How to hire a cisco network engineer

How to hire a cisco network engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step cisco network engineer hiring guide:

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

What does a cisco network engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the cisco network engineer you need to hire. Certain cisco network engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A cisco network engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, cisco network engineers 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of cisco network engineers.

   Type of Cisco Network Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Cisco Network Engineer	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$35-62
   Administrator	Administrators are administrative professionals who oversee the whole office or department. They manage office activities and supervise administrative functions in the office... Show more	$22-54
   Network Support Analyst	Network support analysts are professionals who provide technical support as well as maintain various network components for an organization's network system. These analysts are responsible for installing and configuring local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), internet systems, and other components of network systems... Show more	$25-61

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Switches
   • Firewall
   • CCNA
   • Troubleshoot
   • VoIP
   • Network Infrastructure
   • BGP
   • Lan Wan
   • OSPF
   • VPN
   • Nexus
   • VMware
   • Lan
   • IOS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Install, configure, design, troubleshoot, manage & maintain hardware & software that comprise the LAN/WAN infrastructure.
   • Manage, operate and analyze results from Sourcefire detection systems.
   • Support service provider DHCP & DNS products.
   • Used Cisco IOS for troubleshooting sites for up and down time.
   • Upgrade the remote access (VPN) and firewall environment for the entire organization.
   • Configure routing protocol: EIGRP OSPF and redundant protocols like HSRP and some GLBP.iii.

   More cisco network engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your cisco network engineer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A cisco network engineer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, cisco network engineers' average salary in nebraska is 40% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level cisco network engineers earn 44% less than senior-level cisco network engineers.
   • Certifications. A cisco network engineer 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 a cisco network engineer's salary.

   Average cisco network engineer salary

   $98,143yearly

   $47.18 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level cisco network engineer salary

   $73,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average cisco network engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$122,079	$59
   2	Washington	$119,342	$57
   3	Pennsylvania	$105,068	$51
   4	West Virginia	$103,588	$50
   5	Maryland	$99,724	$48
   6	Virginia	$97,740	$47
   7	Connecticut	$95,160	$46
   8	New York	$92,996	$45
   9	Ohio	$92,699	$45
   10	Georgia	$91,947	$44
   11	Texas	$91,040	$44
   12	North Carolina	$89,613	$43
   13	South Carolina	$89,244	$43
   14	Wisconsin	$87,869	$42
   15	Minnesota	$86,933	$42
   16	Colorado	$84,949	$41
   17	Missouri	$81,240	$39
   18	Iowa	$81,205	$39
   19	Florida	$80,372	$39
   20	Kansas	$78,936	$38

   Average cisco network engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cisco	$115,139	$55.36	218
   2	J.P. Morgan	$112,737	$54.20
   3	TEKsystems	$112,363	$54.02	77
   4	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$108,967	$52.39	22
   5	Sentinel Technologies	$108,290	$52.06	4
   6	J. Morrissey & Company	$107,178	$51.53
   7	Randstad North America, Inc.	$104,729	$50.35	5
   8	Javelin	$104,663	$50.32
   9	Control Group	$101,961	$49.02
   10	Sentinel	$101,950	$49.01
   11	Management Recruiters International(MRI)	$101,189	$48.65	5
   12	Motion Recruitment	$101,063	$48.59	15
   13	World Wide Technology	$100,712	$48.42	4
   14	Robert Half	$100,027	$48.09	75
   15	PEAKE	$98,217	$47.22	6
   16	Delta Air Lines	$97,321	$46.79
   17	Recruit	$97,242	$46.75	1
   18	SAIC	$96,333	$46.31	64
   19	Jacobs Enterprises	$95,982	$46.15	126
   20	Science	$95,973	$46.14	1

4. Writing a cisco network engineer job description

   A cisco network engineer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a cisco network engineer job description:

   Cisco network engineer job description example

   Job Title: Sr Network Engineer [Wi-Fi] To support Cisco ACI Data Center Network.
   
   Job Type: Permanent Full time career opportunity on client payroll
   
   Location: Hybrid with min 2 days onsite @SF BAY AREA CA
   
   Experience level:
   
   (7) seven years of progressively responsible and directly related work experience including
   
   minimum of 5 years of network engineering experience in critical datacenter network environments.
   
   License/Certification: CCNA/CCNP/CCIE/ CCIE lab
   
   Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
   
   Expert level knowledge of network administration, routing/switching and engineering in mission critical environments servicing large server deployments.
   Knowledge of a wide variety of network equipment including but not limited to; routers, switches, firewalls, denial of service mitigation, serial consoles, and load balancers.
   Requires strong working knowledge of Cisco network hardware, software, LAN/WAN connectivity, Experience managing and documenting wireless networks, overlaying APs onto CAD (or similar) blueprints for heat mapping, and with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, RF design and WLAN fundamentals.
   Experience designing controller clustering, failover methods and caveats, group management, AP modes of operation, patching, RF management, similar tasks
   Advanced understanding of BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VDC, vPC and ECMP
   Proven ability with wireless optimizations, including AP placement, achieving ideal signal levels, optimized roaming, spectrum selection, channel tuning, cell optimization, QoS, and more.
   Strong leadership and project management abilities. Ability to lead cross-functional project teams in implementing projects of a complex nature.
   Proficiency with applications (Spreadsheets, apps, systems, how to run them).
   Excellent documentation and communication skills.
   Must perform all duties and responsibilities in accordance with the policies and procedures, including its Service Standards and its Code of Conduct.
   Design, implementation, support and maintenance of WAN, LAN, Data Center and Cisco ACI deployments to include Application Delivery Controllers and Firewalls.
   Cisco wireless and related technology Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC), Mobility Services Engines (MSE), Cisco Prime Infrastructure (CPI), Wireless Access Points (WAP), AnyConnect wireless supplicant & Identity Services Engine (ISE)
   Experience with Cisco ISE including configuring and maintaining DACL, Policy Sets, VLAN mapping, 802.1x, TACACS, Radius, Profiling, Posture Checking, and troubleshooting authentication failures
   11i wireless knowledge including EAP methods including EAP-TLS, certificates, authentication, supplicant integration on Microsoft Windows clients.
   Network operations excellence supporting a highly available, mission critical network environment.
   Participation in the documentation processes including network diagrams, staff contacts, vendor contacts, utilization of monitoring/resource/inventory management tools.
   Optimizing the stability and reliability of the technology's performance.
   Implementing new and additional technologies that will improve the infrastructure.
   Working with managers to develop standards in line with the company guidelines and monitoring those standards.
   Assisting with the resolution of escalated issues and actively participating in problem management activities.
   Cross-training other IT staff members in the maintenance or usage of the technology.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right cisco network engineer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with cisco network engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit cisco network engineers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your cisco network engineer job on Zippia to find and attract quality cisco network engineer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with cisco network engineer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with cisco network engineer 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 cisco network engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect cisco network engineer 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.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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