Engineering managers are individuals with engineering backgrounds who oversee the technical operations of both large and small businesses. No matter how large the organization is, the engineering manager assumes responsibility for decisions that will directly affect the performance of technical tasks and fit into the hierarchical structure of managerial authority.
An engineering manager’s career success relies heavily on their ability to make sound, data-informed decisions regarding technical matters. This can be incredibly challenging in this present climate of rapidly advancing technology.
What is an engineering manager?
An engineering manager is an experienced engineer who oversees the technical operations and personnel, such as engineers, professionals, and support staff, of a given team. This manager has likely already exhibited engineering excellence, leadership, collaboration, and accountability.
An early-career engineer may choose to stick to engineering and stay an individual technical contributor or develop more skills and become an engineering manager. To progress up the unique contributor ladder, an engineer usually needs to acquire higher-level qualifications in engineering.
The capabilities include a master’s degree or a Ph.D. in mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, conservation, architecture engineering, or the computational sciences (computer science, statistics, and computational and applied math).
For those interested in engineering management, the uottawa online management degree program is an industry-oriented, leadership-strengthening educational experience. This degree equips you with engineering and management abilities that enable you to use money, personnel, and technological sources more effectively to investigate, devise, enhance, and become successful.
Engineering management skills
Here are a few skills engineering managers should have and why they matter.
Leadership
As a manager of an engineering team, you are responsible for fostering a positive environment by offering vital support and guidance. This includes providing clear direction, handling disputes amicably, determining the best roles for team members, and motivating them to achieve their goals.
Managers with a clear purpose can cultivate confidence and motivate their staff by guiding while encouraging, authorizing, and believing in their employees to do their tasks effectively.
Decision-making
Engineering managers provide engineering teams leadership, solutions, and oversight. Exploring alternatives for decision-making could involve relying on experience, exercising logic, or trusting one’s instincts.
No matter what approach or combination of systems a manager chooses, they should remain adaptable when making choices, as different scenarios may necessitate diverse methods. Managers who can make courageous decisions often foster trust and dedication in their colleagues.
Responsibility
The results are the responsibility of the managers since they are the ones making the decisions. When the project is successful and yields positive results, the duty of celebrating its achievements is a joy that the entire team can enjoy.
When errors have been made, and it is evident that the decisions were incorrect, the engineering manager should take responsibility for the team. Managers should openly admit to their errors and use them as chances to gain knowledge and alter their approach.
Communication
Engineering managers require excellent communication skills to be successful. Not only do they manage teams of people, but they also communicate with individuals with different levels of technical knowledge.
Coming up with straightforward explanations of complex ideas takes a lot of work for engineers, as they must communicate with people from different backgrounds and understandings, such as clients, technicians, and other stakeholders. Good social skills are essential for conducting interviews, developing successful business relationships, and maintaining the team’s enthusiasm.
Attention to detail
Engineering requires precise and methodical problem-solving skills, and managers must demonstrate excellent attention to detail when tackling every aspect of their work. Minor errors within a sophisticated system can result in significant issues.
Engineering managers should have a thorough knowledge of every aspect of a project, including the capacity to review the accuracy and performance of their team’s efforts. To be effective in their roles, managers should possess an in-depth knowledge of their duties and a broad grasp of the overall situation. This will enable them to make sound decisions and exhibit strong leadership consistently.
Delegation
Another aspect of leadership involves assigning tasks to team members based on their capabilities and abilities. Leaders need to be able to recognize the larger picture of a project and allocate duties to other members of the team accordingly. When managers try to take on all the work solo, they set themselves up for failure, as exhaustion eventually takes its toll. To be successful, it is necessary to rely on others and work together.
When delegating, it is crucial to assign tasks and duties to team members and identify which employee is best suited to complete each one successfully. Although managers give functions to staff, they will still be monitoring the outcomes and need to be ready to respond to questions all along the way. Even those in management positions can benefit from self-improvement and developing their essential leadership skills, helping them meet their goals and those of their organization.
Areas that engineers progressing to management can specialize in
Here are some areas that engineers progressing to management can specialize in.
Chemical engineering managers
Chemical engineering involves transforming raw materials into a wide range of products, from skincare items and fuels to metals, paper, plastics, synthetic fibers, and medicines, by manipulating the substances’ chemical, physical, or biochemical properties.
Chemical engineering is incredibly gratifying as it strives to improve people’s quality of life. Moreover, chemical engineers are collaborating with virologists, immunologists, epidemiologists, and more to facilitate advances in conquering the COVID-19 crisis. Manufacturing equipment and optimizing methods such as freeze-drying are being employed to hasten the mass production and worldwide deployment of vaccines.
Chemical engineering managers are critical for successfully producing and implementing manufacturing designs. They must be able to carry out cost estimations, implement manufacturing processes, observe safety regulations, and assess resultant data to optimize engineering techniques and strategies.
Civil engineering managers
Civil engineers play an essential role in improving our lives by creating and sustaining infrastructure through projects that involve cutting-edge technology, such as building information modeling, digital twins, IoT, and robotics. Civil engineering managers typically specialize in one of the various fields. However, good leadership skills in managing projects and teams are essential to successfully conceptualize, design, construct, and maintain infrastructure.
Their critical tasks may include assessing a project’s potential value and risks through site investigations. They also lead teams on-site to complete a project while maintaining adherence to health and safety protocols and being mindful of potential environmental impacts.
Electrical engineering managers
Electrical engineering managers must know the mathematical and scientific principles that form the basis of electronic and electrical engineering. It helps to optimize circuit design, communication networks, power electronics, energy conversion, control circuits, and electric drives for many of the world’s biggest industries.
The growing need for knowledgeable, skilled, and technologically proficient workers in areas like renewable energy and solar power is contributing to expanding job opportunities in electrical engineering management. These roles can include designing and testing electrical systems with safety in mind, supervising the production of electrical systems, overseeing lighting installation, and seeking ways to cut down energy usage of existing electrical systems.
Mechanical engineering managers
Mechanical engineers utilize their technical skills and experience to create products and systems that significantly impact our lives. These skills are from sports gear to state-of-the-art hospital operating theatres, vehicles, transportation infrastructure, and industrial designs like oil rigs.
A mechanical engineering manager must have comprehensive capabilities to ensure efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable operations. In their daily jobs, mechanical engineers will use CAD and CAM to conceptualize, design, and test mechanical devices to find solutions to problems. They will assess test results and adjust plans to perfect their techniques, establish efficient production methods, and oversee product release.
Mechanical engineering is essential for increasing efficiency and crafting goods and services that fulfill current needs. A mechanical engineer must deploy robust research capabilities, project management skills, and an understanding of data to ensure the success of a project from beginning to end.
The role of management in engineering
Here are the leading roles of management in engineering.
Formulating and implementing engineering strategies
Developing and implementing engineering strategies involves creating a plan to optimize the engineering process and reach the desired performance targets. It consists of analyzing the current engineering process, setting goals, documenting and diary-keeping failures and prototypes, and then developing appropriate strategies to enable the engineering team to reach them.
These strategies include leveraging new technologies, cutting costs, improving quality, increasing efficiency, increasing staff training, and developing internal processes. Management should evaluate these strategies’ success and effectiveness by establishing a tracking, monitoring, and reporting system on progress and performance. To be successful, the engineering team must be supported, and the strategy must be actively communicated, monitored, and managed by all levels of management.
Managing projects and teams
Managing projects and teams requires the manager to develop and monitor clear goals for both the project and the team. They then set performance expectations, assign duties accordingly, resolve conflicts among team members, evaluate progress, and motivate and inspire team members to surpass expectations.
Successful management of projects and teams requires a solid understanding of engineering concepts and processes, strong collaboration and communication skills, and the ability to respond quickly to changing conditions.
Managing projects and teams in engineering also requires leading by example, setting good working relationships, and instilling a sense of responsibility among team members. Engineering management aims to create an environment of trust, collaboration, and success by successfully delivering projects on time and within budget.
Overseeing design & production processes
The role of management in engineering is to oversee the design and production processes. This involves setting goals and objectives for the design and production teams and following these processes.
Engineering managers are also responsible for ensuring the design concept is followed and implemented in production. This usually involves some form of project management, with management in engineering making sure that all areas of the production and design process are appropriately coordinated and completed on time and within budget.
They also oversee quality control in all process stages, ensuring the final product meets customer specifications. This helps ensure the product is safe and secure and meets all governing codes and requirements.
Coordinating resources
Coordinating resources recognizes and manages the physical, human, and financial resources required to complete a project or engineering task. It involves ensuring that the quantity, timing, and quality of resources meet the organization’s objectives and that the allocation and use of resources are most efficient and advantageous.
This includes determining the number and type of personnel, materials, and equipment needed and monitoring and optimizing the costs, supplies, and staff. Coordinating resources as a management role in engineering also involves delegating responsibility and authority among team members, reporting on resource utilization, and monitoring performance.
Monitoring quality control
Monitoring quality control ensures that the various products, components, and techniques used in manufacturing and engineering meet the expected quality standards.
This is done through various methods, such as inspection processes, tests, and audits, to identify and correct any possible defects or weaknesses before continuing the manufacturing process.
Monitoring quality control helps protect the company’s reputation, facilitate the production of quality products, and minimize customer complaints and product returns.
Developing new technologies
Developing new technologies involves the analysis of the current technology landscape, evaluating new technologies, and introducing new technologies into the organization. The management team must prioritize engineering advancements to improve efficiency, safety, and profitability.
The management team must have a strategic roadmap and goals for developing the new technologies. This may include working with existing vendors, vendors with limited experience, and independent research and development groups.
The team should also assess any potential risks associated with developing new technology and set timelines and budgets for its development. Also, the management team should support the engineering team in communicating progress and managing stakeholders’ expectations, including customers.
Final thoughts
Management plays a vital role in engineering projects. Managers are responsible for setting goals, creating project plans, managing resources, coordinating teams, and ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget. They help ensure that engineering projects are successful and provide the desired outcomes.
Managers also help maintain a high level of quality and safety for engineering projects while ensuring that projects remain cost-effective for the company. Ultimately, managers play a critical role in engineering and are primarily responsible for the success or failure of engineering projects.