What Does a Medical Illustration Manager Do?
Medical schools and teaching hospitals need a wide range of images depending on the audience and the deadline. Whether the request is a surgical drawing, a journal figure, or an animation for patients, a medical illustration manager has to match it to the right artist and make sure every structure is drawn correctly. The job usually means running a small studio of illustrators, photographers and animators.
Also known as: Chief of Medical Illustration Service
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Art Director, Art Supervisor, Creative Director (CD Director), Creative Manager, Creative Services Director, Creative Services Manager, Design Director, Graphic Design and Art Production Manager.
Medical Illustration Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a medical illustration manager include:
- Lead a team of medical illustrators, photographers and animators, assigning projects by skill and deadline.
- Take requests from surgeons, faculty and researchers; agree scope, cost and delivery dates.
- Review sketches and final art with subject experts to confirm anatomical and clinical accuracy.
- Set the unit's budget and internal billing rates, and report income and spending each year.
- Direct clinical and surgical photography, following patient consent and privacy rules such as HIPAA.
- Hire, train and evaluate illustration staff and supervise student interns.
- Choose and maintain software and equipment, from drawing tablets to 3D modeling programs.
- Manage copyright, licensing and permissions for images used in journals, textbooks and lectures.
- Organize the studio's image library with keywords so faculty can find and reuse past work.
- Create illustrations and animations personally for high-profile projects when the schedule demands it.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a medical illustration manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Expert medical illustration and anatomy knowledge
- Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
- 3D and animation tools such as Maya, ZBrush or Blender
- Staff supervision and project scheduling
- Budgeting and internal billing
- Patient privacy rules (HIPAA) for clinical images
- Copyright and image licensing
- Diplomacy with physicians and senior faculty
Education and Training
A medical illustration manager is distinguished from a staff illustrator in that most of the week goes to scheduling, budgets and reviewing other people's art. Most have a bachelor's degree and five or more years of experience as medical illustrators, and many hold a master's from an accredited program. Some come up through photography instead.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $82,480 - $162,640 per year, with a median of $114,850.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Art Directors.
Employment of art directors, the wider group that includes medical illustration managers, should grow about 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,200 openings a year across all industries, according to BLS. Only a small share of those openings are in medicine. In a single hospital studio, promotion may be slow.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Art directors.
Medical Illustration Manager Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $64,900 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $82,480 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $114,850 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $162,640 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $213,050 |
Highest-Paying States for Medical Illustration Managers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Massachusetts ($149,320), California ($137,780), New York ($137,320), Oregon ($133,840), New Hampshire ($132,000). Pay is lowest in Mississippi ($66,020), West Virginia ($63,550), Kansas ($60,460).
Median pay in all 46 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $77,220 |
| Alaska | $75,200 |
| Arkansas | $71,930 |
| California | $137,780 |
| Colorado | $99,990 |
| Connecticut | $71,900 |
| Florida | $99,660 |
| Georgia | $110,430 |
| Hawaii | $89,300 |
| Idaho | $80,680 |
| Illinois | $103,550 |
| Indiana | $105,690 |
| Iowa | $80,940 |
| Kansas | $60,460 |
| Kentucky | $76,160 |
| Louisiana | $83,640 |
| Maine | $100,300 |
| Maryland | $98,400 |
| Massachusetts | $149,320 |
| Michigan | $86,660 |
| Minnesota | $109,700 |
| Mississippi | $66,020 |
| Missouri | $100,940 |
| Montana | $73,850 |
| Nebraska | $73,270 |
| Nevada | $98,070 |
| New Hampshire | $132,000 |
| New Jersey | $129,200 |
| New York | $137,320 |
| North Carolina | $90,000 |
| North Dakota | $83,170 |
| Ohio | $94,390 |
| Oklahoma | $80,680 |
| Oregon | $133,840 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,450 |
| Rhode Island | $72,550 |
| South Carolina | $87,990 |
| South Dakota | $66,610 |
| Tennessee | $89,860 |
| Texas | $88,270 |
| Utah | $106,500 |
| Vermont | $129,260 |
| Virginia | $101,150 |
| Washington | $121,170 |
| West Virginia | $63,550 |
| Wisconsin | $81,130 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as art directors about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 94% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 93% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 92% use email every day
- 88% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 76% work against deadlines every day
- 67% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
- 62% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 68% |
| High school diploma or GED | 10% |
| Master's degree | 8% |
| Some college | 6% |
Tools and Software Medical Illustration Managers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy creative work and self-expression as well as leading, persuading and making business decisions.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Coordination.
Knowledge areas used most: Design, English Language, Computers and Electronics, Fine Arts, Communications and Media.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Medical Illustration Manager Job
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 27-1011.00 (Art Directors). View on O*NET OnLine.
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