How to hire an engineering support specialist

How to hire an engineering support specialist, step by step

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

What does an engineering support specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

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

   Yes

   No

   An engineering support specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, engineering support specialists 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 engineering support specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Engineering Support Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Engineering Support Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$22-50
   Technical Support Engineer	A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting... Show more	$29-57
   Support Lead	A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members... Show more	$30-56

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Engineering Support
   • CAD
   • Data Entry
   • Troubleshoot
   • Technical Support
   • Project Management
   • Configuration Management
   • Software Applications
   • Test Equipment
   • BOM
   • SQL
   • Customer Support
   • LabVIEW
   • PLC

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple imaging-relate projects across both radiology and cardiology service lines, both inpatient and outpatient, to completion.
   • Diagnose and troubleshoot Fujitsu laptops as well as tablet PC's.
   • Assist engineering in designing of new equipment and troubleshoot older equipment.
   • Maintain the company's electrical assets geo-spatially using ESRI, GIS software.
   • Assist with website editing and improvements utilizing PHP, HTML, CSS, and XML technologies.
   • Create custom processing screens in AdminWeb using OmniScript and HTML to replace OmniVBAs after migration from OmniStation.

   More engineering support specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, engineering support specialists' average salary in alaska is 48% less than in delaware.
   • Seniority. Entry-level engineering support specialists 55% less than senior-level engineering support specialists.
   • Certifications. An engineering support specialist 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 support specialist's salary.

   Average engineering support specialist salary

   $70,461yearly

   $33.88 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level engineering support specialist salary

   $47,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average engineering support specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$85,954	$41
   2	Massachusetts	$84,103	$40
   3	New York	$82,902	$40
   4	Texas	$75,997	$37
   5	Missouri	$75,515	$36
   6	North Carolina	$70,561	$34
   7	Michigan	$69,935	$34
   8	Kansas	$67,941	$33
   9	Illinois	$67,201	$32
   10	New Mexico	$67,191	$32
   11	Indiana	$66,302	$32
   12	Georgia	$64,314	$31
   13	Alabama	$63,052	$30
   14	Minnesota	$62,608	$30
   15	Florida	$61,487	$30
   16	Arizona	$60,747	$29
   17	Iowa	$58,516	$28
   18	Colorado	$56,895	$27

   Average engineering support specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.	$96,280	$46.29
   2	Southern California Edison	$95,776	$46.05	12
   3	HP	$92,774	$44.60	8
   4	Intuitive Surgical	$92,370	$44.41	5
   5	Equifax	$91,480	$43.98	6
   6	Lucid Motors	$90,910	$43.71	29
   7	NetImpact Strategies	$89,453	$43.01	12
   8	MKS Instruments	$88,133	$42.37	8
   9	The Computer Merchant	$86,844	$41.75
   10	TECO-Westinghouse	$85,428	$41.07	1
   11	PSEA	$83,555	$40.17	18
   12	Altair	$81,750	$39.30	2
   13	ICONMA	$78,902	$37.93	2
   14	The Corradino Group	$78,487	$37.73
   15	Cummins	$77,818	$37.41	42
   16	General Dynamics	$77,640	$37.33	168
   17	Matrix Service Company	$76,194	$36.63
   18	Hyundai Securities	$74,669	$35.90
   19	Hewlett Packard Enterprise	$74,581	$35.86	24
   20	Honeywell	$74,433	$35.79	84

4. Writing an engineering support specialist job description

   An engineering support specialist 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 support specialist job description:

   Engineering support specialist job description example

   Adaptive Solutions Group is a premier provider of information technology personnel. We provide a variety of technical professionals available for contract, contract to hire, or direct placement positions to companies in and around the Kansas City, St. Louis, and Denver Areas.
   We are currently looking for an Engineering and Design Support Specialist to join our team.
   
   Responsibilities
   Troubleshooting CAD related installation, configuration, monitoring and support. Perform product validation and qualification testing for new software releases. Review, Audit and manage compliance to Company or Client CAD standards. Configuration, management and monitoring of background processes. Addressing various trouble tickets in a timely manner. Setup and maintain project and/or client related resources. Resourceful resolution of project related issues. Prepare and facilitate training and support materials for users including CAD related software functionality, advanced features and interoperability with other vertical applications.
   
   Required Qualifications
   Working knowledge of computer aided engineering, tools and methodology such as MicroStation and AutoCAD Programming and scripting experience related to the previous applications (AutoLISP & VBA strongly preferred) Experience and/or understanding of the file conversion process for the following file formats: DGN-to- DWG; DWG-to-DGN; PDF-to-DWG High degree of attention to detail and extensive organizational skills Communication skills with a wide variety of individuals from Management to Field Technicians. Good written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present facts and opinions in a logical and concise manner. Self-motivated, clear focus on quality, quick learning, acute problem solving and analytical skills. This position may require periodic work during off hours/days outside the normal working hours/days. Flexibility and willingness to work as and when required in addition to the normal working hours is essential.
   
   Adaptive Solutions Group offers a competitive compensation and benefits package that includes medical, dental, STD/LTD, life insurance coverage, 401k, paid vacation and holidays.
   
   Adaptive Solutions Group is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and veteran or disability status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find engineering support specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any engineering support specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level engineering support specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your engineering support specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit engineering support specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting engineering support specialists 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.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview engineering support specialist candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 support specialist

   Once you've selected the best engineering support specialist 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.

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