| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Engineering |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Chief Engineer |
| Direct reports | Senior Design Engineer, Design Engineer, AutoCAD Draughtsman |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years in design with 3 years leading a team |
Design Engineering Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Design Engineering Manager
Department: Engineering
Reports to: Chief Engineer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Design Engineering Manager leads the design office. They plan and control the design workload, set design standards and checking rules, and make sure drawings and models are correct, complete and released on time. The role sits between the Chief Engineer and the design team. A good manager keeps checkers busy without burnout, cuts drawing errors and rework, and grows junior designers into reliable engineers.
Key responsibilities
- Plan design workload across projects and assign packages to engineers by skill and capacity.
- Set design standards, templates and checking rules, and enforce a check before every drawing release.
- Review and approve design deliverables for correctness, completeness and code compliance.
- Track design progress against the schedule and clear bottlenecks that hold up procurement.
- Drive reuse of standard designs and libraries to cut engineering hours.
- Manage the drawing register and revision control so only current drawings are in use.
- Coordinate with projects, procurement and site to resolve design queries quickly.
- Review vendor drawings and technical submissions and approve them for manufacture.
- Coach designers, set individual goals and build checking skills in the team.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical or civil engineering
- Diploma with strong design experience is acceptable
- Command of the relevant design codes
- 8 to 12 years in design with 3 years leading a team
KRAs and KPIs for a Design Engineering Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| On time drawings | Design deliverables released on or before schedule for 90 percent of packages |
| Drawing quality | Checking errors found after release below 1 per 20 drawings |
| Design reuse | Standard components reused in at least half of new designs |
| Revision control | Zero superseded drawings issued to site or procurement |
| Query turnaround | Site and vendor design queries closed within 2 working days |
| Team growth | Each designer cleared for independent checking within the plan |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: AutoCAD, SolidWorks or Inventor, Revit or Tekla, PLM or PDM system, MS Project.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Engineer, Engineering Manager (Projects), Head of Design
Interview questions for a Design Engineering Manager
- How do you plan and balance design workload across several projects?
- What checking process do you run before a drawing is released?
- How do you drive design reuse without forcing unsuitable standard parts?
- How do you keep revision control clean on a fast moving project?
- A junior made a costly drawing error. How do you handle it?
- How do you decide when to approve a vendor drawing that differs from spec?
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What does a Design Engineering Manager do?
A Design Engineering Manager runs the design office. They plan and assign design work, set standards and checking rules, approve drawings and models, control revisions and coach the design team. Their job is to release correct, complete and code compliant drawings on schedule while cutting errors and rework.
What is the difference between a Design Engineer and a Design Engineering Manager?
A Design Engineer produces and checks drawings and calculations for assigned packages. A Design Engineering Manager plans the whole design workload, sets standards, approves deliverables, controls revisions and manages the people. The engineer owns the drawing; the manager owns the process, the schedule and the team.
What qualifications does a Design Engineering Manager need?
A degree or diploma in mechanical, electrical or civil engineering with several years of hands on design work. Strong command of the relevant design codes and CAD tools is essential. Employers value a record of checking work, meeting release dates and developing junior designers.