How to hire an engineering program/project manager

How to hire an engineering program/project manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step engineering program/project 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 program/project manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new engineering program/project manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your engineering program/project manager 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 an engineering program/project manager 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

   Hiring the perfect engineering program/project 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.

   Here's a comparison of engineering program/project manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Engineering Program/Project Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Engineering Program/Project Manager	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$33-65
   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
   Project Lead Engineer	Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members... Show more	$37-70

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • R
   • Product Development
   • Program Management
   • Project Management
   • Product Design
   • CAD
   • Development Process
   • Microsoft Project
   • Process Improvement
   • ITIL
   • APQP
   • BOM
   • ISO
   • Cost Reduction

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple projects as part of a corporate PMO including projects requiring international team coordination and multiple lines of business.
   • Create new opportunities and value for the company and successfully manage all geotechnical engineering matters including comprehensive report writing.
   • Lead post mortems to identify issues and capture best practices to include in PMO processes.
   • Play a key role in developing quality control system to support an eventual ISO 9000 certification.
   • Reduce cycle time and time to market along with bring company-wide projects into repeatable FDA and ISO compliance.
   • Work with application and other infrastructure teams to facilitate application on-boarding, testing, move-ups, and user security infrastructure integration.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your engineering program/project manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An engineering program/project manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, engineering program/project managers' average salary in missouri is 44% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level engineering program/project managers 49% less than senior-level engineering program/project managers.
   • Certifications. An engineering program/project manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an engineering program/project manager's salary.

   Average engineering program/project manager salary

   $97,480yearly

   $46.87 hourly rate

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   Entry-level engineering program/project manager salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

4. Writing an engineering program/project manager job description

   An engineering program/project 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. To help get you started, here's an example of an engineering program/project manager job description:

   Engineering program/project manager job description example

   Quest Global is an organization at the forefront of innovation and one of the world's fastest growing engineering services firms with deep domain knowledge and recognized expertise in the top OEMs across seven industries. We are a twenty-five-year-old company on a journey to becoming a centenary one, driven by aspiration, hunger and humility.
   
   We are looking for humble geniuses, who believe that engineering has the potential to make the impossible, possible; innovators, who are not only inspired by technology and innovation, but also perpetually driven to design, develop, and test as a trusted partner for Fortune 500 customers.
   
   As a team of remarkably diverse engineers, we recognize that what we are really engineering is a brighter future for us all. If you want to contribute to meaningful work and be part of an organization that truly believes when you win, we all win, and when you fail, we all learn, then we're eager to hear from you.
   
   The achievers and courageous challenge-crushers we seek, have the following characteristics and skills:
   **Roles & Responsibilities:**
   
   + The Program Manager will lead a team of cross-discipline capable project engineers and execute project-specific organizational tasks in support of a number of customer projects. The successful candidate will be able to mentor, set Key Result Areas and monitor project health and customer feedback for team members.
   
   + Manage multiple Team Leads with projects while adhering to cost and schedule targets
   
   + Capability to form, guide, mentor and coach a project team of various disciplines
   
   + Drive project management organizational tasks including Global Project Framework
   
   + Present technical material to company and customer management teams
   
   + Exposure to complete Engineering Lifecycle
   
   + Represent our company to the customer and liaison with company management
   
   Participate in Program Manager Functions such as workforce decisions and metrics.
   
   **Required Skills (Technical Competency):**
   
   + Demonstrated ability to lead a Program of up to 65 employees, set goals and direction, ensure progress and resolve conflicts
   
   + Experience with project management, parts procurement strategies, MS Office, Earned Value principles
   
   + Due to the nature of the work, all candidates must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
   
   **Desired Skills:**
   
   + Execution within multiple services
   
   + Project Management: Execution and Support
   
   + Technical Leadership and Technical Reviews
   
   + Develop work instructions to ensure repeatability
   
   + Personnel Management
   
   + Onboarding and Professional Development: collaborate and mentor QuEST Team Members
   
   + Quality Management and Continuous Improvement
   
   **Physical Requirements & Work Environment:**
   
   + Mostly Office Environments, Occasional Shop Floor involvement.
   
   + Substantial amounts of telephone and computer work.
   
   + Heavily Regulated Industries with strict adherence to procedures.
   
   + Flexibility to meet business deadlines by staying late or arriving early.
   
   + Typical 8 hour days plus lunch / 40 hour weeks / core (required) hours are 9AM to 4PM
   
   + Ability to use personal transportation to visit customer locations.
   
   The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   
   
   42006BR
   
   **Job Type:**
   
   Full Time-Regular
   
   **Assignment Country:**
   
   United States
   
   **Total Years of Exp:**
   
   9 - 12
   
   **Education Type:**
   
   B.E/B.Tech/BS-Aerospace Engineering
   
   **Assignment State:**
   
   CONNECTICUT
   
   **Assignment Location:**
   
   Windsor
   
   **Experience Level:**
   
   Senior Level

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5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with engineering program/project manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of 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.

   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 program/project manager

   Once you've selected the best engineering program/project manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the 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.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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