Test engineering manager vs engineering director

The differences between test engineering managers and engineering directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a test engineering manager and an engineering director. Additionally, an engineering director has an average salary of $162,252, which is higher than the $117,209 average annual salary of a test engineering manager.

The top three skills for a test engineering manager include test engineering, test equipment and test automation. The most important skills for an engineering director are java, architecture, and infrastructure.

Test engineering manager vs engineering director overview

	Test Engineering Manager	Engineering Director
Yearly salary	$117,209	$162,252
Hourly rate	$56.35	$78.01
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	84,350	63,868
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a test engineering manager do?

Test engineering managers take responsibility for the management of testing procedures and strategies evaluation, implementation, and recommendation. The engineering managers make sure that primary projects and duties associated with engineering are fulfilled within budget and on-time. They answer technical questions related to engineering. It is part of their job to train new employees. Also, they work with different departments within the organization.

What does an engineering director do?

An engineering director or director of engineering is an individual who manages a team of engineering managers and coordinates all the engineering activities within the organization. Engineering directors work closely with the organization's executives to develop new strategies to reduce unnecessary costs and time to complete their projects. They must understand and interpret complex sets of data such as profits, losses, or value of liabilities to identify problems and come up with solutions. Engineering directors must also ensure that safety protocols are implemented in the workforce.

Test engineering manager vs engineering director salary

Test engineering managers and engineering directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Test Engineering Manager	Engineering Director
Average salary	$117,209	$162,252
Salary range	Between $89,000 And $153,000	Between $109,000 And $239,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Google	Brookfield Properties
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between test engineering manager and engineering director education

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

	Test Engineering Manager	Engineering Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Test engineering manager vs engineering director demographics

Here are the differences between test engineering managers' and engineering directors' demographics:

	Test Engineering Manager	Engineering Director
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3%	Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 14.8% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 13.1% White, 69.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between test engineering manager and engineering director duties and responsibilities

Test engineering manager example responsibilities.

Manage regulatory and agency (UL, CSA, FCC, IEC, FDA, CE , 510k, etc . )
Manage development of applications to save the tests data into the SQL database.
Manage chemical testing laboratory for analyzing field materials for engineers using ASTM requirements.
Manage workflow and oversee strict cleanroom operations, assuring compliance with FDA specifications including labeling and packaging traceability.
Configure storage arrays for compatibility testing with new HBAs and switches.
Perform inter-divisional ISO audits, prepare ISO documents and maintain ISO records.

Engineering director example responsibilities.

Monitor and manage performance base on multiple KPI's.
Manage all FCC filings for the registration of license frequencies.
Improve network reliability and manage signal leakage and FCC compliance.
Lead implementation and remediation efforts to ensure HIPPA, SOX, and PCI compliance.
Manage a team to develop and support SaaS base access control product for health care industry.
Manage release and deployments for multiple, concurrent Java project across varying release cycles from inception to delivery.

Test engineering manager vs engineering director skills

Common test engineering manager skills

Test Engineering, 10%
Test Equipment, 6%
Test Automation, 5%
RF, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 4%
End-To-End Testing, 4%

Common engineering director skills

Java, 7%
Architecture, 7%
Infrastructure, 6%
AWS, 5%
Project Management, 5%
Customer Service, 4%

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Test Engineering Manager
Test Engineering Manager vs Engineering Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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