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Project and design lead vs design manager

The differences between project and design leads and design 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 project and design lead, becoming a design manager takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a design manager has an average salary of $102,637, which is higher than the $89,305 average annual salary of a project and design lead.

The top three skills for a project and design lead include CAD, construction drawings and solidworks. The most important skills for a design manager are sketch, project management, and visualization.

Project and design lead vs design manager overview

Project And Design LeadDesign Manager
Yearly salary$89,305$102,637
Hourly rate$42.94$49.34
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs55,08661,273
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4148
Years of experience6-

Project and design lead vs design manager salary

Project and design leads and design managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project And Design LeadDesign Manager
Average salary$89,305$102,637
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $118,000Between $69,000 And $150,000
Highest paying CityRedwood City, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyEli Lilly and CompanyMeta
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between project and design lead and design manager education

There are a few differences between a project and design lead and a design manager in terms of educational background:

Project And Design LeadDesign Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringGraphic Design
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Project and design lead vs design manager demographics

Here are the differences between project and design leads' and design managers' demographics:

Project And Design LeadDesign Manager
Average age4148
Gender ratioMale, 77.1% Female, 22.9%Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 15.9% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage5%9%

Differences between project and design lead and design manager duties and responsibilities

Project and design lead example responsibilities.

  • Deliver high-level n-tier architecture design, managing project expectations and timetables throughout all phases of development process.
  • Identify key areas for FPGA design improvement while isolating testing gaps in VHDL.
  • Request enhancements to the PLM product.
  • Work with composite materials, molds and SolidWorks.
  • Work with a 3rd party to utilize Solidworks EPDM software.
  • Develop requirements for customization of PLM product to suit Chrysler business processes.
  • Show more

Design manager example responsibilities.

  • Help achieve status of medical device manufacturer through the FDA.
  • Manage several consultants preparing contract documents on the various NYC let and NYS let projects.
  • Manage and collaborate with ASIC library/memory vendors.
  • Manage design, tooling, equipment implementations and process improvements for foundry/machining metalworking manufacturer of automotive OEM products.
  • Design blueprints, bills of materials, FEA as required.
  • Include producing FDA and ISO-9000 level documentation of the project.
  • Show more

Project and design lead vs design manager skills

Common project and design lead skills
  • CAD, 12%
  • Construction Drawings, 8%
  • Solidworks, 6%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • R, 5%
  • QA, 5%
Common design manager skills
  • Sketch, 8%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Visualization, 5%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Design Process, 4%

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