How to hire an automation specialist

How to hire an automation specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step automation specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an automation specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new automation specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an automation specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your automation specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an automation specialist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An automation specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, automation specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of automation specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Automation Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Automation Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$27-50
   Automation Engineer	An automation engineer takes charge of developing detailed design specifications and any other documents. Automation engineers develop automation software that is based on certain requirements for the involved process... Show more	$33-58

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Email Marketing
   • Java
   • PLC
   • Salesforce
   • HMI
   • Customer Service
   • CRM
   • Control Systems
   • B Testing
   • Project Management
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Automation Systems
   • Marketo

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a large SCADA communications replacement project.
   • Manage integration of data associate with critical systems into enterprise SCADA system.
   • Manage multiple imaging-relate projects across both radiology and cardiology service lines, both inpatient and outpatient, to completion.
   • Verify customer issues by running Microsoft SQL scripts on host and non host servers.
   • Assist customers with lock out Novell account.
   • Develop high performance test tools using Java and Perl

   More automation specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your automation specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An automation specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, automation specialists' average salary in alaska is 40% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level automation specialists earn 45% less than senior-level automation specialists.
   • Certifications. An automation specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an automation specialist's salary.

   Average automation specialist salary

   $77,750yearly

   $37.38 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level automation specialist salary

   $57,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average automation specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$100,403	$48
   2	New York	$94,006	$45
   3	Washington	$92,541	$44
   4	Louisiana	$87,704	$42
   5	Maryland	$86,283	$41
   6	Virginia	$85,269	$41
   7	Texas	$84,138	$40
   8	New Jersey	$83,388	$40
   9	Arizona	$80,994	$39
   10	Massachusetts	$80,540	$39
   11	Ohio	$80,177	$39
   12	Pennsylvania	$79,369	$38
   13	Michigan	$79,171	$38
   14	Kentucky	$78,122	$38
   15	District of Columbia	$76,290	$37
   16	Utah	$76,240	$37
   17	Oregon	$76,231	$37
   18	Illinois	$75,595	$36
   19	North Carolina	$75,299	$36
   20	New Hampshire	$73,798	$35

   Average automation specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$118,479	$56.96	34
   2	Meta	$117,048	$56.27	20
   3	Google	$115,927	$55.73	4
   4	Microsoft	$114,864	$55.22	17
   5	Novo Nordisk	$111,376	$53.55	2
   6	Invesco	$101,336	$48.72
   7	Amgen	$100,601	$48.37	3
   8	Masimo	$98,627	$47.42	1
   9	Merck	$98,433	$47.32	4
   10	Cricut	$97,436	$46.84
   11	Eastman	$96,205	$46.25
   12	Ford Motor	$96,064	$46.18	23
   13	Amazon	$95,518	$45.92	135
   14	Extreme Networks	$94,938	$45.64
   15	Atlantic Capital Bank	$93,751	$45.07
   16	Air Products	$93,736	$45.07
   17	FCA US LLC	$92,915	$44.67	6
   18	Payscale	$92,763	$44.60
   19	Acadian Asset Management	$91,655	$44.06
   20	Stanley Black & Decker	$91,173	$43.83	1

4. Writing an automation specialist job description

   A job description for an automation specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an automation specialist job description:

   Automation specialist job description example

   We are seeking an experienced Marketing Automation Specialist to join our Marketing Automation team within Revenue Operations. We're looking for a highly motivated and intelligent individual who can make an immediate positive impact. Your mission is to design, build, measure, and improve the effectiveness of our marketing automation using Marketo. In this role, you can have a significant impact in an already rapidly growing company. You will work closely with marketing, sales, and executive management teams.
   
   In 2005, Smartsheet was founded on the idea that teams and millions of people worldwide deserve a better way to deliver their very best work. Today, we deliver a leading cloud-based platform for work execution, empowering organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale, resulting in more efficient processes and better business outcomes.
   This role reports to our Manager, Marketing Automation based in the US.
   
   You Will:
   
   Understand and help improve our marketing automation strategy and process. Build and maintain automated marketing campaigns with performance focus. Lead nurturing - iterate to find the best timing and message to move leads down the funnel. A/B test emails and landing pages - plan, build, execute and analyze. Own data hygiene process including deduping, database size management, and cleansing. Build out complex campaigns in a clear and maintainable manner. Analyze what's working and what's not. Drive customer acquisition, retention numbers, and engagement metrics to goal.
   You Have:
   
   1 - 2 years of related job experience. Experience with email marketing - Marketo preferred. Bachelor's degree in business or equivalent discipline. Metrics/analysis/results orientation. Proactive approach - ability to work with minimal guidance, set and adjust priorities. Exceptional attention to detail. Strong communication skills. Agility to quickly adjust priorities and shift direction. Achievers mindset - you don't want a job, you want to make a huge impact.
   
   Perks & Benefits:
   
   Fully paid Health & Life insurance for full-time employees and family members Monthly stipend to support your work and productivity 12 days paid Vacation + Flexible Time Away Program 20 weeks fully paid Maternity Leave 12 weeks fully paid Paternity/Adoption Leave Personal paid Volunteer Day to support our community Opportunities for professional growth and development including access to LinkedIn Learning online courses Company Funded Perks including a counseling membership and your own personal Smartsheet account Teleworking options from any registered location in Costa Rica (role specific)
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer:
   
   Smartsheet is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment with the best employees. We provide employment opportunities without regard to any legally protected status in accordance with applicable laws in the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Costa Rica. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.
   
   At Smartsheet, we strive to build an inclusive environment that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices of our team members who also represent the diverse needs of our customers. We're looking for people who are driven, authentic, supportive, effective, and honest. You're encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match our job description-if your career path has been nontraditional, that will set you apart. At Smartsheet, we welcome diverse perspectives and people who aren't afraid to be innovative-join us!
   
   #BI-Remote
   
   #LI-Remote

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find automation specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your automation specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit automation specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting automation specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   If your interviews with automation specialist applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new automation specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect automation specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new automation specialist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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