Engineering director vs manager, systems engineering

The differences between engineering directors and managers, systems engineering can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become an engineering director, becoming a manager, systems engineering takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an engineering director has an average salary of $162,252, which is higher than the $130,127 average annual salary of a manager, systems engineering.

The top three skills for an engineering director include java, architecture and infrastructure. The most important skills for a manager, systems engineering are systems engineering, architecture, and DOD.

Engineering director vs manager, systems engineering overview

	Engineering Director	Manager, Systems Engineering
Yearly salary	$162,252	$130,127
Hourly rate	$78.01	$62.56
Growth rate	2%	16%
Number of jobs	63,868	174,962
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	-	8

What does an engineering director do?

An engineering director or director of engineering is an individual who manages a team of engineering managers and coordinates all the engineering activities within the organization. Engineering directors work closely with the organization's executives to develop new strategies to reduce unnecessary costs and time to complete their projects. They must understand and interpret complex sets of data such as profits, losses, or value of liabilities to identify problems and come up with solutions. Engineering directors must also ensure that safety protocols are implemented in the workforce.

What does a manager, systems engineering do?

A systems engineering manager is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of the company's technology systems and network infrastructure. System engineering managers inspect the output deliverables of computer systems, identifying process improvement techniques to improve optimal performance and maintain high-quality results. They handle the department's budget and allocate adequate resources to support project management operations and requirements. A systems engineering manager must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, handling technical complexities, and configuring system management tools.

Engineering director vs manager, systems engineering salary

Engineering directors and managers, systems engineering have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Engineering Director	Manager, Systems Engineering
Average salary	$162,252	$130,127
Salary range	Between $109,000 And $239,000	Between $96,000 And $176,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Brookfield Properties	Pure Storage
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between engineering director and manager, systems engineering education

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

	Engineering Director	Manager, Systems Engineering
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Carnegie Mellon University

Engineering director vs manager, systems engineering demographics

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

	Engineering Director	Manager, Systems Engineering
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4%	Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 13.1% White, 69.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	11%

Differences between engineering director and manager, systems engineering duties and responsibilities

Engineering director example responsibilities.

Monitor and manage performance base on multiple KPI's.
Manage all FCC filings for the registration of license frequencies.
Improve network reliability and manage signal leakage and FCC compliance.
Lead implementation and remediation efforts to ensure HIPPA, SOX, and PCI compliance.
Manage a team to develop and support SaaS base access control product for health care industry.
Manage release and deployments for multiple, concurrent Java project across varying release cycles from inception to delivery.

Manager, systems engineering example responsibilities.

Manage office operations and procedures, including administering payroll, preparing office correspondence, and managing documentation.
Lead ITIL project to develop and implement internal training curriculum.
Manage enterprise systems, including technology selection, upgrades, optimization and performance against SLA targets.
Partner with sales to achieve sustain growth by developing new products and services such as VOIP and IPTV.
Manage the SDLC for insurance and financial services subsidiary for numerous components to supplement and enhance their agency software.
Manage a team of 19 technicians with expertise ranging from electrical to HVAC and providing 7/24/365 support and coverage.

Engineering director vs manager, systems engineering skills

Common engineering director skills

Java, 7%
Architecture, 7%
Infrastructure, 6%
AWS, 5%
Project Management, 5%
Customer Service, 4%

Common manager, systems engineering skills

Systems Engineering, 13%
Architecture, 8%
DOD, 5%
Infrastructure, 5%
Project Management, 5%
RF, 3%

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Engineering Director
Engineering Director vs Manager, Systems Engineering

Updated January 8, 2025

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