How to hire a director of network engineering

How to hire a director of network engineering, step by step

Here's a step-by-step director of network engineering hiring guide:

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

What does a director of network engineering do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the director of network engineering you need to hire. Certain director of network engineering 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 director of network engineering's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, directors of network engineering 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 presents director of network engineering salaries for various positions.

   Type of Director Of Network Engineering	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Network Engineering	Computer and information systems managers, often called information technology (IT) managers or IT project managers, plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization. They help determine the information technology goals of an organization and are responsible for implementing computer systems to meet those goals.	$47-95
   Service Delivery Manager	A service delivery manager is primarily responsible for overseeing department operations, ensuring everything is running smoothly and that all customers receive optimal services. They are also responsible for performing technical tasks such as addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, spearheading system repairs and maintenance, and performing corrective measures... Show more	$35-67
   Delivery Manager	A delivery manager oversees the delivery process and workforce in a company, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around coordinating all personnel, managing budgets and schedules, and monitoring all shipments and logistics... Show more	$39-75

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Cisco Asa
   • Network Engineering
   • Network Infrastructure
   • Switches
   • OSPF
   • BGP
   • DNS
   • Ethernet
   • Provisioning
   • Project Management
   • Network Architecture
   • Network Design
   • Network Operations
   • Lan Wan

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage RFP outsourcing global conferencing solution saving $250K annually.
   • Manage remote staff across London and Tokyo, ensuring fully-functional, up-to-date switches.
   • Design, manage, and troubleshot core campus routers, Internet connections, firewalls, and VPN servers.
   • Manage consolidation and transformation of processes to deliver infrastructure services through a streamline process that provide better integration with all platforms.
   • Spearhead development and launch of ITIL framework.
   • Deliver 24/7 full support of all the VPN's from remote location to corporate servers.

   More director of network engineering duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, directors of network engineering' average salary in hawaii is 47% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level directors of network engineering earn 50% less than senior-level directors of network engineering.
   • Certifications. A director of network engineering 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 director of network engineering's salary.

   Average director of network engineering salary

   $140,813yearly

   $67.70 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of network engineering salary

   $99,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average director of network engineering salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$184,797	$89
   2	New York	$163,924	$79
   3	Oregon	$162,411	$78
   4	Connecticut	$153,245	$74
   5	Massachusetts	$150,261	$72
   6	New Jersey	$148,062	$71
   7	Rhode Island	$143,680	$69
   8	Delaware	$134,966	$65
   9	Illinois	$130,557	$63
   10	South Carolina	$127,946	$62
   11	Texas	$125,030	$60
   12	Minnesota	$124,136	$60
   13	Colorado	$122,707	$59
   14	Georgia	$119,742	$58
   15	Maryland	$118,447	$57
   16	Ohio	$113,019	$54

   Average director of network engineering salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$210,107	$101.01	527
   2	Google	$204,293	$98.22	204
   3	NVIDIA	$193,904	$93.22	26
   4	Ernst & Young	$162,026	$77.90	119
   5	Nike	$161,384	$77.59	3
   6	Michaels Stores	$160,231	$77.03
   7	FTI Consulting	$157,443	$75.69	1
   8	Xandr	$154,592	$74.32
   9	Organon	$153,327	$73.71
   10	Interactive Brokers	$150,007	$72.12	6
   11	Vonage	$149,207	$71.73
   12	NJ Transit	$144,076	$69.27
   13	Foursquare	$140,227	$67.42
   14	Infinity Consulting Solutions	$138,321	$66.50
   15	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$137,639	$66.17	238
   16	Alliance Data	$136,600	$65.67	1
   17	AT&T	$134,414	$64.62	74
   18	ATN International	$133,873	$64.36
   19	NASCAR	$133,458	$64.16	2
   20	CO-OP Financial Services	$131,223	$63.09

4. Writing a director of network engineering job description

   A job description for a director of network engineering 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 director of network engineering job description:

   Director of network engineering job description example

   Minimum qualifications:
   
   + Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
   
   + 15 years of experience in networking engineering, software, and distributed systems
   
   + Experience building and managing global software development organizations
   
   Preferred qualifications:
   
   + Advanced degree
   
   + Experience at an executive level in a networking or hyper-scale cloud company
   
   + Understanding of the networking and cloud industry/user and enterprise trends, with the ability to translate and leverage internal tools and systems to drive innovative solutions resulting in excellent networking technologies
   
   + Ability to attract talent and build relationships within/across peer teams
   
   + Excellent communication skills, with the ability to represent and explain complex business or technical concepts internally and externally
   
   + Technical aptitude to translate business needs into network engineering opportunities to drive the strategic agenda
   
   The Google Enterprise Network (GEN) team is part of Google Global Networking (GGN) and delivers secure, reliable, and efficient network services across Google. GEN connects Googlers with external vendors, customers, partners, end users, and with each other. GEN invests in technology to ensure our network runs as securely, reliably, and as efficiently as possible. GEN works to support Google's success and knows Googlers rely upon our network to work without fail each and every day.
   
   As a Director of Network Engineering, you will lead the GEN Networking team and deliver industry-leading networking technologies to fuel Google's growth. In addition to reliable delivery of the technology stack, you will influence the networking industry and Google's partner networking original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to deliver on Google's technology needs. You will be highly customer-focused, taking in to account the needs of the Google Product Areas and delivering the networking technologies that they need.
   
   Google Cloud accelerates organizations' ability to digitally transform their business with the best infrastructure, platform, industry solutions and expertise. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology - all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.
   
   + Lead a large team of engineers.
   
   + Define network strategy and architecting/engineering network solutions in support of that strategy.
   
   + Own Network Architecture, Office, Non-Office, Hosting, WAN, Metro, and Network Security engineering.
   
   + Collaborate with Deployment and Operations teams within GEN as well as with internal partners and external vendors in the networking industry.
   
   + Lead and deliver strategic network programs designed to deliver the next generation network fabric in support of Google's businesses.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find directors of network engineering 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 director of network engineering job on Zippia to find and recruit director of network engineering candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting directors of network engineering requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 director of network engineering

   Once you've decided on a perfect director of network engineering 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new director of network engineering. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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 director of network engineering?