Development directors are involved in the planning, organisation, monitoring and coordination of projects. Furthermore, they are responsible for the optimisation of products and processes. They usually have an engineering background and can work in a many different industries, where they perform a wide variety of tasks.
The career prospects for development directors in Germany are excellent. They can find jobs in the private as well as in the public sector, for instance in the construction or food industry, in research departments of companies or research facilities of universities.
Development directors plan and implement projects. In this context, they need to deal with a great variety of technical details. Cost planning and employee assignment belong to their tasks as well. Besides, they are often involved in the design of new products. Development directors have a very high level of responsibility regarding the successful implementation of projects and thus hold management positions with extensive competencies.
Development directors must have a multitude of different hard skills and soft skills: They need to be familiar with technical topics and must have good management skills at the same time. Besides, a relevant diploma or master’s degree is usually required.
The monthly starting salary of development directors amounts to between EUR 3,500 and EUR 4,500. With increasing professional experience and depending on region, industry and company size, their salaries may rise to well over EUR 6,000 per month. As development directors hold management positions, their salaries are high compared to those of other professions.
