Engineering supervisor vs engineering program manager

The differences between engineering supervisors 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 an engineering supervisor and an engineering program manager. Additionally, an engineering program manager has an average salary of $122,604, which is higher than the $97,535 average annual salary of an engineering supervisor.

The top three skills for an engineering supervisor include HVAC, plumbing and project management. The most important skills for an engineering program manager are project management, program management, and software development.

Engineering supervisor vs engineering program manager overview

	Engineering Supervisor	Engineering Program Manager
Yearly salary	$97,535	$122,604
Hourly rate	$46.89	$58.94
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	57,046	148,543
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does an engineering supervisor do?

An engineering supervisor is responsible for monitoring the engineering operations of an organization, developing strategic processes and techniques to improve staff's performance, and facilitating training and programs to maximize productivity. Engineering supervisors evaluate technology procedures and reports to identify and design new opportunities that would generate more resources for revenues and profits. They also meet with clients and handle their business requirements and specifications, informing them of other services that the company offers. An engineering supervisor resolves project complaints and implements business plans to achieve high-quality deliverables.

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.

Engineering supervisor vs engineering program manager salary

Engineering supervisors and engineering program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Engineering Supervisor	Engineering Program Manager
Average salary	$97,535	$122,604
Salary range	Between $72,000 And $130,000	Between $95,000 And $157,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Apple	Meta
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between engineering supervisor and engineering program manager education

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

	Engineering Supervisor	Engineering Program Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Engineering supervisor vs engineering program manager demographics

Here are the differences between engineering supervisors' and engineering program managers' demographics:

	Engineering Supervisor	Engineering Program Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2%	Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.4% 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 engineering supervisor and engineering program manager duties and responsibilities

Engineering supervisor example responsibilities.

Lead Kaizen initiatives to continue improving fulfillment operations.
Implement and maintain ISO certification; become first industrial boiler manufacturer to achieve certification.
Achieve exceptional productivity and quality performance by deploying data analytics and localizing operational KPI metrics.
Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Ensure adherence to UL, NEC, CE and OSHA regulations and guidelines, in addition to company's design policies.
Authorize to troubleshoot equipment, debug controllers, and oversee robotic programming.

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.

Engineering supervisor vs engineering program manager skills

Common engineering supervisor skills

HVAC, 9%
Plumbing, 8%
Project Management, 7%
Preventive Maintenance, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%

Common engineering program manager skills

Project Management, 15%
Program Management, 14%
Software Development, 6%
Scrum, 4%
Risk Management, 3%
Continuous Improvement, 3%

Engineering Supervisor vs. similar jobs

Engineering Supervisor related careers

Engineering Supervisor related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Engineering Supervisor
Engineering Supervisor vs Engineering Program Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs