I'm looking for an eloquent word, if one exists, for a role in one's profession whereby they direct and mentor a team with a particular set of skills, but also clearly engage in work with said skills themselves. My concern is that one might think a "Director" may not necessarily engage in the work themselves, but rather oversee it without getting their hands into it, per se.
For example, a "Design and Development Director" may not actually sit down and do design or development work, but rather oversee a team of designers and developers who actually do the work. That's how I've always thought of that type of role, at least.
I know roles that include "Lead" or "Senior" in the title are common, but I don't feel like those terms convey a true sense of the level of leadership and directional command that the term "Director" does.
Am I asking for a rare word, or even a word that doesn't exist? Or is there a common word that conveys both a sense of command as well as a sense of engagement, simultaneously? Alternately, if there's an eloquent word pairing that fits this quest, I'm open to exploring that as well.
