, repairs and installations for all environmental and operations issues including HVAC and energy management.
Managed daily Preventive Maintenance on HVAC, AC/DC power systems, redundant HVAC and power systems including Fire Suppression.

12. Capital Projects

A capital project is a long-term project carried out by professional teams to build, improve, maintain or develop a huge project that will help improve the asset of a city. This project involves a significant and constant flow of investments. A capital project can be new construction, the purchase of land or property, leasing a property, the renovation of an existing building, or the purchase of new equipment.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use capital projects:

Reviewed capital projects proposals, made forecast-based recommendations, and developed schedule that ensured timely and cost-effective project completion.
Directed capital projects, managed tenant improvements and new construction.

13. Plumbing

Here's how engineering and operations directors use plumbing:

Developed a five-year strategic plan initiative for quality improvement of Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Systems.
Facilitate Preventive Maintenance on all hotel mechanical, plumbing and electrical equipment and systems.

14. On-Time Delivery

On-Time Delivery, or OTD, is a metric that measures the rate at which finished goods and deliveries are completed on time. This rate is measured by the overall number of units shipped within a specified time frame agreed upon by the consumer and supplier. On-Time Delivery allows suppliers' compliance with delivery deadlines, and hence their consistency, to be assessed using a continuous and collaborative development approach.

Here's how engineering and operations directors use on-time delivery:

Change management leader within the L+G culture focusing on on-time delivery, increased customer satisfaction & team accountability.
Created new strategies and systems that resulted in driving on-time delivery and lead time performance to historic levels.

15. Cost Reduction

Here's how engineering and operations directors use cost reduction:

Developed and implemented cost reduction strategies through procurement and manufacturing methods of costly and long lead time components.
Coordinated activities between Purchasing, Engineering and external suppliers to facilitate material cost reductions and delivery improvements.

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What skills help Engineering And Operations Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on engineering and operations director resumes?

Dr. John Ballato

J. E. Sirrine Endowed Chair and Professor, Clemson University

The phrase "well rounded" may be getting old, but it's still true. We like to see graduates who didn't just go to class but worked in a laboratory or did a co-op/internship and had various extra-curricular activities, both personal and professional. Remember that materials science and engineering are leveraging computer science more and more, whether through atomistic or microstructural modeling or newer technologies such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). So having some familiarity with those and how they complement experimental/hands-on studies are helpful.

Another point about skills that stand out is a simple one - do your homework. There are few things more irritating than receiving a resume or email asking for a job, and the student clearly didn't care enough to look up what we do. The resume is a copy and paste and isn't personalized to the specific position, Group, or company. That stands out like a sore thumb.

What hard/technical skills are most important for engineering and operations directors?

Dr. John Ballato

J. E. Sirrine Endowed Chair and Professor, Clemson University

Important hard/technical skills really depend on the nature of the job/position and the organization. This really relates back to the What Skills Stand Out question. Employers want to know that employees have the requisite "toolbox" of basic skills and a willingness and aptitude to learn on the job. No person comes out of school with all the skills and experiences needed for a given job, so organizations inevitably continue to provide training on product-specific skills. Knowing how to learn, wanting to learn, and admitting what you don't know are as important, if not more so, than any hard/technical skills one gains during their education.

What soft skills should all engineering and operations directors possess?

Dr. John Ballato

J. E. Sirrine Endowed Chair and Professor, Clemson University

To me, the most important soft skill has always been communication. And, due to the pandemic where people have had to isolate and possibly quarantine, effective communications are even that much more critical. We're spending less face-to-face time and more screen-to-screen time, which gets boring quickly. So, paying attention, being clear and concise in your communications since you don't have the opportunities as often now to simply walk into someone's lab or office and talk through ideas and next steps. Effective communications are also especially important in materials science and engineering because our field is innately interdisciplinary. This means that you might be the only materials scientist on a team that includes marketing, sales, manufacturing, etc. Knowing your audience, including your project team, and learning how to communicate with them is critical.

What engineering and operations director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Yi Yang PhD

Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University - Abington

In the next 3-5 years, I believe management skills will become increasingly important. Engineers who can bridge the gap between technical complexity and business strategy, driving innovation and growth in their organizations will be very valuable.

What type of skills will young engineering and operations directors need?

Matthew Barry Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh

There are many skills young graduates will need when entering the workforce in the coming years. One of the most important is the use of software, particularly Computer Aided Design (CAD) software in any platform (SolidWorks, CATIA, Autodesk, etc.). CAD is ubiquitous in most engineering jobs and is used by most employees, from draftsmen and machinists to engineers. Students that can proficiently use CAD for constructing parts, models, to set up tooling (such as CAMWorks), construct PCBs, and to do basic analyses (such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA), vibrational analyses and the like) have a tremendous hiring advantage over students that lack these skills. Additionally, students that have experience and proficiency with FEA and/or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software are in high demand. Finally, in terms of software, students that are able to code (and it doesn't matter what language or software, whether its MATLAB, C, C++, Java, Python) are needed. Most companies develop their own in-house codes and routines to do basic, repetitive tasks, or to develop models that are used in design and analysis. Being able to code is a highly desirable skill. Lastly, students should have some skills and experiences when it comes to hands-on activities. Being a modern engineer requires being able to not only design and analyze something, but to be able to figure out the tooling, assembly, and repair of various components. Having hands-on experience, whether it is with electrical circuitry, machining physical parts, or printing and assembling prototypes, indicates high levels of spatial reasoning, and is a sought after skill by employers.

What technical skills for an engineering and operations director stand out to employers?

Patrick Atkinson

Professor, Kettering University

Broadly speaking, employers are looking for employees who can jump in, take on a project and move things forward. Since engineers are data-driven, knowing how to read and interpret findings from a variety of sources is key. This can be very challenging if the data conflicts between sources or the data is unclear. Whether the data is from a mathematical model, a physical test laboratory, or from the field, learning how to synthesize the findings and balance the strengths/weaknesses of a given data source are key. At the end of the day, every project needs a way forward and it is the engineer's job to optimize a design to meet the objectives for the product.

Do you want to know more?

List of engineering and operations director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an engineering and operations director resume and required skills for an engineering and operations director to have include:

Direct Reports
Engineering Operations
Project Management
Continuous Improvement
Business Development
Sigma
Architecture
R
Lean Six Sigma
Product Development
HVAC
Capital Projects
Plumbing
On-Time Delivery
Cost Reduction
Engineering Services

Vendor Management
ISO
Cost Savings
Construction Management
Lean Manufacturing
Capacity Planning
Linux
Technical Operations
Engineering Support
Saas
RF
Executive Management
Engineering Functions
CAPEX
Product Line
Business Operations

Data Centers
KPI
Broadband
Engineering Processes
Logistics
FCC
QA
Square Feet
Windows
VoIP
FDA
OEM
IP
Customer Support
Network Operations
MRP

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Engineering And Operations Director Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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