How to hire a compliance engineer

How to hire a compliance engineer, step by step

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

What does a compliance engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a compliance engineer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect compliance engineer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents compliance engineer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Compliance Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Compliance Engineer	Industrial engineers find ways to eliminate wastefulness in production processes. They devise efficient systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service.	$32-66
   Industrial Engineering Internship	An industrial engineer intern is a student working in a company to do industrial engineering tasks. Industrial engineering interns assist industrial engineers... Show more	$13-25
   Manufacturing Engineering Internship	A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure... Show more	$19-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Regulatory Compliance
   • ISO
   • Project Management
   • UL
   • Product Safety
   • RF
   • IEC
   • Regulatory Standards
   • CSA
   • Compliance Issues
   • Product Compliance
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Safety Standards
   • Corrective Action

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Facilitate and manage CAPA investigations from creation through verification of effectiveness and closure.
   • Transition UL safety certifications to CSA and help integrate separate quality system processes into single quality system.
   • Convert non-EU RoHS compliant products to EU RoHS compliant products from board to component.
   • Conduct internal and external audits for customers, subcontractors and regulatory agencies (FAA, ISO, etc .).
   • Perform in-house EMC tests including rf emissions measurements.
   • Provide training in hazard/risk analysis methods FMEA, FTA, FMECA.

   More compliance engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your compliance engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A compliance engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a compliance engineer in South Dakota may be lower than in California, and an entry-level compliance engineer usually earns less than a senior-level compliance engineer. Additionally, a compliance engineer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average compliance engineer salary

   $97,578yearly

   $46.91 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level compliance engineer salary

   $68,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average compliance engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$129,149	$62
   2	Washington	$111,608	$54
   3	Massachusetts	$102,372	$49
   4	Texas	$100,853	$48
   5	Georgia	$100,808	$48
   6	Arizona	$98,826	$48
   7	Kansas	$97,932	$47
   8	Minnesota	$91,534	$44
   9	District of Columbia	$90,613	$44
   10	Colorado	$88,124	$42
   11	North Carolina	$87,574	$42
   12	Maryland	$86,626	$42
   13	New York	$86,399	$42
   14	Ohio	$82,768	$40
   15	Iowa	$80,932	$39
   16	Pennsylvania	$79,600	$38
   17	Nebraska	$75,851	$36
   18	Wisconsin	$73,521	$35
   19	Indiana	$73,200	$35

   Average compliance engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$166,445	$80.02	261
   2	Apple	$149,775	$72.01	137
   3	Microsoft	$147,086	$70.71	44
   4	First Republic Bank	$136,180	$65.47
   5	Palo Alto Networks	$135,789	$65.28	15
   6	Oculus	$131,861	$63.39
   7	Cisco	$128,141	$61.61	15
   8	Fitbit	$128,030	$61.55
   9	Amazon	$127,817	$61.45	119
   10	Magic Leap	$127,056	$61.08
   11	Netgear	$125,781	$60.47
   12	Tallgrass Energy	$119,883	$57.64
   13	Denodo	$118,258	$56.85
   14	Hyve Solutions	$115,742	$55.65	12
   15	Slack	$115,057	$55.32
   16	Control4	$113,882	$54.75
   17	Fortinet	$110,518	$53.13	5
   18	Faraday Technology	$108,657	$52.24
   19	Qualys	$107,956	$51.90
   20	Sonos	$106,720	$51.31	3

4. Writing a compliance engineer job description

   A good compliance engineer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a compliance engineer job description:

   Compliance engineer job description example

   Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
   Establish, review and execute test plans and with the help of the Compliance Manager. Work with a recognized Testing Laboratory to ensure that submitted products conform to all the specified standards. Position requires extension work with the testing laboratory to ensure that the products under test complete the compliance testing per the established schedule.
   Conduct product safety, EMC, Telecom, NEBS, ETSI and related testing to determine compliance with applicable standards.Resolution of non-compliance issues encountered during product testing Assemble data sheet packages and similar product materials specification for review by Compliance Manager and outside Agencies (working with the responsible engineering development members) Executes the timely completion of supporting documentation as necessary. Provide project status updates and participate in project planning meetings as needed.Assignments may include testing of hardware/firmware products, analyzing test results, and ensuring written reports are prepared and accurate.Other duties as required.
   Credentials & Experience:
   
   Minimum education level is a Bachelor's degree in a technical subject area. Minimum professional experience in product safety or regulatory compliance positions of 4 to 6 years. Experience with product validation testing and agency certification. Successfully taken products through CSA, UL, FCC/IC, and NEBS testing & certification.Good skills in oral English and Good at reading and writing Local travel as needed.
   
   **Please note that Infinera has adopted a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees.
   
   As a condition of employment, our US employees are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a reasonable accommodation for a medical/disability or religious basis is approved or as otherwise required by law. Candidates are not required to and must not furnish proof of vaccination or request an accommodation during the application process. Candidates will be required to do so only after a job offer has been extended and prior to their start date if they accept the job offer. A person is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if the person has received one dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and two weeks have passed since receiving the final dose of the vaccine.
   
   #LI-DW1
   
   Infinera is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Infinera complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right compliance 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 compliance engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit compliance 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 compliance engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit compliance engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit compliance engineers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 compliance engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the compliance engineer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the 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 compliance engineer. 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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How much does it cost to hire a compliance engineer?