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How to hire a commercial engineer

Commercial engineer hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring commercial engineers in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a commercial engineer is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new commercial engineer to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a commercial engineer, step by step

To hire a commercial engineer, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a commercial engineer:

Here's a step-by-step commercial 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 commercial engineer job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial engineer
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the commercial engineer you need to hire. Certain commercial 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?

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

    Type of Commercial EngineerDescriptionHourly rate
    Commercial Engineer$32-74
    EngineerEngineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects... Show more$31-62
    Design EngineerA design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs... Show more$27-49
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • HVAC
    • Plumbing
    • Customer Support
    • Technical Training
    • OEM
    • Technical Support
    • Autocad
    • Technical Sales
    • Customer Interaction
    • Business Management
    • Sigma
    • Ethernet
    • NPI
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
    • Experience in participating in NPI meetings.
    • Propose alternative solutions according to NEMA and/or IEC standards for power and motion requirements.
    • Include: installations of appliances, painting, plumbing, electrical repairs, locksmithing, etc.
    • Demonstrate knowledge in ladder logic programming, RSLogix5000 development tool, DeviceNet, EtherNet, ControlNet protocols.
    • Develop fabrication instructions via AutoCad.
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the commercial engineer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A commercial engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a commercial engineer in Florida may be lower than in New Mexico, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level commercial engineer. Additionally, a commercial engineer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average commercial engineer salary

    $102,947yearly

    $49.49 hourly rate

    Entry-level commercial engineer salary
    $68,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 16, 2025

    Average commercial engineer salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$120,531$58
    2Texas$110,365$53
    3Connecticut$101,008$49
    4Colorado$99,455$48
    5Montana$95,618$46
    6Ohio$95,556$46
    7Kentucky$91,622$44
    8Georgia$87,533$42
    9New York$87,426$42
    10Wisconsin$83,956$40
    11Michigan$81,199$39

    Average commercial engineer salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Nike$131,182$63.07
    2BP America Inc$129,331$62.18
    3Estée Lauder$120,980$58.162
    4Eurofins$116,971$56.24
    5Suez Water Inc$116,872$56.19
    6ABM Industries$115,858$55.706
    7B & P Enterprises$113,212$54.43
    8GST AutoLeather$109,076$52.44
    9Hollingsworth & Vose$106,992$51.44
    10Niagara Bottling$106,137$51.03
    11Related Companies$101,020$48.57
    12Vestas Blades America$99,137$47.66
    13Spectrum$95,316$45.83
    14DISYS$94,961$45.65
    15Pratt & Whitney$93,379$44.89
    16Rockwell Automation$91,225$43.86
    17Raytheon Technologies$85,328$41.029
  4. Writing a commercial engineer job description

    A job description for a commercial engineer 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 a commercial engineer job description:

    Commercial engineer job description example

    • This position requires US Citizenship or Permanent Resident status due to the sensitivity of customer related information.
    • Education: Must have a bachelor's degree in the field of engineering, or a related field.
    • Years of Experience: Must have 5+ years of recent and related work experience.
    • Ability to communicate reliability technical data/analyses to management.
    • Ability to interface effectively with hardware and systems engineers to develop comprehensive understanding of SLS hardware, operations, and performance.
    • Ability to gather, analyze, interpret, and integrate failure data.
    • Effective working within a team environment and as a stand-alone subject matter expert.

    WORK LOCATION:

    This position is located onsite; no hybrid or remote working will be available for this position.


    BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS REQUIRED:

    All Bastion employees must be able to pass a national agency check, some positions require a clearance and will require an extensive background verification/check process.


    DRUG AND ALCOHOL SCREENING REQUIRED:

    All Bastion employees must be able to pass pre-employment drug screen; some contracts require participation in periodic random drug and alcohol screening programs.


    STANDARD BASTION REQUIREMENTS:

    All of Bastion's employees must be team players, able to communicate effectively with internal and external customers, able to follow company programs, processes, procedures, practices, requirements, goals, and objectives, they must have a strong work ethic and must be safety culture oriented. In addition, they must have experience with Microsoft Office Suite, and must be organized with good time management skills.


    BASTION BENEFITS:

    Bastion offers a wide range of benefits for their full-time employees; medical, prescription, dental, vision, AD&D, disability benefits, life insurance, retirement 401k, vacation, sick pay, holidays, and flexible work schedules (when available). We also support career advancement through professional training and development.


    INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY:

    At Bastion, we are passionate about our people and our safety culture. We are committed to a journey toward being a more inclusive and diverse company, that philosophy fosters an environment of collaboration across cultures. Individual thoughts, opinions, and perspectives bring value and help us develop solutions for challenging problems, they make us more inventive, and more resilient.


    VACCINE MANDATE:

    In compliance with the U.S. federal government's vaccine mandate, only candidates who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or who have a reasonable accommodation or approved medical exception will be considered for this position.


    Bastion is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

    Bastion participates in e-Verify.



    Job Posted by ApplicantPro
  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find commercial engineers 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 commercial engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit commercial engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with commercial 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.

    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.

    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 commercial engineer

    Once you've found the commercial engineer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new commercial engineer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  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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How much does it cost to hire a commercial engineer?

Hiring a commercial engineer comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting commercial engineers involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of commercial engineer recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

You can expect to pay around $102,947 per year for a commercial engineer, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for commercial engineers in the US typically range between $32 and $74 an hour.

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