How to hire a director of testing

How to hire a director of testing, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your director of testing 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 director of testing 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

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

   Type of Director Of Testing	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Testing	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$51-112
   Research And Development Manager	A research and development manager is responsible for supervising project development procedures to support business operations and identify business opportunities that would pave the way for more revenue resources and profits. Research and development managers monitor the production plans from the conceptualization to the final outputs, inspecting inconsistencies and flaws in every phase and revising strategies as needed to achieve the required specifications and requirements... Show more	$37-83
   Engineering/Maintenance Manager	Engineering and maintenance managers are skilled executive professionals who manage the daily activities of the engineering department while directing the maintenance of all types of machinery in a manufacturing plant. These managers are required to develop preventive maintenance procedures and inspections for all manufacturing equipment so that they can reduce machine downtime... Show more	$36-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Oversight
   • Project Management
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Software Development
   • QA
   • Test Automation
   • Test Strategy
   • Test Procedures
   • DOD
   • Business Development
   • ISO
   • Product Development
   • Test Data

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead integration of wireline IP offers.
   • Achieve FDA approval for the iterative process.
   • Manage corrective and preventative action (CAPA) and internal audit processes and personnel.
   • Establish engineering processes & procedures that achieve ISO registration
   • Manage all schedule and non-schedule aircraft maintenance activity with maintenance and QA personnel.
   • Manage lab design and operations, cross-functional communication with key stakeholders as well as metrics collection, analysis and reporting.

   More director of testing duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your director of testing job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A director of testing 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 director of testing in North Carolina may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level director of testing usually earns less than a senior-level director of testing. Additionally, a director of testing 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 director of testing salary

   $158,312yearly

   $76.11 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of testing salary

   $107,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average director of testing salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$205,839	$99
   2	New York	$168,381	$81
   3	Massachusetts	$167,230	$80
   4	Ohio	$153,022	$74
   5	New Jersey	$146,198	$70
   6	District of Columbia	$144,084	$69
   7	Michigan	$137,910	$66
   8	Virginia	$133,422	$64
   9	Indiana	$128,704	$62
   10	Maryland	$126,849	$61
   11	Nebraska	$125,231	$60
   12	Alabama	$124,709	$60
   13	Texas	$124,062	$60
   14	Florida	$123,108	$59
   15	Colorado	$122,846	$59
   16	Georgia	$122,724	$59
   17	North Carolina	$121,610	$58
   18	Illinois	$113,537	$55

   Average director of testing salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Practice Fusion	$220,227	$105.88
   2	Neiman Marcus Group	$194,855	$93.68
   3	JUUL	$186,086	$89.46
   4	Activision Blizzard	$179,083	$86.10	4
   5	Warner Bros.	$164,367	$79.02	4
   6	ViacomCBS	$163,304	$78.51
   7	Salesforce	$162,695	$78.22	4
   8	Peloton Interactive, Inc.	$162,167	$77.96
   9	Citi	$162,082	$77.92	8
   10	Grainger	$159,479	$76.67
   11	Cisco	$159,441	$76.65	4
   12	EIS	$153,339	$73.72
   13	Skyworks	$153,167	$73.64
   14	Randstad North America, Inc.	$152,821	$73.47
   15	Red Frog Events	$150,865	$72.53
   16	Skyworks Solutions	$148,165	$71.23	3
   17	Paramount	$148,151	$71.23
   18	Elevate	$147,188	$70.76
   19	Charles River Labs	$147,100	$70.72
   20	DISH Network	$145,214	$69.81

4. Writing a director of testing job description

   A good director of testing 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 director of testing job description:

   Director of testing job description example

   Salary Range : $90,000-$110,000 USD per year

   Advanced Technology & Research Corporation (www.atrcorp.com) is seeking to fill the following full-time permanent position. Based in Maryland and incorporated in 1973, ATR is an equal-opportunity engineering company with a solid reputation in various engineering disciplines for the government and Fortune 500 commercial customers.

   Salary for the position is competitive according to qualifications. ATR offers an attractive comprehensive benefits package, including Medical/Dental insurances, free basic life/ADD, and long-term and short-term disability insurances, 401(k) plan, educational assistance program, and paid time off.

   All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or veteran status.

   PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

   The successful applicant will join ATR's Engineering Services Division, working as a Ship & Submarine Trial Director and Test & Evaluation (T&E) Engineer at the NAVSEA Warfare Center South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (SFOMF), Ft Lauderdale, FL. The candidate will support SFOMF on various projects, tests and operations associated with the U.S. Navy’s RDT&E programs in UEM silencing. S/he will support analytical and practical, at-sea engineering towards meeting the Navy’s mission, and s/he will support engineering, surveying, and project management efforts and programs for the SFOMF. The candidate will also support the SFOMF as a UEM Trial Director and a T&E engineer during the various trials, tests and operations associated with the U.S. Navy’s RDT&E programs at SFOMF. The candidate will be tasked as a navigator and surveyor for SFOMF offshore projects and operations and will prepare the necessary charting data for range activities. The candidate should have expertise in conducting at sea, full scale trials for U.S. Navy subsurface and surface vessels. The selectee will demonstrate knowledge of system integration with Radar, GPS, AIS and optical system pertaining to surface and subsurface vessel testing and experience in surface and subsurface vessel tracking.

   EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

   • Minimum B.S. degree in engineering or equivalent
   • 3-5 years of experience as a Ship or Submarine trial director
   • 3-5 years of experience as a Test & Evaluation engineer
   • US Navy or US Coast Guard experience highly desired and will be taken into consideration as a substitute for 3-5 years’ experience as either a trial director or T&E engineer.
   • Familiarity with marine navigation & at sea tracking systems engineering

   SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIREMENTS:

   • Experience with GPS, AIS, and other ocean navigation systems
   • Experience with ship handling and maneuvering
   • Experience with port and near shore operations of large vessels
   • Experience with testing and evaluation, logistics, and programmatic support
   • Experience with MATLAB, Power Point, MS Word & Excel
   • A self-starter able to work on tasks individually or as part of a small technical team
   • Demonstrated ability to communicate, both orally and in writing

   PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT:

   • Light lifting required during field tests
   • Good physical condition, agility, dexterity and an ability to fully function in a shipboard, at-sea environment
   • Ability to climb ladders and stairways, lift and handle various types of marine equipment (max 40 lbs) while on and off various size vessels
   • Travel to other Navy sites may be required (occasionally)

   OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

   Candidate must be a US citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance or favorable adjudication of a national security background investigation. Current successful background investigation a plus.

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5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting directors of testing 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 testing

   Once you have selected a candidate for the director of testing 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 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 director of testing. 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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