How to hire a lead operations engineer

How to hire a lead operations engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step lead operations 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 lead operations engineer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new lead operations engineer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a lead operations engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your lead operations engineer 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 lead operations engineer 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

   Hiring the perfect lead operations engineer 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of lead operations engineers.

   Type of Lead Operations Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Lead Operations Engineer	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$36-69
   Network Technician	A network technician is responsible for system malfunction diagnosis and troubleshooting operations. Network technicians duties' include repairing damaged system components, analyzing computer systems and blueprints, installing network connections, and upgrading accessories for efficient operations... Show more	$24-44
   System Technician	A system technician is a professional responsible for supporting users with issues related to the computer system. System technicians conduct appropriate diagnostics on computer issues and must be able to explain technical issues to clients or team members... Show more	$12-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Preventative Maintenance
   • HVAC
   • Plumbing
   • Mechanical Systems
   • Electrical Systems
   • Roofing
   • Emergency Situations
   • Java
   • Cloud
   • Troubleshoot
   • Building Operations
   • Building Systems
   • CMMS
   • Project Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Accomplish responsibility to configure, administer and support new infrastructure solutions on Microsoft platforms to meet enterprise level requirements.
   • Integrate JIRA in with SVN and dealing with its administration in change management process.
   • Create and apply standard and extend IP access lists to routers for security measures.
   • Install and configure test servers, workstations, networks, and storage for VMware development environments.
   • operate excavator for the clearing of the rite of way for the ruby pipe line project.
   • Lead in the testing, migration and implementation of the new EDI environment from NT to UNIX.

   More lead operations engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, lead operations engineers' average salary in montana is 34% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level lead operations engineers 48% less than senior-level lead operations engineers.
   • Certifications. A lead operations 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 a lead operations engineer's salary.

   Average lead operations engineer salary

   $104,981yearly

   $50.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level lead operations engineer salary

   $75,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average lead operations engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$128,349	$62
   2	New York	$110,156	$53
   3	Massachusetts	$109,562	$53
   4	New Jersey	$108,756	$52
   5	Utah	$108,428	$52
   6	Arizona	$107,033	$51
   7	Washington	$106,868	$51
   8	Illinois	$106,508	$51
   9	Texas	$104,924	$50
   10	Delaware	$102,279	$49
   11	District of Columbia	$101,118	$49
   12	Missouri	$98,399	$47
   13	Virginia	$97,628	$47
   14	North Carolina	$97,423	$47
   15	Colorado	$94,073	$45
   16	Oklahoma	$92,734	$45
   17	Georgia	$92,726	$45
   18	Iowa	$92,006	$44
   19	Ohio	$91,839	$44
   20	Kansas	$89,626	$43

   Average lead operations engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$145,260	$69.84	24
   2	Google	$136,033	$65.40	77
   3	Koch Industries	$125,853	$60.51
   4	Microsoft	$125,125	$60.16	7
   5	Salesforce	$123,189	$59.23	13
   6	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$122,755	$59.02	106
   7	Zscaler	$121,182	$58.26	1
   8	Cornerstone	$120,664	$58.01	34
   9	NBCUniversal	$119,125	$57.27	5
   10	The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Inc.	$115,719	$55.63
   11	AstraZeneca	$115,442	$55.50	2
   12	Xandr	$113,762	$54.69
   13	Edifecs	$113,052	$54.35
   14	Douglas Emmett, Inc.	$110,555	$53.15
   15	ICONMA	$110,384	$53.07
   16	Western Asset Management	$110,331	$53.04
   17	GRAIL	$108,981	$52.39	4
   18	Paez, Guadalupe	$108,793	$52.30
   19	Huntington Ingalls Industries	$108,791	$52.30	34
   20	Bittrex	$108,791	$52.30

4. Writing a lead operations engineer job description

   A job description for a lead operations 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 lead operations engineer job description:

   Lead operations engineer job description example

   Leading the future in luxury electric and mobility
   At Lucid, we set out to introduce the most captivating, luxury electric vehicles that elevate the human experience and transcend the perceived limitations of space, performance, and intelligence. Vehicles that are intuitive, liberating, and designed for the future of mobility.
   
   We plan to lead in this new era of luxury electric by returning to the fundamentals of great design - where every decision we make is in service of the individual and environment. Because when you are no longer bound by convention, you are free to define your own experience.
   
   Come work alongside some of the most accomplished minds in the industry. Beyond providing competitive salaries, we're providing a community for innovators who want to make an immediate and significant impact. If you are driven to create a better, more sustainable future, then this is the right place for you.
   
   We are currently seeking a Security Engineer for Security Operations Center in our Cyber Security team. This position requires an experienced professional with a proven track record of establishing the Security Operations logging and monitoring, alert response system. Our ideal candidate exhibits a can-do attitude and approaches his or her work with vigor and determination. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate excellence in their respective fields, to possess the ability to learn quickly and to strive for perfection within a fast-paced environment.
   RoleContribute to cyber security requirements, design and test specifications Implement production quality software components according to specifications Work jointly with internal development teams to review and accommodate the attributes and analytics based on the need.Communicate security-related concepts to technical and non-technical teams Provide mentorship to junior team members
   QualificationsMinimum 5-10 years of experience working in Security Operations Center and Application SecurityExperience in a fast-moving startup environment Extensive work experience in design and development of Cyber Security methodologies and comply to Security standards In-depth technical knowledge of different logging modes and monitoring the logs and do a thorough analysis.Extensive experience threat modeling and attack analysis Able to bring Security aspects in product development life cycle Demonstrable proficiency with one or more programming/scripting languages Extensive experience with pen testing tools and security attack vectors.Strong understanding of network concepts including TCP/IP protocol stack, HTTP and TLS, DDoS detection/prevention, Intrusion detection and prevention Experienced in Data protection in transit and at Rest, Data Loss prevention techniques. Experienced in Data compliance Experience with regular expression searches as well as detecting the required attributes in huge volume of data Network and host anomaly detection through both automated (NIDS/HIDS) and manual tools Experience in Agile development environment Experience with Automotive communication protocols would be a plus.
   At Lucid, we don't just welcome diversity - we celebrate it! Lucid Motors is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, marital status, and any other characteristic protected under applicable State or Federal laws and regulations.
   
   Notice regarding COVID-19 protocols
   At Lucid, we prioritize the health and wellbeing of our employees, families, and friends above all else. In response to the novel Coronavirus all new Lucid employees, whose job will be based in the United States may or may not be required to provide original documentation confirming status as having received the prescribed inoculation (doses). Vaccination requirements are dependent upon location and position, please refer to the job description for more details.
   
   Individuals in positions requiring vaccinations may seek a medical and/or religious exemption from this requirement and may be granted such an accommodation after submitting a formal request to and the subsequent review and approval thereof by our dedicated Covid-19 Response team.
   
   To all recruitment agencies: Lucid Motors does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our careers alias or other Lucid Motors employees. Lucid Motors is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right lead operations engineer 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 lead operations engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit lead operations engineers 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 lead operations engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit lead operations engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with lead operations 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.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a lead operations engineer applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and 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 lead operations engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the lead operations engineer 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   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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