How to hire an engineering manager

How to hire an engineering manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step engineering manager hiring guide:

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

What does an engineering manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an engineering manager, 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 engineering manager 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 engineering manager salaries for various positions.

   Type of Engineering Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Engineering Manager	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$47-93
   Research And Development Director	A research and development director spearheads and oversees the research and development initiatives and projects in a company. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, establish timelines and budgets, direct and manage different departments, liaise with internal and external parties, gather and analyze data to implement solutions against problem areas, and utilize expertise in developing strategies to optimize company operations... Show more	$45-96
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Project Management
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Software Development
   • C++
   • UL
   • Customer Service
   • Direct Reports
   • Azure
   • Emerging Technologies
   • SEO
   • Opportunity Management
   • Strong Project Management
   • Technical Support

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead design and manage development of voice-processing system's SNMP device agent and Java management application.
   • Manage multiple teams of UNIX engineers and software developers.
   • Achieve the highest ROI of any of the company's online or offline marketing channels.
   • Manage geotechnical, environmental, and survey consultants in connection with due diligence for new stores.
   • Manage tool implementation on change, problem, configuration management, product structure, and visualization processes.
   • Lead cross-functional team to track and address end-of-life component issues, which greatly reduce line shortages or stoppages.Sr.

   More engineering manager duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, engineering managers' average salary in kansas is 40% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level engineering managers earn 49% less than senior-level engineering managers.
   • Certifications. An engineering manager 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 an engineering manager's salary.

   Average engineering manager salary

   $139,328yearly

   $66.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level engineering manager salary

   $99,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average engineering manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$170,226	$82
   2	Washington	$150,119	$72
   3	Oregon	$142,675	$69
   4	New York	$137,139	$66
   5	Massachusetts	$132,052	$63
   6	New Jersey	$128,491	$62
   7	District of Columbia	$127,985	$62
   8	Maine	$124,136	$60
   9	Pennsylvania	$121,325	$58
   10	Arizona	$121,223	$58
   11	Connecticut	$120,963	$58
   12	Virginia	$120,651	$58
   13	Texas	$118,956	$57
   14	North Carolina	$112,003	$54
   15	Ohio	$111,230	$53
   16	Illinois	$110,237	$53
   17	Utah	$109,912	$53
   18	Minnesota	$109,353	$53
   19	Georgia	$107,009	$51
   20	Indiana	$105,383	$51

   Average engineering manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mixpanel	$227,543	$109.40	3
   2	Meta	$223,757	$107.58	756
   3	Airbnb	$222,933	$107.18	2
   4	Flexport	$221,370	$106.43
   5	BitGo	$221,023	$106.26	5
   6	Crunchbase	$218,587	$105.09
   7	Venable	$217,286	$104.46
   8	Brex	$217,095	$104.37	23
   9	Pure Storage	$216,233	$103.96	22
   10	Google	$214,431	$103.09	206
   11	Lyft	$213,449	$102.62	1
   12	Yelp	$210,162	$101.04
   13	Asana	$209,049	$100.50	1
   14	Coinbase	$208,900	$100.43	448
   15	Twitter	$208,734	$100.35
   16	Stocktwits	$208,130	$100.06
   17	NerdWallet	$207,565	$99.79
   18	Chegg	$207,367	$99.70
   19	Squarespace	$207,079	$99.56	1
   20	Netflix	$206,840	$99.44	18

4. Writing an engineering manager job description

   An engineering manager 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. Below, you can find an example of an engineering manager job description:

   Engineering manager job description example

   The primary mission of Johnson Controls Navy Systems is to supply Chilled Water Air Conditioning Plants, Refrigeration Systems and associated equipment to the US Navy and US Coast Guard. Johnson Controls Navy Systems is a part of the Johnson Controls Federal Systems business. Our robust, high reliability products are designed, manufactured and tested in York, PA to military and other stringent customer specifications. Most of our designs are custom engineered for the specific application.
   
   This position is for an Engineering Manager working in the Johnson Controls Navy Systems engineering team. The Engineering Manager is responsible for leading a group of electrical engineers/technicians and controls engineers/technicians to design, develop, test, qualify and troubleshoot chilled water air conditioning units and refrigeration units for the US Navy and US Coast Guard. Our Engineering Managers are working managers that frequently perform challenging technical tasks in parallel with managing personnel.
   
   Manage the Johnson Controls Navy Systems (JCNS) Electrical and Controls Team, which currently consists of six (6) engineers, three (3) technicians and one (1) consultant, by providing technical and programmatic direction to the team, removing obstacles preventing progress, providing information/tools to accomplish tasks, managing multiple conflicting priorities and responding to emergent issues in a fast paced environment. Work with the JCFS Information Technology (IT) team and the JCNS security team to facilitate chiller software development on JCNS secured networks.
   
   Manage preparing proposals. Lead the team to examine equipment specifications and resolve resultant issues so that our proposals are specification compliant. Create program task lists, compile team estimates and expenses, identify external costs, and prepare product specifications used to obtain supplier quotations and manage supplier development efforts.
   
   Work with the program managers to establish and meet program milestones by holding periodic meetings and tracking action items to identify, and resolve issues.
   
   Manage multiple JCNS development programs. Develop chiller control algorithms leveraging off of past Navy successes and commercial advancements. Ensure control algorithms are properly implemented in the code for our products. Support chiller qualification testing, including electronic hardware, electromagnetic interference (EMI), shock, vibration and communication tests. Maintain software configuration control, including information assurance (cyber security). Update the JCNS Software Development Process to conform to contractual requirements and advances in technology. Ensure our Software Development Process satisfies customer requirements.
   
   Manage JCNS production and test block support activities. Work with JCNS purchasing and suppliers to meet JCNS specification requirements and delivery schedules. Support electrical check-outs of new construction units and units under test on a priority basis. Introduce new control system designs (prototype chillers) to the manufacturing group. Work with supply chain to continually monitor and address material obsolescence issues by acting quickly to propose alternate, cost effective options. Develop and maintain an excellent working relationships with our key suppliers.
   
   Establish and maintain an excellent customer working relationship. Maintain the JCNS engineering teams “trusted advisor” status with all of our customers. Represent JCNS to customers at formal program review meetings, during weekly customer status meetings, and during unstructured events.
   
   Initiate continuous improvement activities to create high quality and efficient processes. Implement new planning, execution and tracking methods to increase performance and process excellence. Increase the understanding and use of lessons learned.
   
   Manage technical support to the JCNS field service organizations to address issues in the fleet and in shipyards on a priority basis.
   REQUIREMENTS:
   Detailed technical knowledge of microprocessor based control system and programmable logic controller hardware designs, preferably with military approved systems. Experience with control system coding and troubleshooting, preferably on different hardware platforms. Knowledge of information assurance (cyber security) is a plus. Experience with induction motors, permanent magnet motors, variable speed drives, magnetic bearing controllers and/or motor controllers is a plus. Experience in solving performance / operational issues to improve development efficiency encompassing cost, schedule, and technical elements of product development is a plus Leader with exceptional communication skills, good organization, and the ability to communicate with all levels of the organization and motivate people to perform at high levels. Experience recruiting employees; assigning, directing, and evaluating their work; and overseeing the development and maintenance of staff competence is a plus Experience performing administrative functions such as reviewing and writing reports, approving expenditures, , and actively engaging in personnel development and performance management. Prepare budgets, bids, and contracts, and work with the contracts team to positively influence the negotiation of research contracts. Willingness to work in a team oriented environment that empowers and inspires individual contributors to work to their full potential is mandatory. Experience with managing technical employees is required. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of relevant work experience managing a team of technical employees. Willing to travel within the United States to resolve equipment operational problems onboard US Navy ships or to support first article testing by third party testing laboratories. Extent of travel is estimated at less than 5%. Eligible to obtain a Department of Defense security clearance. Willing to disclose the detailed personal history information necessary to apply for this clearance. A Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering or other similar degree with ten (10) years of relevant work experience is desired. An Associates Engineering Degree with 15 years of relevant work experience will be considered.
   
   Johnson Controls is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information, please view EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit www.johnsoncontrols.com/tomorrowneedsyou.
   Division: JCFS (Johnson Controls Federal Systems)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit engineering managers, 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 engineering manager

   Once you've found the engineering manager candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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 engineering manager. 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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