How to hire an industrial engineer

How to hire an industrial engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step industrial engineer hiring guide:

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

What does an industrial engineer do?

Post an industrial engineer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an industrial engineer, 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

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

   Type of Industrial Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Industrial Engineer	Industrial engineers find ways to eliminate wastefulness in production processes. They devise efficient systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service.	$28-46
   Process Engineer Internship	A process engineering intern performs various tasks for an organization. These include collaborating with the technical team on cost savings, process efficiency improvements, and technology advancement, attending meetings with leadership teams, and participating in customer trials... Show more	$14-24
   Research And Development Engineer	Research and development engineers generally execute research and tests on product ideas, develop new products, and perform redesigns. They are employed in many industries, including manufacturing, electrical, and science-based companies... Show more	$35-64

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Continuous Improvement
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • Sigma
   • Project Management
   • Logistics
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Value Stream
   • Cost Reduction
   • Data Analysis
   • CAD
   • Process Flow
   • Facility Layout
   • Capacity Analysis
   • Shop Floor

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Plan, manage, lead and execute projects from conception to successful completion using the DMAIC methodology.
   • Manage development of equipment, which include electrical systems, PLC programming, pneumatic circuits, hydraulic systems and fixtures.
   • Lead PDCA project to reduce order sizing defects that impact customer product delivery, avoiding $230K in lose revenue.
   • Utilize AutoCad for plant layout modifications or capital projects.
   • Train new IE's in the work group in labor reporting, equipment cycle timing and labor standards.
   • Lead for manufacturing relate continuous improvement activities including Kaizen events to improve production efficiency b

   More industrial engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, industrial engineers' average salary in vermont is 43% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level industrial engineers 39% less than senior-level industrial engineers.
   • Certifications. An industrial engineer 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 industrial engineer's salary.

   Average industrial engineer salary

   $76,501yearly

   $36.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level industrial engineer salary

   $59,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 18, 2026

   Average industrial engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$98,143	$47
   2	California	$96,518	$46
   3	Oregon	$89,181	$43
   4	Arizona	$82,168	$40
   5	Texas	$81,586	$39
   6	Minnesota	$79,712	$38
   7	Virginia	$79,285	$38
   8	Utah	$78,197	$38
   9	Michigan	$78,059	$38
   10	New York	$74,511	$36
   11	Illinois	$73,435	$35
   12	Ohio	$69,516	$33
   13	Georgia	$69,264	$33
   14	Tennessee	$68,091	$33
   15	North Carolina	$68,050	$33
   16	Indiana	$67,181	$32
   17	Kansas	$66,859	$32
   18	Florida	$64,949	$31

   Average industrial engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$119,468	$57.44	96
   2	Meta	$112,953	$54.30	159
   3	Google	$112,478	$54.08	40
   4	Western Digital	$109,768	$52.77	4
   5	ConocoPhillips	$109,598	$52.69
   6	Brocade Services Corporation	$107,948	$51.90
   7	Amazon	$107,056	$51.47	158
   8	Shell Trading	$106,628	$51.26
   9	Ernst & Young	$106,216	$51.07	4
   10	Genentech	$105,923	$50.92	11
   11	Arkema	$104,038	$50.02	5
   12	Applied Materials	$103,871	$49.94	70
   13	Bloomberg	$103,476	$49.75
   14	Exxon Mobil	$102,627	$49.34	18
   15	Edwards Lifesciences	$102,451	$49.26	18
   16	Lyft	$102,382	$49.22
   17	NVIDIA	$101,785	$48.94	12
   18	Cisco	$101,716	$48.90	22
   19	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$101,277	$48.69	17
   20	Intuitive Surgical	$101,142	$48.63	11

4. Writing an industrial engineer job description

   An industrial engineer 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 industrial engineer job description:

   Industrial engineer job description example

   The Role
   
   Tesla's Supplier Industrialization team is responsible for critical component development and qualification activities at suppliers. This role will invent, develop, qualify, scale up and optimize Measurement/inspection systems: both manual and automated methods for battery manufacturing. In this role, you will work closely with many organizations both internal and external to Tesla, taking new battery designs from initial concept through into full production.
   
   The battery cell is a critical component in Tesla vehicles and storage systems. This role will have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to our products. The work environment is demanding, fast-paced and incredibly exciting. The ideal candidate should be ready to push their limits, as they join in highly motivated and capable team to make unbelievable things into reality.
   
   Responsibilities
   
   + Perform drawing reviews to understand design strategies and develop required measurement strategy that is scalable to high volume production.
   
   + Support the development of part and system-based tolerance requirements through GD&T with Design, Manufacturing and Quality.
   
   + Review assembly and measurement tooling to ensure alignment with agreed and optimized design strategies.
   
   + Work as key link between Tesla internal and supplier teams to develop requirements and provide solution for manual inspection (CMM, OMM, etc), static and dynamic high-speed vision inspection systems
   
   + Qualify and scale the new measurement systems (MSA, OQC- IQC correlation, dashboard, process capability study)
   
   + •Program vision application solutions using common programming languages such as VB, C++, C#, Python.
   
   + Provide direction and mentorship to third party measurement/inspection system and/or Tesla supplier teams
   
   + Train team members on the basics of metrology, vision system and act as a subject matter expert in the fields of metrology/vision system/GD&T
   
   Requirements
   
   + BS, MS in mechanical, electrical, computer science or another engineering discipline, with 5+ years of experience in developing metrology systems, 2+ years of Machine Vision Systems experience in automation equipment.
   
   + Proficiency with GD&T ASME Y 14.5 - 2009/2018
   
   + Strong experience in Measurement system analysis, Cp/Cpk analysis, stack up tolerance analysis
   
   + Superior practical knowledge in selection of cameras, lenses, optics, lighting, and other hardware for image capture and processing and ability to explain theory behind vision system algorithms
   
   + Ability to travel - 30%
   
   + Experience in high volume manufacturing is highly desired.
   
   + Experience in CMM, OMM programming is highly desired.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find industrial engineers 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 industrial engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit industrial engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with industrial engineer 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.

   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 industrial engineer

   Once you've selected the best industrial engineer 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new industrial engineer. 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an industrial engineer?