How to hire an engineering test specialist

How to hire an engineering test specialist, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

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

   Hiring the perfect engineering test 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.

   Here's a comparison of engineering test specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Engineering Test Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Engineering Test Specialist		$32-53
   Quality Assurance Lead	A quality assurance lead, also known as QA Lead, is responsible for conducting necessary quality tests and analyses for software program and development. As a quality assurance lead, they must take the lead in ensuring quality during development by proactively performing critical evaluations, troubleshooting, and providing precise documentation... Show more	$34-59
   Quality Assurance	The primary role of quality assurance specialists is to inspect the quality system's implementation and perform quality assurance audits. They are responsible for monitoring and recording results from procedures and processes within manufacturing industries... Show more	$13-44

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Test Equipment
   • Test Procedures
   • RF
   • Control Systems
   • Test Reports
   • Linux
   • Test Cases
   • Test Fixtures
   • R
   • Test Execution
   • Test Scripts
   • Unix
   • End Testing
   • CAD

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage engineering operations and budgets, monitoring spending and assessing performance measures; manage several operation budgets relating to HVAC.
   • Expertize in IBM PowerKVM, Ubuntu, RedHat and SLES Linux testing.
   • Replicate and reproduce bugs and defects find during testing for development team, QA managers and client.
   • Manage engineering operations and budgets, monitoring spending and assessing performance measures; manage several operation budgets relating to HVAC.
   • Integrate the test suites to Jenkins to execute them automatically after every successful deployment.

   More engineering test specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, engineering test specialists' average salary in alabama is 30% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level engineering test specialists 40% less than senior-level engineering test specialists.
   • Certifications. An engineering test 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 test specialist's salary.

   Average engineering test specialist salary

   $86,651yearly

   $41.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level engineering test specialist salary

   $67,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average engineering test specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$98,194	$47
   2	New York	$93,194	$45
   3	New Jersey	$92,988	$45
   4	Massachusetts	$92,149	$44
   5	Washington	$88,692	$43
   6	Virginia	$88,609	$43
   7	Wisconsin	$88,085	$42
   8	Texas	$86,835	$42
   9	North Carolina	$86,719	$42
   10	Illinois	$86,317	$42
   11	Michigan	$85,256	$41
   12	Pennsylvania	$84,546	$41
   13	Minnesota	$83,483	$40
   14	Georgia	$83,414	$40
   15	Tennessee	$81,192	$39
   16	Florida	$79,264	$38
   17	Kansas	$77,331	$37
   18	Rhode Island	$76,029	$37
   19	Ohio	$72,806	$35

   Average engineering test specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$125,577	$60.37	312
   2	Hospira	$100,603	$48.37
   3	American Family Insurance	$100,463	$48.30
   4	General Motors	$99,694	$47.93	282
   5	General Electric	$95,985	$46.15	195
   6	Accenture	$95,806	$46.06	462
   7	GlobalLogic	$95,451	$45.89	2
   8	Nityo Infotech	$93,570	$44.99
   9	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$92,338	$44.39	34
   10	DUCK CREEK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.	$91,828	$44.15
   11	Hewlett Packard Enterprise	$91,357	$43.92	35
   12	Electric	$90,204	$43.37	10
   13	Espey Mfg. & Electronics	$89,989	$43.26
   14	Butler America Inc	$89,980	$43.26
   15	Cogent Communications	$89,802	$43.17
   16	Tactical Engineering & Analysis	$88,953	$42.77	6
   17	Frontier Technologies	$88,693	$42.64
   18	Donatech	$85,657	$41.18
   19	IBM	$85,235	$40.98	97
   20	AeroVironment	$84,403	$40.58	40

4. Writing an engineering test specialist job description

   A good engineering test specialist 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 an engineering test specialist job description:

   Engineering test specialist job description example

   US Citizenship Only
   Specialist Integration Test Engineering position requiring extensive knowledge of test equipment hardware and software design disciplines that will be used in the design and support of test equipment.
   
   Major functions:
   Develop special test equipment (STE) design specifications and test requirements
   Conduct preliminary design review of STE design architecture
   Identify STE hardware and software required to meet specification requirements
   Develop STE detailed design documentation that includes design drawings, schematics, wire lists, and bill of materials.
   Identify and develop documentation that defines communication protocols from STE to device under test
   Develop STE software architecture requirements that provide a hardware abstraction layer for lower level interfaces with commercial and custom hardware defined in the STE specifications.
   Conduct critical design review of STE design architecture
   Assist in the identification and procurement of STE components
   Develop STE software
   Assist in the development of acceptance test procedures
   Develop STE design validation and hardware maintenance procedures
   Perform STE design verifications
   Prepare associated STE documentation and software in support of configuration management activities
   Participate in proposal preparation for STE design activities
   Manage and track STE development tasks in support of EVMS activities
   
   Education/Experience/Licenses etc.:
   Bachelors Degree and minimum 4 years of prior relevant experience or 2 years post-Secondary/ Associates Degree and a minimum of 8 years of prior related experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 2 years of prior related experience.
   
   Preferred Additional Skills:
   Strong work ethic and strong leadership skills with solid communication, interpersonal management and relationship building skills being a must.
   Strong technical, analytical and critical thinking / reasoning skills.
   Working knowledge of RS-422/485, MIL-STD-1553, RS-232 and other serial protocols
   Working knowledge of DVI, ARINC 818, SMPTE, and VGA video protocols.
   Familiarity with CPLD/FPGA and microcontroller designs.
   Working knowledge 10/100/1000 Ethernet hardware and protocols. (Copper/Fiber Optic)
   Experience in the design of high density mixed signal cabling for rugged environments.
   Highly skilled in troubleshooting, problem solving, and decision making under the guidance of peers/superiors when appropriate.
   Applies engineering theories/concepts/principles to achieve technical specifications and objectives. Completes assignments and projects within a set schedule. Works effectively in a team environment.
   Proficiency in operating electronics laboratory equipment including: digital multi-meters, oscilloscopes (DSO, Mixed Signal), signal generators, DC power supplies, etc.
   Works with other disciplines to support goals of the business. Possesses foresight in identifying future problems and proposes potential solutions to the team (proactive).
   Software design experience using National Instruments LabView and Teststand.
   Background in test for military customers including qualification and EMI testing.
   Background in a military electronics manufacturing environment.
   Strong Office tool skills along with a general instrumentation hardware and software knowledge.
   Test set architecture and design experience.
   Ability to obtain Secret security clearance

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find engineering test 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 test specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level engineering test 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 test specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit engineering test 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

   Your first interview with engineering test specialist 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.

   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 test 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 test specialist

   Once you've selected the best engineering test 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 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.

   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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