How to hire a field service engineer lead

How to hire a field service engineer lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step field service engineer lead hiring guide:

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

Post a field service engineer lead job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the field service engineer lead you need to hire. Certain field service engineer lead 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

   A field service engineer lead's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, field service engineers lead 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 field service engineer lead salaries for various positions.

   Type of Field Service Engineer Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Field Service Engineer Lead	Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers design, develop, build, and test mechanical and thermal sensors and devices, including tools, engines, and machines.	$25-41
   Design Engineer	A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs... Show more	$27-49
   Staff Engineer	Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations... Show more	$33-80

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Test Equipment
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Technical Support
   • Technical Assistance
   • FSE
   • Preventative Maintenance
   • Customer Support
   • OSHA
   • Product Line
   • Provisioning
   • System Maintenance
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Computer System
   • Customer Issues

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage training and maintenance facility in Iraq, continuously training and upgrading unit equipment and capabilities while in combat.
   • Create needs to cross-sell and transition customers from dumb terminals to PC workstations.
   • Provide technical and project support for the UNIX server team on the Rockwell Collins account.
   • Design include infrastructure for water distribution, sanitary sewer collection, roadways, and a storm water management system for pollution control
   • Launch an inspection process for the CSE's to improve work request process and technical ability.
   • Team with analysts, remote support field engineers, other CSE's or account services reps to help meet objectives.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your field service engineer lead job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A field service engineer lead salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, field service engineers lead' average salary in arkansas is 44% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level field service engineers lead earn 40% less than senior-level field service engineers lead.
   • Certifications. A field service engineer lead with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a field service engineer lead's salary.

   Average field service engineer lead salary

   $67,989yearly

   $32.69 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level field service engineer lead salary

   $52,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

4. Writing a field service engineer lead job description

   A good field service engineer lead 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 a field service engineer lead job description:

   Field service engineer lead job description example

   COVID\-19 continues to significantly impact our employees, families and communities\. With employee health and safety as our top priority, and as a federal contractor, Lockheed Martin is taking action to address the increased risk and uncertainty COVID\-19 variants pose in the workplace and ensuring we meet our commitments to national security\.
   
   To uphold safety for all employees, we will continue to request vaccination status for all Lockheed Martin employees including new hires\. All current and newly hired employees are required to follow onsite safety measures based upon the COVID\-19 Community Level at the specific work location\.
   
   **Description:** Join the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics company as an Aircraft Field Service Engineer \(FSE\) on our Aeronautics Field Sustainment \(AFS\) team\! This position will support the F\-35 Program at Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA location\.
   
   As a Nose to Tail \(NTT\) FSE, the preferred candidate will be a subject Matter Expert \(SME\) in Avionics/Mission Systems \(MS\), in APG/Vehicle Systems \(VS\) or Supportable Low Observable \(SLO\)/Structures, with the skill set to accomplish troubleshooting and analysis of MS, VS, or SLO\.
   
   The candidate will act as part of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Field Sustainment \(AFS\) technical interface to the Navy on\-site Customer \(both Operations and Maintenance\) in resolving issues arising from maintenance and modification activities for all matters dealing with the F\-35 aircraft\.
   Other responsibilities include:
   
   • Accomplish troubleshooting and analysis of difficulties experienced in the field\.
   
   • Attend debriefings to aid in the rapid identification of emerging issues that require company intervention to avoid aircraft downtime\.
   
   • Document all unusual operation / maintenance problems to ensure the company is apprised of and can identify emerging failure trends\.
   
   • Initiate Action Requests \(ARs\)\. Identify unique operational problems that require technical, procedural, or quality assurance actions to resolve\. Provide on\-site assistance to company and customer personnel initiating ARs\.
   
   • Provide training to customer personnel\. Must be able to work and interact with the maintainer as well as the professional engineers from other F\-35 companies as a peer\.
   
   • Some travel required; candidates must be willing and able to deploy with customer to possible hazardous duty locations\. Long and short term deployments may be required onboard USS Ship and land based locations\.
   
   US Department of Defense \(DoD\) mandated vaccinations may be required\.
   
   • Applicant must be able to work and communicate well both orally and written in a team environment as this position involves significant and continued interface with customer personnel at all levels\.
   
   • Provide support for the assigned site on aircraft ground maintenance and operational limitations\. Direct on\-site support as requested by customer, site manager or program management\. Lead and track multiple engineering efforts and provide periodic status to customer and program management\.
   
   • Selected candidate must be willing and able to work other shifts as needed\.
   
   • Additional duties and related responsibilities will be assigned as required\.
   
   • Must be able to obtain F\-35 Special Program Access\. Must have at an Active Secret Security Clearance\. Must be a US Citizen\. This position is located at a facility that may require special access\.
   
   Aeroafs
   
   **Basic Qualifications:**
   
   The following Basic Qualifications are skills that a candidate must possess to be considered for this position:
   
   5 years of experience with Vehicle Systems \(APG\) and /or Mission Systems \(Avionics\) and/or Supportable Low Observable \(SLO\)/Structures\. Experience must be on F\-22 or F\-35 aircraft\.
   
   **Desired Skills:**
   
   The following Desired Skills are not required but are those skills that would set a candidate apart from the other candidates:
   
   \-Previous Field Service Engineer \(FSE\) experience
   
   \-Fault Isolation and problem analysis experience at the sub\-system level
   
   \-Technical report writing skills
   
   \-Experience with Engineering tools to include but not limited to JTD, PDM, VAS, JEDI, JARVIS, and CRE
   
   \-Experience with drawing/schematics reading and interpretation
   
   \-Knowledge of CATIA & System/Software Engineering Environment \(S/SEE\)
   
   \-Airframe & Power plant \(A&P\) license
   
   **BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:**
   
   job\.Qualifications
   
   **Lockheed Martin is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer\. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status\.**
   
   Join us at Lockheed Martin, where your mission is ours\. Our customers tackle the hardest missions\. Those that demand extraordinary amounts of courage, resilience and precision\. They're dangerous\. Critical\. Sometimes they even provide an opportunity to change the world and save lives\. Those are the missions we care about\.
   
   As a leading technology innovation company, Lockheed Martin's vast team works with partners around the world to bring proven performance to our customers' toughest challenges\. Lockheed Martin has employees based in many states throughout the U\.S\., and Internationally, with business locations in many nations and territories\.
   
   **EXPERIENCE LEVEL:**
   
   Experienced Professional

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find field service engineers lead 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 field service engineer lead job on Zippia to find and recruit field service engineer lead 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 field service engineers lead, 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 field service engineer lead

   Once you have selected a candidate for the field service engineer lead position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize 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 field service engineer lead first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a field service engineer lead?