What Does a Cartography Manager Do?
Proof sheets of a new county map, covered in notes about labels and line weights, have to pass a cartography manager's review before anything is released. The job is to run a map production unit at a government agency or mapping company: setting design standards, schedules and budgets, assigning work to cartographers and GIS staff and signing off on each finished map.
Also known as: Cartographic Shop Manager
Cartography Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a cartography manager include:
- Plan map production schedules and assign projects to cartographers and GIS technicians.
- Set design and data standards so every map from the unit looks and reads the same.
- Review finished maps for accuracy, clarity and style before release.
- Prepare budgets and cost estimates for map projects and outside clients.
- Hire, train and evaluate cartographers, GIS analysts and student staff.
- Manage software licenses, plotters and map servers with the IT department.
- Negotiate data sharing and licensing agreements with agencies and vendors.
- Meet clients to define map requirements, deadlines and delivery formats.
- Oversee printing, including proofs and color checks with outside printers.
- Report on project status, backlog and revenue to senior leaders.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a cartography manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Deep GIS and cartography experience
- Esri ArcGIS Enterprise administration
- Staff supervision and scheduling
- Budgeting and client billing
- Map design and editorial judgment
- Print production and color proofing
- Data licensing and copyright basics
- Project tools such as Smartsheet or Microsoft Project
Education and Training
With experience, you could progress from cartographer to lead cartographer and then manager of a map unit. Most managers hold a bachelor's degree in geography or GIS, which matches the typical entry education BLS lists for the group. Some add a GISP certification.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: varies widely for this role, and BLS does not publish pay for it separately. In the wider BLS group it belongs to (Managers, All Other), the middle half of earners made $102,880 to $186,300 a year, and the median was $141,900.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Managers, All Other.
BLS files this job under managers, all other, a catch-all group it projects to grow about 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. That group is broad, with roughly 100,900 openings a year across every kind of organization. Its pay figures cover many kinds of managers, so they are only a loose guide for a map unit, where pay tends to follow the size of the agency or company.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Managers, all other.