How to hire a lighting engineer

How to hire a lighting engineer, step by step

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

What does a lighting engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your lighting 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 lighting 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

   A lighting engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, lighting 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of lighting engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Lighting Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Lighting Engineer	Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacturing of electrical equipment, such as electric motors, radar and navigation systems, communications systems, and power generation equipment. Electronics engineers design and develop electronic equipment, such as broadcast and communications systems—from portable music players to global positioning systems (GPSs).	$29-56
   Electrical & Instrumentation Designer	An electrical instrumentation designer's main job is to design instruments that can be used in various areas such as laboratories, power plants, or research institutes. They work together with a team or individually to design instruments, create a prototype, and test its functions... Show more	$28-52
   Electrical Designer	An electrical designer designs and develops electrical circuit and system layouts for electric power distribution. The responsibilities of an electrical designer include assembling electrical panels and leading a team of document control personnel in-charged to identify and organize facility maintenance drawings... Show more	$22-42

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • A/V
   • Technical Aspects
   • STARS
   • Autocad
   • Live Events
   • Event Production
   • DFMEA
   • CAD
   • Technical Specifications
   • Audio Equipment
   • Agi32
   • Light Fixtures
   • DMX
   • Retrofit

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform subsequent energy analysis and modeling, and design retrofit solutions to achieve energy savings while meeting and exceeding customer requirements.
   • Source product & work with IES codes and files in AGi32 and various other software & develop construction documents in AutoCAD.
   • Delegate jobs to necessary crew members and make sure that all rehearsals and performances run smoothly, efficiently and trouble free.
   • Perform multiple augments installing and adding new devices/servers along with adding configurations for video streaming using Unix and checking router configurations.
   • Operate production board for high school basketball and baseball games without managerial supervision.

   More lighting engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the lighting engineer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A lighting engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a lighting engineer in Tennessee may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level lighting engineer. Additionally, a lighting engineer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average lighting engineer salary

   $85,362yearly

   $41.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level lighting engineer salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average lighting engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$100,843	$48
   2	New York	$97,118	$47
   3	Maryland	$96,580	$46
   4	Massachusetts	$87,867	$42
   5	Louisiana	$87,664	$42
   6	Illinois	$87,544	$42
   7	North Carolina	$85,585	$41
   8	Indiana	$85,204	$41
   9	Texas	$84,342	$41
   10	Minnesota	$83,352	$40
   11	Virginia	$83,132	$40
   12	Michigan	$80,883	$39
   13	Oregon	$80,059	$38
   14	Wisconsin	$78,560	$38
   15	Pennsylvania	$77,966	$37
   16	Georgia	$77,720	$37
   17	South Carolina	$77,118	$37
   18	Colorado	$76,876	$37
   19	Ohio	$74,564	$36

   Average lighting engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$139,308	$66.97	371
   2	Faraday Technology	$109,137	$52.47
   3	Battelle	$99,964	$48.06	5
   4	UL	$98,910	$47.55	26
   5	Grandbridge Real Estate Capital	$96,088	$46.20
   6	LAIKA	$93,517	$44.96
   7	Eaton	$90,828	$43.67	146
   8	Live Nation Entertainment	$87,953	$42.29	24
   9	MINTH Group	$86,298	$41.49	2
   10	Q LABS INC.	$85,596	$41.15	1
   11	ProAutomated	$85,285	$41.00
   12	Magna International	$85,237	$40.98	7
   13	Andretti Autosport	$84,679	$40.71
   14	Cogent Communications	$83,656	$40.22	1
   15	Randstad North America, Inc.	$82,777	$39.80	2
   16	Lockheed Martin	$81,848	$39.35	261
   17	Tetra Tech	$80,376	$38.64	72
   18	TG Missouri	$79,903	$38.41	4
   19	CACI International	$79,308	$38.13	34
   20	City of Richmond	$77,672	$37.34	1

4. Writing a lighting engineer job description

   A good lighting engineer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a lighting engineer job description:

   Lighting engineer job description example

   The Lighting Pipeline TD will work closely with Artists, Sr. Engineers, and Technical Directors to design, develop, deploy, and support custom software tools to extend the capabilities of our USD-backed, Katana & Renderman-based Lighting Pipeline.
   Job Functions Extend the capabilities of Katana through custom scripts and plugins, collaborating with show and facility leadership to target high value projects, addressing the needs of Lighting and Look Development artists. Extend the capabilities of Mari and Substance Painter, addressing the needs of Look Development artists. Collaborate with the Production Technology Team to integrate Lighting and Lookdev products into our Asset Management system for the core Lighting and Lookdev DCCs, including Katana, Mari, and Substance Painter. Work with non-technical end users to help define requirements for novel tools and develop prototypes for systems that solve production problems. Collaborate with other Pipeline TDs and Engineers to evolve the Core Pipeline, incorporating technological advances and addressing the evolving requirements of a growing facility. Follow the processes and procedures of the software development life cycle, build and release system, documentation and testing standards used in Production Technology. Assist with the support of existing tools via bug fixes and version updates. Support users on Linux with Lighting and Lookdev related problems. Support applications through documentation, training, and handling questions.
   
   Qualifications 4+ years of experience developing custom Lighting and Lookdev tools and workflows within an animation or VFX studio environment. Expertise developing with Python, including familiarity with best practices, the Python core library, and industry standard libraries such as PySide. Experience with Katana and its various apis, and Plug-in System. Experience with USD and the suite of USD apis. Experience with one or more production grade renderers, such as Renderman. Experience with Mari and / or Substance Painter a plus. Experience with additional DCCs such as Houdini, Maya, and / or Nuke a plus. Experience with SCM tools such as Git and GitLab.
   
   Physical Demands and Work Environment
   The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to walk; stand; sit; use hands to operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear both in person and by telephone. The employee must lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee works under typical office conditions and is exposed to variable indoor temperatures. The noise level is usually quiet or moderate.
   
   Location
   On-site in Hillsboro, OR
   Salary
   Salary is commensurate with skills and experience.
   Disclaimer
   The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.
   
   Please review our Employment Disclaimer and Materials Submission Agreement.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find lighting engineers 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 lighting engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level lighting engineers 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.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with lighting 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.

   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 lighting engineer

   Once you've selected the best lighting 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

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