How to hire a data modeler

How to hire a data modeler, step by step

Here's a step-by-step data modeler hiring guide:

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

What does a data modeler do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a data modeler, 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

   A data modeler's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, data modelers 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 data modelers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Data Modeler	Description	Hourly rate
   Data Modeler	Database administrators (DBAs) use specialized software to store and organize data, such as financial information and customer shipping records. They make sure that data are available to users and are secure from unauthorized access.	$35-66
   Salesforce Administrator	A salesforce administrator is considered the gatekeeper for the marketing data and sales of their employer. The administrators create each user account and identify the proper data access level based on the role of the employees within the company... Show more	$31-54
   Development Administrator	A community development administrator is responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing a community's social, physical, and economic growth. Your duties typically include supervising the construction of public infrastructures such as roads and schools, providing assistance to both private and public developers, and managing public projects, including parks and hospitals... Show more	$31-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • ETL
   • Data Analysis
   • Data Architecture
   • Physical Data Models
   • Data Warehouse
   • Tableau
   • Metadata
   • SQL Server
   • Visualization
   • BI
   • Extraction
   • Er Studio
   • Java
   • Data Quality

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead efforts to analyze data for source/target mappings, create T-SQL scripts for data processing.
   • Involve in data governance processes relate to data quality and information management, managing the metadata repository etc.
   • Accomplish at designing dashboards and data summaries for technical and non-technical audiences and facilitating implementation of business strategies and missions.
   • Design the data marts in dimensional data modeling using star and snowflake schemas.
   • Develop data architecture prototypes and data models including ETL staging models, audit control models and traditional data warehouse dimension/fact models.
   • Work extensively with XML schema generation.

   More data modeler duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, data modelers' average salary in south dakota is 42% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level data modelers earn 47% less than senior-level data modelers.
   • Certifications. A data modeler 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 data modeler's salary.

   Average data modeler salary

   $100,495yearly

   $48.31 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level data modeler salary

   $73,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average data modeler salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$131,961	$63
   2	Washington	$108,177	$52
   3	Oregon	$105,480	$51
   4	Delaware	$96,750	$47
   5	New York	$96,323	$46
   6	Texas	$96,176	$46
   7	District of Columbia	$95,221	$46
   8	Massachusetts	$94,434	$45
   9	New Jersey	$94,153	$45
   10	Maryland	$93,600	$45
   11	North Carolina	$93,065	$45
   12	Pennsylvania	$92,965	$45
   13	Connecticut	$92,925	$45
   14	South Carolina	$92,820	$45
   15	New Hampshire	$91,832	$44
   16	Florida	$90,915	$44
   17	Illinois	$85,416	$41
   18	Ohio	$84,851	$41
   19	Missouri	$84,060	$40
   20	Michigan	$83,939	$40

   Average data modeler salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$148,080	$71.19	871
   2	Apple	$143,475	$68.98	53
   3	Twitter	$141,010	$67.79
   4	Bill.com	$137,531	$66.12	15
   5	Bloomberg	$133,968	$64.41	48
   6	Sony Interactive Entertainment America	$130,614	$62.80
   7	Citi	$128,615	$61.83	16
   8	Ulta Beauty	$128,458	$61.76
   9	Adobe	$126,878	$61.00	26
   10	Walgreens	$126,545	$60.84	1
   11	Western Alliance Bank	$125,372	$60.27	7
   12	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$124,754	$59.98	170
   13	Open Systems Technologies	$124,740	$59.97
   14	MUFG EMEA	$124,154	$59.69
   15	Allegis Group	$123,061	$59.16	2
   16	Morgan Stanley	$121,475	$58.40	9
   17	BJ's Wholesale Club	$121,424	$58.38
   18	Zurich	$120,632	$58.00	2
   19	LendingClub	$120,596	$57.98	3
   20	American Board of Emergency Medicine	$120,430	$57.90

4. Writing a data modeler job description

   A job description for a data modeler 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 data modeler job description:

   Data modeler job description example

   Do you want to be part of a team that encourages your growth, supports your ambitions and makes it a priority for you to reach your goals? Is helping people part of who you are? At MassMutual, we help millions of people find financial freedom, offer financial protection and plan for the future. We do this by building trust with our customers by being knowledgeable problem solvers and prioritize their needs above all else. We Live Mutual.
   Description
   
   At MassMutual, we're passionate about helping millions of people find financial freedom and this passion has driven our approach to developing meaningful experiences for our customers. The Data Engineering team, part of MassMutual's Enterprise Technology & Experience, is comprised of highly skilled, collaborative, problem solvers who are motivated to create innovative solutions that exceed the changing needs of our customers and move MassMutual and the industry - forward.
   
   To continue our cutting-edge work, we are hiring a Data Modeler to join our team.
   
   What great looks like in this role
   Our ideal Data Modeler has advanced knowledge of application, data, and infrastructure disciplines. You'll use your skills to implement data strategies, build data flows, and develop conceptual data models. You're capable of working independently and communicating effectively to provide feedback on policies, procedures, processes, and standards. The team culture of working collaboratively, cross-functionally, using new technologies combined with the work/life balance provided by MassMutual are core reasons people enjoy working on the Data Engineering team at MassMutual.
   
   Objectives of this role
   Manage database design and data models for a specific application.Analyze existing data and recommend changes that lead to a reduction of stored data without impacting business requirements.
   
   Daily and monthly responsibilities
   Perform as a technical data steward - understanding tables, data use, data replication, data connection, and data lineage - and take accountability for data hygiene.Review existing data model and recommend changes to optimize data requirements.Analyze source system data and look for data redundancy and duplication.Work with Application Architects to review exiting data models and suggest action to reduce input data for storage optimization.Work with the development team to implement data strategies, build data flows, and develop conceptual data models.Create logical and physical data models using best practices.Delivers and provides feedback for data modeling policies, procedure, processes and standards.Assists with capturing and documenting system flow and other pertinent technical information about data, database design, or systems.
   
   Basic Qualifications
   Bachelor's degree in computer engineering, computer science, information systems, or related field.8+ years experiences with data analytics, data modeling or data architecture and database design.Experience in data modeling or data architecture in transactional and operational reporting and analytical (EDW, Data Lake, NoSQL) solutions.Experience with Dimensional Modeling / Data Warehouse ModelingData modeling, data warehousing, dimensional modeling, data modeling for big data and metadata management.Experience using (Erwin, TOAD, or any other data modeling tool) for data modeling.Understanding of enterprise and reporting modeling concepts, including dimensional modeling, snowflakes, slowly changing dimensions, schema on read, irregular dimensions, and surrogate, compound and intelligent keys.Experience with capacity planning, database scripting and package deployment Good knowledge of data replication methodology.Good knowledge of data warehouse, data mart and Data LakeExperience with AWS and cloud-based databases and data warehouses.Strong Knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL) and use in data access and analysis.Excellent communication, problem solving, organizational and analytical skills Strong communication and interpersonal skills.Able to work independently.Authorized to work in the United States with or without sponsorship now or in the future.
   Preferred Qualifications
   Master's degree in computer engineering, computer science, information systems, or related field.Advanced knowledge of application, data and infrastructure disciplines.Experience with Finance, Accounting Models, Enterprise Risk Management ModelsExperience facilitating meetings and providing presentations to stakeholders and senior leaders.Ability to present design of the solution to various stakeholders.Experience with Vertica Database.Expertise in tuning and debugging SQL and resolving application specific bottlenecks.Data Lake and Big Data modeling experience.Experience with Hadoop, Spark, and KafkaExperience with ScalaExperience with Life Insurance or any insurance related products Experience in data modeling and design in the insurance and financial industries
   
   #LI-RK1
   
   Salary Range:
   $131,100.00-$172,000.00
   
   At MassMutual, we focus on ensuring fair equitable pay, by providing competitive salaries, along with incentive and bonus opportunities for all employees. Your total compensation package includes either a bonus target or in a sales-focused role a Variable Incentive Compensation component.
   
   Why Join Us.
   
   We've been around since 1851. During our history, we've learned a few things about making sure our customers are our top priority. In order to meet and exceed their expectations, we must have the best people providing the best thinking, products and services. To accomplish this, we celebrate an inclusive, vibrant and diverse culture that encourages growth, openness and opportunities for everyone. A career with MassMutual means you will be part of a strong, stable and ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits. And your voice will always be heard.
   
   We help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. As a company owned by our policyowners, we are defined by mutuality and our vision to put customers first. It's more than our company structure - it's our way of life. We are a company of people protecting people. Our company exists because people are willing to share risk and resources, and rely on each other when it counts. At MassMutual, we Live Mutual.
   
   MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.

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5. Post your job

   To find data modelers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any data modelers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level data modelers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your data modeler job on Zippia to find and recruit data modeler 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

   To successfully recruit data modelers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up 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 data modeler 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 data modeler

   Once you've decided on a perfect data modeler 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 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new data modeler. 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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