Engineering director vs process engineering manager

The differences between engineering directors and process engineering 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 an engineering director and a process engineering manager. Additionally, an engineering director has an average salary of $162,252, which is higher than the $124,640 average annual salary of a process engineering manager.

The top three skills for an engineering director include java, architecture and infrastructure. The most important skills for a process engineering manager are project management, sigma, and lean manufacturing.

Engineering director vs process engineering manager overview

	Engineering Director	Process Engineering Manager
Yearly salary	$162,252	$124,640
Hourly rate	$78.01	$59.92
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	63,868	87,396
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

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 process engineering manager do?

A process engineering manager is responsible for evaluating the production and manufacturing processes and identify areas of improvement to enhance the quality of deliverables and maximize the staff's productivity. Process engineering managers develop cost-efficient techniques and resources that would meet the budget limitations and business requirements. They also handle the resolution for process failures and coordinate with the process engineers for immediate solutions to avoid its reoccurrence. A process engineering manager must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially in determining opportunities that would enhance efficiency and result in more outputs.

Engineering director vs process engineering manager salary

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

	Engineering Director	Process Engineering Manager
Average salary	$162,252	$124,640
Salary range	Between $109,000 And $239,000	Between $94,000 And $165,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Brookfield Properties	Emergent BioSolutions
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between engineering director and process engineering manager education

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

	Engineering Director	Process Engineering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Chemical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Engineering director vs process engineering manager demographics

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

	Engineering Director	Process Engineering Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4%	Male, 85.7% Female, 14.3%
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, 3.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 12.7% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between engineering director and process engineering manager 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.

Process engineering manager example responsibilities.

Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Support FDA regulatory and ISO requirements with QA department through process engineering and support of CAPA program.
Pioneer SPC program including implementation of methodologies for corrective action.
Ensure water systems are OSHA compliant.
Implement plant wide remediation plan to comply with FDA requirements.
Design, contract fabrication and testing of OSHA compliant safety harness anchors.

Engineering director vs process engineering manager skills

Common engineering director skills

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

Common process engineering manager skills

Project Management, 9%
Sigma, 8%
Lean Manufacturing, 6%
Lean Six Sigma, 6%
R, 4%
Direct Reports, 3%

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Engineering Director
Engineering Director vs Process Engineering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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