Hiring an architectural and engineering manager in Phoenix, AZ

Employers in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area pay architectural and engineering managers a median of $169,310, with the middle half of the market between $138,180 and $212,930. Phoenix residents working in management occupations report a median of $84,591, which is 50% below what the metro pays for this role.

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What does an architectural and engineering manager earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$138,180
Median	$169,310
75th percentile	$212,930

Half of architectural and engineering managers in this area earn between $138,180 and $212,930. A band set below $138,180 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Phoenix residents earn

$84,591

Median earnings of Phoenix residents working in management occupations, 87,260 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 50% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Phoenix rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

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.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 11-9041.

Tools and technologies in demand

Autodesk AutoCAD, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Web Services AWS software.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Phoenix?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 32.3% of Phoenix adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Phoenix commute runs 25.7 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 16.9% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Maricopa County, management of companies and enterprises employs 39,427 and turns over 7.3% a quarter, with 4,295 hires against 3,811 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $9,762 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 55.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about architectural and engineering managers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $33,862 to $50,793 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.