How to hire a design engineer/drafter

How to hire a design engineer/drafter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step design engineer/drafter hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your design engineer/drafter 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 a design engineer/drafter 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a design engineer/drafter to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a design engineer/drafter that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of design engineers/drafter.

   Type of Design Engineer/Drafter	Description	Hourly rate
   Design Engineer/Drafter	Drafters use software to convert the designs of engineers and architects into technical drawings. Most workers specialize in architectural, civil, electrical, or mechanical drafting and use technical drawings to help design everything from microchips to skyscrapers.	$16-35
   Draftsman	Draftsmen are professionals with expertise in computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) drawings. They perform similar tasks as architects, such as preparing CADD drawings... Show more	$14-28
   Mechanical Designer	A mechanical designer is responsible for designing mechanical equipment and devices, together with the engineers and other technology professionals. Mechanical designers create layouts following the clients' specifications, perform structural analysis, and analyze dimensions to ensure quality... Show more	$22-39

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Assembly Drawings
   • Engineering Drawings
   • Engineering Design
   • Auto CAD
   • GD
   • Aerospace
   • Technical Support
   • Creo
   • R
   • Shop Drawings
   • CATIA
   • ANSI
   • Aided Design
   • Construction Projects

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create editable 3D model of the given dumb solid surface using GSD and part modelling in CATIA V5 and SolidWorks.
   • Prepare HVAC drawings with AutoCAD for field installations.
   • Create ECR/ECN's for mass assemblies/bill of materials (BOM).
   • Create and maintain BOM, specifications, assembly procedures and test data.
   • Generate vector graphics for the purpose of producing the tool paths for the CNC equipment.
   • Work directly with project managers, field crews and shop personnel to fabricate sheet metal for HVAC systems.

   More design engineer/drafter duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, design engineers/drafter' average salary in maine is 34% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level design engineers/drafter earn 53% less than senior-level design engineers/drafter.
   • Certifications. A design engineer/drafter 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 design engineer/drafter's salary.

   Average design engineer/drafter salary

   $51,518yearly

   $24.77 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level design engineer/drafter salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average design engineer/drafter salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$56,581	$27
   2	Ohio	$55,529	$27
   3	Georgia	$53,962	$26
   4	Oregon	$53,520	$26
   5	Colorado	$53,033	$26
   6	Illinois	$52,607	$25
   7	Utah	$51,487	$25
   8	Indiana	$47,315	$23
   9	Virginia	$44,491	$21

   Average design engineer/drafter salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Parsons	$73,543	$35.36	90
   2	Black & Veatch	$66,039	$31.75	23
   3	Northrop Grumman	$58,028	$27.90	95
   4	Patton's Inc.	$57,794	$27.79
   5	ICONMA	$54,798	$26.35
   6	Kiewit	$51,211	$24.62	114
   7	Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions	$49,416	$23.76
   8	Randstad North America, Inc.	$46,021	$22.13	4
   9	CTG	$45,766	$22.00	2
   10	Gustave A. Larson	$44,553	$21.42
   11	Belcan	$42,887	$20.62	3
   12	ITW	$42,117	$20.25	12
   13	Quality Control Services Inc	$40,192	$19.32

4. Writing a design engineer/drafter job description

   A design engineer/drafter 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a design engineer/drafter job description:

   Design engineer/drafter job description example

   **Job Level:** Entry Level
   
   **Department:** Design Engineering
   
   **Market:** Power
   
   **Employment Type:** Full Time
   
   **Position Overview**
   
   We are currently looking for a motivated Designer/Drafter to join our growing Substation, Transmission Line, and/or Underground Design team in Lenexa, KS. As part of the team of highly specialist design professionals, you will support variety of substation, transmission and distribution projects ranging from 12kv to 500kV.
   
   We are supporting both engineering design and EPC projects for clients throughout the country.
   
   **District Overview**
   
   **Kiewit Engineering Group, Inc** is a full-service consulting and engineering firm serving the infrastructure and engineering markets. Our combined staff of more than 1,300 engineers and design professionals have expertise that spans all major engineering disciplines to serve transportation, power, water/wastewater, mining, building, and oil, gas & chemical markets. Backed by 130 years of construction experience, our construction-driven engineering focuses on constructability and safety in the earliest phases of projects to ensure on-time and on-budget project delivery.
   
   Our rapidly growing **Power district** , which includes structural, civil, piping, mechanical, process, process safety, electrical, instrument and control disciplines, is a multi-faceted division of Kiewit with best-in-class technical expertise focused on the EPC delivery model for power facilities. We offer a variety of engineering services, including owner's engineering, project development, detailed engineering and design, construction management and plant services. Our engineering teams bring power projects to life across North America in the following areas:
   
   + Gas-fired generation
   
   + Power delivery
   
   + Environmental retrofits
   
   + Renewables and new technology
   
   + Water/wastewater
   
   Our rapidly growing power delivery business has opened new locations across North America to strengthen our market presence while executing work within the communities that we live. We have invested in industry leading design technology and platforms while also expanding our construction equipment fleet with the most advanced, and safest equipment on the market. We are committed to building upon our history as one of the safest companies to work for by equipping our craft with the best tooling and safety programs available.
   
   **Location**
   
   This position is based out of The Lenexa, KS office.
   
   **Responsibilities**
   
   • Work with Engineers and Designers to develop the design documents and drawings for Substation, Transmission Line, or Underground projects.
   
   • Create design/construction drawing package for substation design project including substation general plan, elevation and detail, bill of material, conduit and cable schedule.
   
   • Provide drafting support for various type of substation project including physical, electrical and protection and control design.
   
   • Utilize company standards, client standards, and/or Engineering direction to produce new drawings and update existing drawings utilizing AutoCAD, MicroStation or PLS-CADD
   
   • Maintain document management system with quality data.
   
   • Train, develop and mentor the less-experienced design team members
   
   • Perform quality control checks and provide feedback to team members
   
   **Qualifications**
   
   • 0-2 years' experience in Design and/or Drafting disciplines with a background in Electrical substation or Transmission line design preferred
   
   • Associate or Bachelor's degree in Drafting/Design or Engineering Technology preferred; minimum GED Diploma with drafting or electrical design training.
   
   • Basic experience working with AutoCAD and/or MicroStation
   
   • Ability to work in a growing, adaptive and multi-discipline team environment
   
   • Ability to work independently with limited direction and oversight
   
   • Legally able to work within the United States for any length of time
   
   • Strong written and verbal communication skills; fluent in English language
   
   _Other Requirements:_
   
   _• Regular, reliable attendance_
   
   _• Work productively and meet deadlines timely_
   
   _• Communicate and interact effectively and professionally with supervisors, employees, and others individually or in a team environment._
   
   _• Perform work safely and effectively. Understand and follow oral and written instructions, including warning signs, equipment use, and other policies._
   
   _• Work during normal operating hours to organize and complete work within given deadlines. Work overtime and weekends as required._
   
   _• May work at various different locations and conditions may vary._
   
   _We offer our fulltime staff employees a comprehensive benefits package that's among the best in our industry, including top-tier medical, dental and vision plans covering eligible employees and dependents, voluntary wellness and employee assistance programs, life insurance, disability, retirement plans with matching, and generous paid time off._
   
   _We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law._
   
   Company: Kiewit

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right design engineer/drafter for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your design engineer/drafter job on Zippia to find and recruit design engineer/drafter 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 design engineers/drafter, 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. 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 design engineer/drafter

   Once you have selected a candidate for the design engineer/drafter 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new design engineer/drafter. 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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