How to hire a facility designer

How to hire a facility designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step facility designer hiring guide:

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

What does a facility designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a facility designer, 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a facility designer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a facility designer that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of facility designer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Facility Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Facility Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$22-40
   Project Engineer	A Project Engineer develops the plan that the entire team or company will undertake. The project engineer develops the plans, strategies, and goals of a project and then gives it to the management for approval and allocation... Show more	$26-48
   Engineer	Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects... Show more	$31-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Revit
   • Facilities Design
   • Space Planning
   • Construction Drawings
   • Calculation
   • HVAC
   • Construction Management
   • Construction Projects
   • Plumbing
   • Auto CAD
   • Real Estate
   • Sketch
   • Design Projects
   • Aided Design

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage general facilities including commissioning, building management systems, and calibrations for GMP area for tablets production operation.
   • Do the DCR of LDPE plant using PDMS.
   • Design of piping service systems using PDMS.
   • Set up models in Navisworks for client review.
   • Set up and navigate models with Navisworks for client model
   • Create piping models for oil and gas industry using CadWorx.

   More facility designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the facility designer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A facility designer 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 a facility designer in Kentucky may be lower than in Maryland, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level facility designer. Additionally, a facility designer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average facility designer salary

   $63,152yearly

   $30.36 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level facility designer salary

   $46,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average facility designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$81,048	$39
   2	Maryland	$76,282	$37
   3	Virginia	$75,532	$36
   4	Washington	$72,756	$35
   5	California	$72,470	$35
   6	Massachusetts	$69,983	$34
   7	Illinois	$65,423	$31
   8	New York	$64,311	$31
   9	Connecticut	$62,670	$30
   10	Arizona	$61,399	$30
   11	Colorado	$60,076	$29
   12	Texas	$58,938	$28
   13	New Jersey	$58,584	$28
   14	Utah	$56,762	$27
   15	Minnesota	$55,726	$27
   16	Missouri	$54,957	$26
   17	Wyoming	$54,773	$26
   18	Florida	$53,044	$26
   19	Tennessee	$52,678	$25
   20	Arkansas	$52,456	$25

   Average facility designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Walmart	$90,995	$43.75	61
   2	MRI Software	$68,567	$32.96
   3	Musco Lighting	$68,280	$32.83
   4	TERRA Staffing Group	$67,019	$32.22
   5	ERM	$66,712	$32.07
   6	Northrop Grumman	$65,715	$31.59	12
   7	The Walt Disney Company	$65,607	$31.54	34
   8	Calspan	$65,357	$31.42
   9	Wsp USA Buildings Inc.	$64,660	$31.09	72
   10	Partners Healthcare Solutions Inc	$64,562	$31.04
   11	Raytheon Technologies	$64,538	$31.03	15
   12	CoStar Group	$64,442	$30.98	22
   13	HDR	$63,481	$30.52	94
   14	SpaceX	$63,289	$30.43	17
   15	Hoag	$62,479	$30.04
   16	Gensler	$62,432	$30.02	123
   17	Garver, LLC	$61,888	$29.75	13
   18	Queens Health Systems	$60,805	$29.23	1
   19	Burns & McDonnell	$60,566	$29.12	47
   20	Navy Federal Credit Union	$60,504	$29.09

4. Writing a facility designer job description

   A job description for a facility designer 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 a facility designer job description:

   Facility designer job description example

   Please see job description for details.
   
   **Time Type:**
   
   Full time
   
   **Department:**
   
   CC017325 Planning Design & Construction
   
   **Summary:**
   
   Coordinates the research, planning, design development, documentation, and project management of interior design projects. Projects and work orders are generally of limited complexity and completed in collaboration with others or independently with supervision.
   
   **Additional Information:**
   
   **Required Education:**
   
   Bachelor's Degree
   
   **Recommended Education:**
   
   **Required Work Experience:**
   
   Related Field - 3 years of experience
   
   **Recommended Work Experience:**
   
   **Required Certifications:**
   
   **Recommended Certifications:**
   
   Pursing National Council for Interior Design Certification (NCIDQ) - Council for Interior Design Qualifications
   
   **Description**
   
   1. Responsible to create functional and aesthetic designs as required for facilities operations, planning, design and construction, as assigned with supervision. Designs including but not limited to finished floor and wall surfaces, millwork, furniture, equipment, artwork, lighting, signage, and other fixtures. Projects include non-structural/non-seismic construction. Position requires multitasking, working in teams, meeting with customers, and coordinating with creative agencies and outside vendors.
   
   2. Prepares work including but not limited to space planning, design proposals, visual aids, renderings, presentations, cost estimates, specifications, technical drawings and working documents for system-wide facilities projects. Work to be completed using a combination of CAD/BIM and other presentation software tools.
   
   3. Provides routine support to internal and external stakeholders with design coordination, project management and construction administration to resolve conflicts and ensure design intent. Includes meeting and coordinating with different teams and departments.
   
   4. Develops furniture, fixtures and equipment (FFE) plans and specifications for capital projects, moves and other facilities work order requests. Coordinates with PDC project managers, customers, design firms, and furniture vendors to prepare cost estimates, design plans, specifications and renderings needed for a complete design. Projects and work orders are generally of moderate complexity and completed in collaboration with others or independently as assigned.
   
   5. Develops visualization and designs for property plans, maps, brochures, signage, wayfinding and other facilities related information.
   
   6. Responsible to manage and maintain all design software, design library of materials and finishes, research and monitor industry trends, routinely meet with vendors and manufacturer's reps for updates, and monitor additions and changes to system design standards.
   
   7. Other related duties as assigned.
   
   Arkansas Children's provides equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to age, race, color, religion, national origin or citizenship status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or any other category protected by federal, state and local laws. Further, Arkansas Children's will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find facility designers 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 facility designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level facility designers 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 facility designer job on Zippia to find and recruit facility designer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit facility designers, 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.

   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 facility designer

   Once you've selected the best facility designer 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new facility designer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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How much does it cost to hire a facility designer?