How to hire an engineering project specialist

How to hire an engineering project specialist, step by step

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

What does an engineering project specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the engineering project specialist you need to hire. Certain engineering project specialist 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?

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   No

   Hiring the perfect engineering project specialist 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 shows salaries for various types of engineering project specialists.

   Type of Engineering Project Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Engineering Project Specialist	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$33-78
   Process Improvement Engineer	A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability... Show more	$29-52
   Product Support Engineer	A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference... Show more	$32-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Program Management
   • BOM
   • Part Numbers
   • Engineering Design
   • Project Engineering
   • Technical Documentation
   • Technical Support
   • System Design
   • Status Reports
   • Provide Engineering Support
   • Cost Estimates
   • Visualization
   • Earned Value Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a cross-function team to participate plant-wide ERP system launch; establish the prototype electrical operations and maintenance activities evaluation system.
   • Lead ISO auditor for Dril-Quip subsea suppliers.
   • Lead a cross-function team to participate plant-wide ERP system launch; establish the prototype electrical operations and maintenance activities evaluation system.
   • Work perform utilizing PMI methodologies.

   More engineering project specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the engineering project specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. An engineering project specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an engineering project specialist in Alaska may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level engineering project specialist. Additionally, an engineering project specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average engineering project specialist salary

   $107,780yearly

   $51.82 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level engineering project specialist salary

   $70,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

   Average engineering project specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$134,284	$65
   2	California	$129,054	$62
   3	Virginia	$128,363	$62
   4	New York	$117,809	$57
   5	Massachusetts	$116,138	$56
   6	Pennsylvania	$114,326	$55
   7	Washington	$108,760	$52
   8	Ohio	$106,430	$51
   9	Indiana	$101,886	$49
   10	Georgia	$100,222	$48
   11	Maryland	$98,836	$48
   12	Louisiana	$97,982	$47
   13	Michigan	$97,061	$47
   14	District of Columbia	$96,295	$46
   15	Florida	$95,816	$46
   16	Texas	$94,483	$45
   17	Minnesota	$91,248	$44
   18	Tennessee	$86,526	$42
   19	Illinois	$86,042	$41
   20	Kansas	$81,761	$39

   Average engineering project specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$150,271	$72.25	90
   2	Meta	$142,446	$68.48	644
   3	Chevron	$131,188	$63.07	5
   4	AT&T	$116,182	$55.86	5
   5	Mesa Associates	$107,353	$51.61	26
   6	NOV	$107,290	$51.58	9
   7	Project Solutions Group	$105,674	$50.80	1
   8	Hewlett Packard Enterprise	$104,780	$50.38	25
   9	Crystal Equation	$104,014	$50.01
   10	TekPartners	$103,928	$49.97
   11	Aviana Global	$102,509	$49.28
   12	Cook Children's Medical Center	$102,243	$49.16	4
   13	Jacobs Enterprises	$101,254	$48.68	152
   14	HP	$101,040	$48.58	3
   15	PDS Tech	$100,831	$48.48	1
   16	Stantec	$100,741	$48.43	254
   17	CB&I Federal Services, LLC	$100,667	$48.40
   18	Zayo Group	$99,591	$47.88	2
   19	Aerojet Rocketdyne	$98,554	$47.38
   20	EN Engineering	$96,272	$46.28

4. Writing an engineering project specialist job description

   A job description for an engineering project specialist 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 an engineering project specialist job description:

   Engineering project specialist job description example

   Minimum qualifications:
   
   + Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent work experience.
   
   + 2 years of experience working within hardware development or consumer electronics.
   
   + Experience working with contract manufacturers.
   
   + Experience in program or project management.
   
   Preferred qualifications:
   
   + Experience with hardware development, manufacturing processes, vendor relations, and working with contract manufacturers in Asia.
   
   + Knowledge of hardware BOM structures and change control concepts.
   
   + Ability to manage complex spreadsheets and coordinate across cross-functional teams and job functions.
   
   + Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and effectively prioritize multiple tasks/projects and adapt to changes and overcome challenges as they arise.
   
   + Excellent organizational, written and verbal communication, and analytical skills.
   
   A problem isn't truly solved until it's solved for all. That's why Googlers build products that help create opportunities for everyone, whether down the street or across the globe. As a Program Manager at Google, you'll lead complex, multi-disciplinary projects from start to finish - working with stakeholders to plan requirements, manage project schedules, identify risks, and communicate clearly with cross-functional partners across the company. Your projects will often span offices, time zones, and hemispheres. It's your job to coordinate the players and keep them up to date on progress and deadlines.
   
   Our goal is to build a Google that looks like the world around us - and we want Googlers to stay and grow when they join us. As part of our efforts to build a Google for everyone, we build diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work and we aim to cultivate a sense of belonging throughout the company.
   
   As an Engineering Project Specialist, Program Manager, you will join the engineering team partnering with the Engineering Program Management team to bring hardware products to production. You will help to ensure that engineering requirements are captured and built into configurations throughout development.
   
   Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our Devices & Services team combines the best of Google AI, Software, and Hardware to create radically helpful experiences for users. We research, design, and develop new technologies and hardware to make our user's interaction with computing faster, seamless, and more powerful. Whether finding new ways to capture and sense the world around us, advancing form factors, or improving interaction methods, the Devices & Services team is making people's lives better through technology.
   
   + Support hardware development builds and manage product labeling and build documentation.
   
   + Manage the New Product Introduction (NPI) product Build Matrix by tracking material readiness, tracking engineering parallel paths and investigations, and product configurations.
   
   + Maintain allocation database, provide allocation direction, track system delivery schedules, and ensure timely distribution to all product groups.
   
   + Facilitate Bill of Material (BOM) management and communication with internal/external teams.
   
   + Manage the development purchase order (PO) creation, communication with internal/external finance teams, invoice review, and final invoice approval.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right engineering project specialist 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 engineering project specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit engineering project specialist 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 engineering project specialists, 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 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 engineering project specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect engineering project specialist 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.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new engineering project specialist. 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 an engineering project specialist?