What does a manufacturing engineering manager do?
Manufacturing engineering managers manage manufacturing process development and enforcement. The managers maintain the proper functionality of a product and the efficiency of cost. They ensure the cohesive work between manufacturing departments and the engineering team. Their main responsibility is to design and operate integrated systems for economically competitive and high-quality products. They need to have skills in teamwork, technical knowledge, information technology, and commercial awareness. It is also necessary for them to have strong leadership skills.
Manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real manufacturing engineering manager resumes:
- Manage engineering changes with product engineering on the introduction of new product launches using PFMA analysis and DFM principles.
- Manage technical staff, work with marketing group to define research projects, define opportunity windows and establish schedules.
- Lead facility design and layout to meet JIT principles and company's evolving quality system with SPC monitoring and reporting.
- Manage and monitor machinery maintenance to comply with ISO preventive maintenance guidelines.
- Lead business intelligence infrastructure stabilization efforts resulting in above goal sigma scores.
- Implement industry standards for manage service provisioning and delivery across carrier-class fiber-optic network.
- Work include cad product design, tooling, estimating, prototype and production builds.
- Improve overall quality by using tools of root cause analysis and DFM.
- Apply DFx tools to successfully release several server and graphics products into manufacturing.
- Ensure DFx initiatives are support during design and build of prototype and pre-production units.
- Maintain compliance with UL, CSA, NSF, IAPMO, and other regional regulatory agencies.
- Develop AFE's for all drilling/logging and well testing program as well as non-drilling support workscope.
- Start up and validate the company's first polymer synthesis plant with complete compliance to FDA pharmaceutical regulations.
- Train personnel in company ERP system, AOI programming, selective solder programming, thermal profiling, and stockroom practices.
- Design new parts, assemblies, and mechanical systems, encompassing all aspects of development from concept to prototyping to production.
Manufacturing engineering manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Manufacturing Engineering Managers are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Manufacturing Engineering Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Continuous Improvement, 9%
Lead multiple projects across diverse facilities to attain strategic direction and business benefits such as cost-savings and promoting continuous improvement culture.
- Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Led and managed production teams during implementation launch of the new lean manufacturing initiative in fast-paced fabrication shop floor union environment.
- Project Management, 5%
Provided leadership of the operations group professional staff consisting of Document control, Project Management, Manufacturing Engineering and Test Engineering.
- Sigma, 5%
Organized Strategic Planning and lean/six sigma training events for IDEX companies worldwide, producing positive business transformation and successful long-term benefits.
- Lean Six Sigma, 4%
Implement manufacturing process improvement and Lean Six Sigma program.
- Product Development, 3%
Played a major leadership role in developing strategic alignment of Ford commodity business plans and standards between manufacturing and product development.
Most manufacturing engineering managers use their skills in "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," and "project management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a manufacturing engineering manager to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "architectural and engineering managers evaluate information to solve problems." Additionally, a manufacturing engineering manager resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "create and maintain production routers, material cards, quality requirements and production reports in an erp database. "
Communication skills. Many manufacturing engineering manager duties rely on communication skills. "architectural and engineering managers must effectively convey information and expectations related to projects.," so a manufacturing engineering manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities rely on communication skills: "coordinated transfer of assembly processes for a wide variety of product types from telecommunications oems to smithfield facility. "
Organizational skills. manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "architectural and engineering managers keep track of many workers, schedules, and budgets simultaneously." This resume example shows what manufacturing engineering managers do with organizational skills on a typical day: "shape organizational future by serving on continuous improvement steering committee and corrective action board. "
Math skills. A commonly-found skill in manufacturing engineering manager job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what manufacturing engineering managers do. Manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "architectural and engineering managers use calculus and other mathematics to develop new products and processes." You can also see how manufacturing engineering manager duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "applied statistics for manufacturing and lean six sigma for production improvement. "
See the full list of manufacturing engineering manager skills
The three companies that hire the most manufacturing engineering managers are:
- Abbott17 manufacturing engineering managers jobs
- S&C Electric15 manufacturing engineering managers jobs
- Northrop Grumman13 manufacturing engineering managers jobs
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Compare different manufacturing engineering managers
Manufacturing engineering manager vs. Research and development director
A research and development director spearheads and oversees the research and development initiatives and projects in a company. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, establish timelines and budgets, direct and manage different departments, liaise with internal and external parties, gather and analyze data to implement solutions against problem areas, and utilize expertise in developing strategies to optimize company operations. Moreover, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while promoting the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities require skills like "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," "sigma," and "lean six sigma." Meanwhile a typical research and development director has skills in areas such as "oversight," "strategic direction," "due diligence," and "intellectual property." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Research and development directors tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $167,250. In contrast, manufacturing engineering managers make the biggest average salary, $135,554, in the automotive industry.research and development directors tend to reach similar levels of education than manufacturing engineering managers. In fact, research and development directors are 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 12.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Manufacturing engineering manager vs. Research and development manager
A research and development manager is responsible for supervising project development procedures to support business operations and identify business opportunities that would pave the way for more revenue resources and profits. Research and development managers monitor the production plans from the conceptualization to the final outputs, inspecting inconsistencies and flaws in every phase and revising strategies as needed to achieve the required specifications and requirements. They delegate tasks to the staff, oversee progress, and conduct research and development programs to maximize productivity and team efforts.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, manufacturing engineering manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," "lean six sigma," and "process control." Meanwhile, a research and development manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "patients," "c++," and "c #." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, research and development managers earn a higher salary than manufacturing engineering managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, research and development managers earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $143,083. Whereas manufacturing engineering managers have higher pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $135,554.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Research and development managers tend to reach similar levels of education than manufacturing engineering managers. In fact, they're 3.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 12.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for manufacturing engineering managers in the next 3-5 years?
Jerry Leth
VP/General Manager, MANA
Manufacturing engineering manager vs. Design manager
A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience. They coordinate with the creative team and present the design ideas to the management, ask for final approval, perform revisions as needed, and follow the budget goals. A design manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the design team's concerns and needs.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a manufacturing engineering manager is likely to be skilled in "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," "sigma," and "lean six sigma," while a typical design manager is skilled in "visualization," "user experience," "powerpoint," and "design process."
Design managers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $121,279. On the other hand, manufacturing engineering managers are paid the highest salary in the automotive industry, with average annual pay of $135,554.design managers typically earn lower educational levels compared to manufacturing engineering managers. Specifically, they're 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Manufacturing engineering manager vs. Vice president of engineering
A Vice President Of Engineering manages all aspects of the company's engineering product development activities. They are responsible for strategic planning, production designing, quality assurance, and problem resolution.
Types of manufacturing engineering manager
Updated January 8, 2025
