What does a senior director of engineering do?
A senior director of engineering is responsible for the collaborative success of the engineering and technical projects of the organization. Senior directors of engineering coordinate with different project teams to identify and develop cost-reduction processes, as well as strategizing on procedures to maximize the team's effort and productivity within the approved deadline. They also implement quality assurance policies to ensure the efficiency and accuracy of the project's adherence to client specifications and business requirements. A senior director of engineering reports to the senior management, conducting data analysis and identifying business opportunities to maintain the company's financial growth and stability.
Senior director of engineering responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior director of engineering resumes:
- Define the architecture of the next generation telecommunication products and lead the new technology introduction.
- Define, develop and implement a manage cloud services architecture approach that is based on modular processes and continual integration/deployment interactions.
- Spearhead industry-first embed Java VM, embed DCOM products.
- Lead on multiple cross-functional quality initiatives for improve QA process improvements.
- Change the organization from waterfall to scrum and agile development methodologies.
- Remain an individual contributor and IP generator in parallel with management responsibilities.
- Champion cloud security and PCI requirements for new business opportunities and simplify operations.
- Stabilize and rebuild a fragment engineering team, into a unify DevOps organization.
- Present a vision to senior management for cleaving its monolithic architecture into manageable pieces.
- Develop IP strategy to maximize coverage of concepts and create defensive patents where necessary.
- Increase engineering efficiency via significant investment in automate build, test, and packaging infrastructure.
- Establish the infrastructure need to begin product IEC certification process and the organizational ISO certification.
- Increase productivity and quality by implementing consistent QA processes for test design and product validation.
- Develop a python base network stress test framework capable of controlling a large network of telecommunication equipment via telnet connections.
- Project include translations, regulatory filings, establishing configuration options in production, and interfacing with logistics provider base in U.K.
Senior director of engineering skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Senior Directors Of Engineering are proficient in Cloud, Architecture, and Continuous Improvement. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Senior Directors Of Engineering that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Cloud, 7%
Defined, developed and implemented a managed cloud services architecture approach that is based on modular processes and continual integration/deployment interactions.
- Architecture, 6%
Presented a vision to senior management for cleaving its monolithic architecture into manageable pieces.
- Continuous Improvement, 5%
Demonstrated thought leadership and a passion for identifying and pursuing new ideas and leveraging continuous improvement processes.
- Software Development, 5%
Deliver all software development activities at Military.com, including new and enhanced enterprise and consumer applications targeting desktop and mobile.
- Infrastructure, 5%
Provided program management support on IT infrastructure solutions, integrating current and emerging software/technologies via RUP processes' and procedures.
- Java, 5%
Lead Android Java Developer for Wi-Fi Offload software on 10+ million Android devices in the US.
"cloud," "architecture," and "continuous improvement" are among the most common skills that senior directors of engineering use at work. You can find even more senior director of engineering responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior director of engineering to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "architectural and engineering managers evaluate information to solve problems." Senior directors of engineering often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "build java based restful web services that use oracle cohere nce, mongodb, and solr data stores. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior director of engineering duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "architectural and engineering managers must effectively convey information and expectations related to projects." According to a senior director of engineering resume, here's how senior directors of engineering can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "finalized definition of world-wide iso 18000-7 wireless radio communications with all key stakeholders, including end users and other manufacturers. "
Math skills. For certain senior director of engineering responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior director of engineering rely on this skill, as "architectural and engineering managers use calculus and other mathematics to develop new products and processes." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior directors of engineering do: "managed qualitative and quantitative analysis requirements managed process improvements. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in senior director of engineering job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what senior directors of engineering do. Senior director of engineering responsibilities rely on this skill because "architectural and engineering managers keep track of many workers, schedules, and budgets simultaneously." You can also see how senior director of engineering duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "program management; built organizational processes and introduced train model for rapid delivery. "
The three companies that hire the most senior director of engineerings are:
- Capital One333 senior directors of engineering jobs
- Charles River Labs81 senior directors of engineering jobs
- Charles River Center81 senior directors of engineering jobs
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Compare different senior directors of engineering
Senior director of engineering 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior directors of engineering and research and development manager. For instance, senior director of engineering responsibilities require skills such as "cloud," "architecture," "continuous improvement," and "software development." Whereas a research and development manager is skilled in "customer service," "patients," "c #," and "client facing." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Research and development managers tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $143,083. In contrast, senior directors of engineering make the biggest average salary, $200,692, in the technology industry.research and development managers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior directors of engineering. In fact, research and development managers are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior director of engineering 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior director of engineering responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cloud," "architecture," "continuous improvement," and "software development." Meanwhile, a design manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "sketch," "user experience," "powerpoint," and "design process." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, design managers earn a lower salary than senior directors of engineering. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, design managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $121,279. Whereas senior directors of engineering have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $200,692.design managers earn lower levels of education than senior directors of engineering in general. They're 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior director of engineering 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 many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior director of engineering is likely to be skilled in "cloud," "architecture," "continuous improvement," and "infrastructure," while a typical research and development director is skilled in "oversight," "strategic direction," "due diligence," and "intellectual property."
Research and development directors earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $167,250. Comparatively, senior directors of engineering have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $200,692.Most research and development directors achieve a similar degree level compared to senior directors of engineering. For example, they're 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 8.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior director of engineering vs. Engineering/maintenance manager
Engineering and maintenance managers are skilled executive professionals who manage the daily activities of the engineering department while directing the maintenance of all types of machinery in a manufacturing plant. These managers are required to develop preventive maintenance procedures and inspections for all manufacturing equipment so that they can reduce machine downtime. They must ensure that contractors are trained to respond to emergencies and follow all the processes that are documented within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Engineering and maintenance managers must also create a budget to manage the expenditures related to plant equipment upgrades.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior directors of engineering and engineering/maintenance managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior director of engineering might have more use for skills like "cloud," "architecture," "software development," and "infrastructure." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineering/maintenance managers require skills like "osha," "facility maintenance," "plant maintenance," and "predictive maintenance. "
Engineering/maintenance managers enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $98,678. For comparison, senior directors of engineering earn the highest salary in the technology industry.engineering/maintenance managers reach lower levels of education compared to senior directors of engineering, in general. The difference is that they're 9.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior director of engineering
Updated January 8, 2025
