That's an interesting angle I hadn't thought of—-thanks for bringing it up. I would imagine that in such cases a manager doesn't need to know the intricacies of how an engineer does the work. More like, the manager just has to define and gauge the results. Work with engineers to define rational deliverables, say? Quality of product? That's a whole science in and of itself, but I can't imagine how a boss would have the ability to give you feedback without going through that process, even if it's a rigorous task to determine how to measure the work. Setting goals/deliverables/timetables/QoS is a task for which, I'd think, your input would be instrumental.