How to hire a functional analyst

How to hire a functional analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step functional analyst hiring guide:

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

What does a functional analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your functional analyst job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a functional analyst for hire on a part-time basis or as a 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 functional analyst 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 functional analyst that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of functional analysts.

   Type of Functional Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Functional Analyst	Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more efficiently and effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT) together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.	$34-62
   Business Analyst/Quality Analyst	A business analyst/quality analyst is responsible for evaluating business outputs and operational processes to ensure that everything adheres to the quality standards and business regulations. Business analysts/quality analysts support senior management in determining solutions to improve the company's services and provide the highest satisfaction for the customers and clients... Show more	$27-46
   Analyst Lead	The duties of an analyst lead depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather leads and data, reviewing findings, and producing reports and presentations for the stakeholders and other higher-ranking officials... Show more	$35-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Business Process
   • Lifecycle Management
   • HR
   • ERP
   • Technical Support
   • Functional Specifications
   • Test Scripts
   • Strong Analytical
   • Client Facing
   • Gap Analysis
   • User Acceptance
   • CRM
   • Payroll
   • Test Cases

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage offshore production support resources while defining SLA's and processes in coordination with contract teams.
   • Manage a team of 6 technical resources and their tasks, including EDI, interfaces, conversions, and reporting.
   • Lead functional staff in planning stage of system migration from client-server architecture to web base environment via ResQSoft conversion tool.
   • Manage customer information and create reports using Microsoft dynamics CRM.
   • Assist in business process mapping and prototyping, gap analysis, solution design, setup and testing.
   • Contract as MDM product structure subject matter expert (SME) on an IBM global large-scale ERP initiative.

   More functional analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your functional analyst job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A functional analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a functional analyst in North Dakota may be lower than in New Mexico, and an entry-level functional analyst usually earns less than a senior-level functional analyst. Additionally, a functional analyst with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average functional analyst salary

   $96,841yearly

   $46.56 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level functional analyst salary

   $71,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average functional analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$121,655	$58
   2	Washington	$112,738	$54
   3	Arizona	$110,359	$53
   4	Colorado	$104,583	$50
   5	Maryland	$97,358	$47
   6	Pennsylvania	$96,567	$46
   7	Texas	$95,647	$46
   8	Florida	$95,046	$46
   9	Ohio	$93,593	$45
   10	North Carolina	$93,496	$45
   11	Minnesota	$92,848	$45
   12	New York	$91,090	$44
   13	New Jersey	$90,290	$43
   14	Virginia	$90,048	$43
   15	District of Columbia	$89,397	$43
   16	Illinois	$88,117	$42
   17	Nebraska	$86,714	$42
   18	Georgia	$83,140	$40

   Average functional analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$141,925	$68.23	6
   2	Costco Wholesale	$138,579	$66.62	3
   3	Amazon	$135,574	$65.18	33
   4	Expedia Group	$132,507	$63.71	4
   5	Zulily	$132,460	$63.68
   6	Nike	$129,509	$62.26	1
   7	Ticketmaster	$128,817	$61.93
   8	Starbucks	$128,522	$61.79
   9	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$128,274	$61.67	2
   10	NVIDIA	$128,010	$61.54
   11	Fresh Direct Holdings Inc	$127,216	$61.16
   12	Walgreens	$126,456	$60.80	34
   13	Key Food	$125,351	$60.26
   14	BJ's Wholesale Club	$125,247	$60.21
   15	C&S Wholesale Grocers	$124,442	$59.83	1
   16	Port of Seattle	$124,413	$59.81	2
   17	Juniper Networks	$123,930	$59.58
   18	Apollo Professional Solutions	$123,823	$59.53	2
   19	TEAM	$123,595	$59.42	1
   20	Apple American Group	$122,372	$58.83

4. Writing a functional analyst job description

   A functional analyst 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 a functional analyst job description:

   Functional analyst job description example

   3+ years BSA, Product owner, Agile Team experience

   Preferred:

   • Experience with Life Insurance

   • Experience with JIRA and or Azure Boards/ Tools

   • SAFe certified or other Scaled Agile frameworks: Scrum Alliance CSM or CSP certification, PMI’s Agile Certified Professional (ACP)

   Salary Grade

   10T

   Travel

   Not Applicable

   Number of Openings

   1

   MetLife:

   MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

   We are one of the largest institutional investors in the U.S. with $642.4 billion of total assets under management as of March 31, 2021. We are ranked #46 on the Fortune 500 list for 2021. In 2020, we were named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fifth year in a row. DJSI is a global index to track the leading sustainability-driven companies. We are proud to have been named to Fortune magazine’s 2021 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.”

   MetLife is committed to building a purpose-driven and inclusive culture that energizes our people. Our employees work every day to help build a more confident future for people around the world.

   We want to make it simple for all interested and qualified candidates to apply for employment opportunities with MetLife. For further information about how to request a reasonable accommodation, please click on the Disability Accommodations link below.

   MetLife is a proud Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer dedicated to attracting, retaining, and developing a diverse and inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment at MetLife without regards to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

   MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right functional analyst for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with functional analysts they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit functional analysts who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your functional analyst job on Zippia to find and attract quality functional analyst candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit functional analysts, 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.

   If your interviews with functional analyst applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • 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 functional analyst

   Once you have selected a candidate for the functional analyst 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new functional analyst. 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 a functional analyst?