How to hire a junior engineer

How to hire a junior engineer, step by step

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

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

What does a junior engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The junior engineer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   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 junior engineer 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 junior engineer that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of junior engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Junior Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Junior Engineer	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.	$25-43
   Engineering Internship	An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations... Show more	$12-30
   Electrical Engineer Internship	The electrical engineer internship offers tasks to undergraduate engineering students related to electrical systems analysis and branch circuiting, site investigations, lighting calculations, and design drawings by complementing theoretical knowledge with practical duties on the job to gain experience and increase marketability. Through the internship, the undergraduate engineering students may develop professional aptitude, strengthen their character, and may increase their confidence in their work as it prepares them for what to expect in their field.	$21-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Control Systems
   • Java
   • C++
   • C #
   • Windows
   • Troubleshoot
   • Linux
   • Amazon Web Services
   • Jenkins
   • JavaScript
   • Technical Support
   • Data Collection
   • Provisioning
   • RF

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the collection of static HTML sites for marketing.
   • Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
   • Work on HTML, CSS & Java.
   • Used CSS, HTML/XHTML, and JavaScript to customize the front-end of a large web application.
   • Design the user interactive (UI) web pages using web technologies like HTML5, XHTML, and CSS3.
   • Work on the windows default firewall application.

   More junior engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your junior engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A junior engineer 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 junior engineer in Montana may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level junior engineer usually earns less than a senior-level junior engineer. Additionally, a junior engineer 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 junior engineer salary

   $70,653yearly

   $33.97 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level junior engineer salary

   $54,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average junior engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$93,783	$45
   2	Washington	$89,999	$43
   3	Massachusetts	$82,704	$40
   4	District of Columbia	$82,229	$40
   5	New Jersey	$75,665	$36
   6	Virginia	$74,343	$36
   7	Arizona	$73,708	$35
   8	Colorado	$73,214	$35
   9	New York	$72,990	$35
   10	Maryland	$72,002	$35
   11	Texas	$71,191	$34
   12	Illinois	$70,377	$34
   13	Nevada	$69,650	$33
   14	Pennsylvania	$67,625	$33
   15	Alabama	$67,518	$32
   16	Georgia	$67,246	$32
   17	North Carolina	$63,741	$31
   18	Florida	$62,589	$30
   19	Oklahoma	$62,382	$30
   20	Utah	$61,248	$29

   Average junior engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$125,382	$60.28	402
   2	Amazon	$118,041	$56.75	490
   3	Credit Karma	$107,411	$51.64	1
   4	Zoom Video Communications	$103,273	$49.65
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$102,060	$49.07	29
   6	Atlassian	$99,071	$47.63	15
   7	Take-Two Interactive Software	$92,959	$44.69	6
   8	American Express	$92,334	$44.39	21
   9	dōTERRA	$90,330	$43.43
   10	Parsons	$89,991	$43.26	63
   11	Capgemini	$85,415	$41.06	59
   12	STEC	$84,985	$40.86
   13	Deutsche Bank	$84,251	$40.51	2
   14	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$81,305	$39.09	44
   15	Alstom	$79,895	$38.41	19
   16	Bridgepoint Education, Inc.	$77,557	$37.29
   17	Torch Technologies	$77,553	$37.29	7
   18	BRP US Inc	$77,439	$37.23
   19	ICES Education	$76,273	$36.67
   20	Keste	$76,273	$36.67

4. Writing a junior engineer job description

   A job description for a junior engineer 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 junior engineer job description:

   Junior engineer job description example

   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Work under the close supervision of senior level personnel who guide the junior engineer to resolve basic tasks. Provide support to develop real-time closed-loop HITL simulations for guided weapon and IRCM systems utilizing the GWEFRTS framework. Apply knowledge of GPS technology, system concepts and operation. Verify and validate simulations against other simulations and against actual ground and flight tests.
   
   EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: Must have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited school in Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or a closely related technical field as appropriate to the position. Must have a minimum of one year of experience in software development in MATLAB, C and C++. Experience/education in Model-Based System Engineering and/or Digital Engineering also highly desired.
   Job Requirements:
   
   GENERAL DUTIES: Develop new or modify existing simulations to meet customer-specific test objectives. Implement simulations of air-to-air, surface-to-air and air-to-surface weapon systems. These simulations incorporate both hardware and software model elements into a single HITL simulation used for test and evaluation of weapon systems. These simulations operate on a variety of computer platforms, including Alpha workstations and PC compatibles. The models include kinematics; dynamics; component models such as linear and angular accelerometers, gyroscopes, rate sensors, barometers and E/O, IR and LASER seekers/sensors; and hydraulic, pneumatic and electromechanical control actuators. These models are required to execute in real-time at integration rates exceeding 2000 Hz. Implement target models including environmental effects. Interface the simulation software to the weapon system under test and to the GWEF test equipment, including flight motion simulators; E/O, IR, LASER, RF and MMW target simulators; GPS and other inertial components. These interfaces are implemented using analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog systems, digital parallel or serial interfaces, shared memory systems, or combinations thereof.
   
   OTHER REQUIREMENTS: This position requires a Top Secret clearance. Candidates must eligible to obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET security clearance. Candidates with a Secret clearance must have been adjudicated within the past 5 years. Must meet requirements to operate in enhanced security environments. All selected candidates must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation and drug test as a condition of placement into this position. Supports E-OMS operational objectives. Observes company Quality, Safety, Environmental, Security and Administrative policies; supports Process Improvement. WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is normally performed in an environmentally controlled office/laboratory environment. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Must be capable of performing required tasks while using wide variations of physical effort such as sitting, running, walking, standing, crawling, climbing or remaining in awkward, sometimes strained, positions for extended periods of time; may be required to lift up to 30 lbs.
   
   Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this position.
   
   RT&T is committed to safeguarding the health of our employees and their families; our customers and visitors; and the community at large from COVID-19. As a federal government contractor, RT&T must comply with all customer, federal, state, and local requirements regarding COVID-19 regulations and safety protocols. These requirements may include vaccination, attestation regarding your vaccination status and/or COVID-19 testing, and you may be required to show proof of vaccination status and/or negative COVID-19 test results as a condition of your employment.
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right junior engineer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your junior engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit junior engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit junior engineers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 junior engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect junior engineer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new junior engineer. 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 junior engineer?