How to hire an information technology technical lead

How to hire an information technology technical lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step information technology technical lead hiring guide:

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

What does an information technology technical lead do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an information technology technical lead, 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

   Hiring the perfect information technology technical lead 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 information technology technical lead salaries for various roles:

   Type of Information Technology Technical Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Information Technology Technical Lead		$40-70
   Technical Manager	A technical manager is responsible for maintaining the company's information systems database and analyzing technology system matters to ensure its efficiency and accuracy in supporting business operations. Technical managers perform network checks regularly to assess any possible malfunctions that might compromise the company's cybersecurity... Show more	$40-77
   Information Engineer	An information engineer is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of computer systems and network infrastructure, performing configuration to boost the optimal performance of the technology systems. Information engineers assist end-users in resolving network issues, identifying the source of inconsistencies, and create resolution reports for reference to avoid reoccurrence... Show more	$37-66

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Architecture
   • Governance
   • Java
   • Customer Service
   • NIST
   • Portfolio
   • Business Process
   • Risk Assessments
   • Troubleshoot
   • Emerging Technologies
   • Application Development
   • Azure
   • SQL Server

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage in completing COMSEC inventories, as required.
   • Lead the design and implementation of a large-scale CRM platform.
   • Manage full lifecycle for all Microsoft development (.NET, Java, JSP, SQL, etc . )
   • Lead numerous ERP enhancement and implementations initiatives to the corporate environments.
   • Manage production systems/applications and responsibility for their implementations - QA and test environments include.
   • Introduce metrics driven ITIL fundamentals.

   More information technology technical lead duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, information technology technical leads' average salary in wyoming is 33% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level information technology technical leads 42% less than senior-level information technology technical leads.
   • Certifications. An information technology technical lead 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 information technology technical lead's salary.

   Average information technology technical lead salary

   $110,879yearly

   $53.31 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level information technology technical lead salary

   $84,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average information technology technical lead salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$135,232	$65
   2	Connecticut	$129,418	$62
   3	New Jersey	$127,179	$61
   4	Massachusetts	$123,887	$60
   5	Pennsylvania	$117,669	$57
   6	New York	$116,445	$56
   7	North Carolina	$112,372	$54
   8	Maryland	$111,501	$54
   9	Washington	$111,317	$54
   10	Florida	$109,799	$53
   11	Ohio	$107,645	$52
   12	Illinois	$107,477	$52
   13	Wisconsin	$106,912	$51
   14	Texas	$106,638	$51
   15	Arizona	$106,442	$51
   16	Iowa	$105,853	$51
   17	Michigan	$105,587	$51
   18	Indiana	$105,121	$51
   19	Minnesota	$102,240	$49
   20	District of Columbia	$97,340	$47

   Average information technology technical lead salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$142,683	$68.60
   2	Genentech	$142,276	$68.40	14
   3	Juniper Networks	$139,609	$67.12
   4	Cargill	$137,365	$66.04	8
   5	Koch Industries	$137,246	$65.98	4
   6	Boston Consulting Group	$136,186	$65.47	24
   7	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$135,598	$65.19
   8	Bloomberg	$135,154	$64.98	32
   9	Harley-Davidson	$134,493	$64.66	1
   10	Cytokinetics	$133,410	$64.14	2
   11	AstraZeneca	$133,127	$64.00
   12	Phillips 66	$132,067	$63.49	2
   13	Eli Lilly and Company	$131,562	$63.25	28
   14	AbbVie	$131,414	$63.18	18
   15	Citi	$130,972	$62.97	35
   16	Merck	$130,003	$62.50	10
   17	BNY Mellon	$128,925	$61.98	17
   18	J.P. Morgan	$128,594	$61.82
   19	UL	$128,285	$61.68	7
   20	Kaiser Permanente	$127,883	$61.48	34

4. Writing an information technology technical lead job description

   An information technology technical lead 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 information technology technical lead job description:

   Information technology technical lead job description example

   At DistributionNOW, we believe our associates are the best in the business. We value and reward hardworking, creative, and dedicated employees that desire to be part of a team committed to outstanding customer service.
   START YOUR CAREER NOW.
   JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   Provide strong central oversight to deliver consistency and quality in compliance work across the organization-all IT functions and capabilities
   
   Communicate governance and compliance objectives to ensure an appropriate compliance and risk aware culture
   
   Support the evaluation of program resources and assist in the procurement of tools, internal resources and/or external resources, as applicable, to ensure proper execution of the compliance program
   
   Evaluate general and specific training needs and perform such to support the control environment and associated control framework
   
   Interact with various business groups to understand how they use IT systems in order to assess whether systems should be included within the scope of the various compliance areas (SOX, PCI, etc.)
   
   Oversee the team(s) that performs IT General Computer Controls (GCC) testing and ensure quality of testing results and working paper documentation
   
   Identify gaps in the design and operating effectiveness of controls, and identify opportunities for more efficient and effective controls
   
   Lead the innovation and continuous improvement of internal control framework, including the integration of multiple compliance requirements
   
   Work with IT managers, Internal Audit and External Audit to develop continuous monitoring and technology-enabled audit techniques
   
   Regularly interact with management to convey findings identified through walkthroughs and testing, assess the risk and impact of deficiencies, and make recommendations for remediation
   JOB REQUIREMENTS: Ability to interpret regulations and laws and communicate effectively to all levels of the organization.
   General knowledge of ERP systems (SAP preferred), databases (Oracle, SQL, etc.), operating systems and network operating system, with a strong desire to learn more about these and other technologies. Hands-on knowledge of audit working paper organization and preparation, including test and remediation plans and supporting documentation Excellent presentation, project management, problem-solving, training/coaching, and conflict resolution skills. General knowledge of Sarbanes Oxley, ITIL or other control frameworks Ability to explain technical jargon in simplified terms.
   Ability to track and manage numerous parallel activities. Ability to work efficiently and independently with minimal supervision (i.e. self-motivated and willing to stretch to meet important deadlines) Ability to work successfully in a cross-functional team environment. BENEFITS:
   Competitive Salary + bonus 401(k)/ Retirement savings Comprehensive Benefits (medical, dental, vision, life and disability coverage) Career growth Friendly work environment
   Paid vacation/holidays

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find information technology technical leads 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 information technology technical leads they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level information technology technical leads 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.

   To find information technology technical lead candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting information technology technical leads requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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.

   If your interviews with information technology technical lead 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 information technology technical lead

   Once you've found the information technology technical lead candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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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