Occupation salary profile

Architectural and Engineering Managers

SOC 11-9041 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields. Excludes “Natural Sciences Managers” (11-9121).

National median · BLS
$171,270
▲ +2.1% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$182,728
▲ +3.55% YoY · 2,336 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$181,540
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
220,260
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Architectural and Engineering Managers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 2,336 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$120,810$132,460
25th$139,360$151,698
Median (50th)$171,270$182,728
75th$212,500$218,837
90th — top pay$262,760$253,918
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $182,728 for Architectural and Engineering Managers — 6.7% above the BLS national median of $171,270.

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Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Architectural and Engineering Managers

BLS projects employment of architectural and engineering managers to grow 5.5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 14,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
220,900 → 233,100
+12,200 jobs
Projected change
+5.5%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
14,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus 5 years or more experience
Self-employed
0.2% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $182,728
Change vs prior year +3.55%
After inflation (CPI-U) +0.41%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 386 16.5% $124,710 $140,000 $168,000
Level II 744 31.8% $150,000 $169,250 $208,031
Level III 475 20.3% $175,136 $197,669 $238,512
Level IV 501 21.4% $207,384 $225,000 $270,733
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Architectural and Engineering Managers

The 16 most-filed job titles inside SOC 11-9041, from 2,336 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Engineering Manager 206 8.82% $146,037 $172,193 $207,747 +0.47%
Project Manager 75 3.21% $123,350 $142,000 $172,497 +5.19%
Product Manager 66 2.83% $175,282 $207,184 $224,598 +16.66%
Manager, Engineering 48 2.05% $165,817 $208,125 $224,250 +12.27%
Program Manager 40 1.71% $134,598 $155,625 $190,027 +5.87%
Software Engineering Manager 37 1.58% $170,518 $243,256 $264,000 +15.84%
Director of Engineering 36 1.54% $154,500 $218,679 $267,886 +8.58%
Technical Program Manager 24 1.03% $159,780 $182,728 $215,560 +5.63%
Technical Manager 21 0.9% $144,248 $144,955 $175,000 -9.2%
Manager, Software Engineering 20 0.86% $161,798 $184,423 $212,557 -9.73%
Manager Systems Software 17 0.73% $224,000 $224,000 $224,000 -1.18%
Principal Engineer 15 0.64% $184,046 $208,603 $216,784 +7.59%
Engineering Program Manager 14 0.6% $165,162 $173,596 $189,810 +11.89%
Design Verification Manager 14 0.6% $201,300 $223,700 $228,100 +7.13%
Vice President of Engineering 14 0.6% $211,678 $249,602 $312,500 +24.8%
Manager, Hardware Engineering 12 0.51% $213,512 $213,512 $236,046 +2.59%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Architectural and Engineering Managers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.9
  • Mathematics3.9
  • Time Management3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Design4.3
  • Engineering and Technology4.3
  • Mathematics3.9
  • Administration and Management3.9
  • English Language3.9
  • Customer and Personal Service3.8
  • Mechanical3.7
  • Computers and Electronics3.4
Software and technology used
Autodesk AutoCADMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointAmazon DynamoDBAmazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2Amazon RedshiftAmazon Web Services AWS softwareAnsible softwareApache CassandraApache HadoopApache HiveApache KafkaApache MavenApple macOSAtlassian ConfluenceAtlassian JIRAAutodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What architectural and engineering managers do

  • Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or engineering projects.
  • Direct, review, or approve project design changes.
  • Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.
  • Prepare budgets, bids, or contracts.
  • Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients.
  • Confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures.
  • Assess project feasibility by analyzing technology, resource needs, or market demand.
  • Review, recommend, or approve contracts or cost estimates.
Also called
Engineering DirectorEngineering Program ManagerProject Engineering ManagerProject ManagerCivil Engineering ManagerElectrical Engineering ManagerEngineering Group ManagerMechanical Engineering ManagerProcess Engineering Manager
Specialties within this occupation
  • Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers
More job titles for this occupation (42)
Analytical Research Program ManagerArchitect ManagerArchitectural Project ManagerBiodiesel Division ManagerBiodiesel Engineering ManagerBiodiesel Product Development ManagerBiodiesel Product ManagerBiodiesel Technology Development ManagerBiodiesel Technology ManagerBiofuels Engineering ManagerBiofuels ManagerBiofuels Product Development ManagerBiofuels Product ManagerBiofuels Technology Development ManagerBiofuels Technology ManagerBusiness Development and New Technology ManagerCivil Project Manager (Civil PM)Data Engineering DirectorData Engineering ManagerElectrical Engineering DirectorElectrical Project Manager (Electrical PM)Electronics Engineering ManagerEngineering Design ManagerEngineering Project ManagerEngineering Project SpecialistEngineering Research ManagerEngineering SupervisorEnvironmental Engineering ManagerFermentation ManagerGlobal Engineering ManagerLaboratory Manager (Lab Manager)Mechanical Engineering DirectorMechanical Project Manager (MPM)Product Development DirectorProject CoordinatorProject Development DirectorPrototype Engineer ManagerResearch and Development Manager (R&D Manager)Research Development ManagerResearch ManagerTechnology Development OwnerTransmitter Engineer-in-Charge

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.