Program officer vs engineering program manager

The differences between program officers and engineering program managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a program officer, becoming an engineering program manager takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, an engineering program manager has an average salary of $122,604, which is higher than the $79,553 average annual salary of a program officer.

The top three skills for a program officer include project management, program management and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for an engineering program manager are project management, program management, and software development.

Program officer vs engineering program manager overview

	Program Officer	Engineering Program Manager
Yearly salary	$79,553	$122,604
Hourly rate	$38.25	$58.94
Growth rate	12%	2%
Number of jobs	118,383	148,543
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	45	48
Years of experience	6	-

What does a program officer do?

A program officer is an essential part of a foundation or charitable organization. It is up to program officers to supervise program progress and proposals, seek grants, manage projects, and oversee budgets. They generally guarantee that an organization's activities and programs are met with the vision and mission statements of that foundation. It is the program officer's responsibility to complete various tasks in completing the demands of this position. Moreover, their job includes developing their staff, implementation, and daily management of activities.

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.

Program officer vs engineering program manager salary

Program officers and engineering program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Officer	Engineering Program Manager
Average salary	$79,553	$122,604
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $117,000	Between $95,000 And $157,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	BNP Paribas	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between program officer and engineering program manager education

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

	Program Officer	Engineering Program Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Program officer vs engineering program manager demographics

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

	Program Officer	Engineering Program Manager
Average age	45	48
Gender ratio	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%	Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	14%	9%

Differences between program officer and engineering program manager duties and responsibilities

Program officer example responsibilities.

Manage request for proposals (RFP) processes, and oversee contractors/vendors for research-relate activities.
Manage a political party strengthening program in Colombia and a civil society strengthening program in Peru from NDI's main office.
Lead the introduction and upgrade of wireless infrastructure at remote locations to ensure adherence with internal and international wireless standards.
Follow privacy guidelines (HIPAA).
Increase immunization coverage for the different age groups.
Improve store rates for hitting all internal sales and QA goals.

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.

Program officer vs engineering program manager skills

Common program officer skills

Project Management, 9%
Program Management, 7%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%
PowerPoint, 5%
Public Health, 5%
Professional Development, 5%

Common engineering program manager skills

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

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Program Officer vs Engineering Program Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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