How to hire a manager of engineering department

How to hire a manager of engineering department, step by step

Here's a step-by-step manager of engineering department hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your manager of engineering department 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 manager of engineering department 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 manager of engineering department's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, managers of engineering department 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.

   Here's a comparison of manager of engineering department salaries for various roles:

   Type of Manager Of Engineering Department	Description	Hourly rate
   Manager Of Engineering Department	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$37-81
   Research And Development Manager	A research and development manager is responsible for supervising project development procedures to support business operations and identify business opportunities that would pave the way for more revenue resources and profits. Research and development managers monitor the production plans from the conceptualization to the final outputs, inspecting inconsistencies and flaws in every phase and revising strategies as needed to achieve the required specifications and requirements... Show more	$37-83
   Design Manager	A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience... Show more	$33-72

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Software Development
   • Process Improvement
   • Continuous Improvement
   • UL
   • Engineering Design
   • R
   • CAD
   • Direct Reports
   • Performance Reviews
   • Business Development
   • Cost Estimates
   • Shop Drawings
   • Capital Projects

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage employees on all CNC production runs, and maintenance on equipment including repairs.
   • Initiate the PCI-Express development effort and also lead the PCI/PCI-X IP which result in the successful acquisition by Synopsys.
   • Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
   • Maintain adherence to ISO 9000 and OSHA standards.
   • Convert component drawings from SolidEdge and SolidWorks to AutoCAD.
   • Review and develop manufacturing test techniques including UL, CSA or IEC testing.

   More manager of engineering department duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the manager of engineering department job description is a good way to get more applicants. A manager of engineering department 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 manager of engineering department in North Carolina may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level manager of engineering department. Additionally, a manager of engineering department with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average manager of engineering department salary

   $115,954yearly

   $55.75 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level manager of engineering department salary

   $78,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average manager of engineering department salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$172,489	$83
   2	Oregon	$140,474	$68
   3	Texas	$129,691	$62
   4	Pennsylvania	$127,168	$61
   5	Minnesota	$124,467	$60
   6	Arizona	$119,291	$57
   7	New York	$116,826	$56
   8	Hawaii	$109,064	$52
   9	Idaho	$107,876	$52
   10	Colorado	$106,750	$51
   11	Louisiana	$106,252	$51
   12	Maryland	$102,960	$50
   13	Florida	$101,247	$49
   14	Ohio	$98,515	$47
   15	Kansas	$96,725	$47
   16	North Carolina	$95,815	$46
   17	Missouri	$89,034	$43

   Average manager of engineering department salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Activision Blizzard	$154,473	$74.27
   2	ASR Group	$153,629	$73.86	2
   3	Corning Incorporated	$149,412	$71.83	39
   4	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	$136,143	$65.45	2
   5	Florida Crystals	$135,603	$65.19
   6	Woods Services	$135,380	$65.09
   7	Cirrus Aircraft	$132,633	$63.77	7
   8	Intertek	$124,460	$59.84	21
   9	Enterprise Holdings	$122,431	$58.86	3
   10	CONMED	$120,513	$57.94
   11	Amec Foster Wheeler	$117,904	$56.68
   12	Colorado State Express	$117,904	$56.68
   13	ASR	$116,854	$56.18	1
   14	Idaho National Lab	$116,237	$55.88
   15	Northrop Grumman	$115,939	$55.74	168
   16	Marine Spill Response	$115,898	$55.72	1
   17	Dewberry	$115,620	$55.59	80
   18	Hormann	$115,618	$55.59
   19	WorleyParsons	$114,286	$54.95	1
   20	SSOE Group	$113,269	$54.46

4. Writing a manager of engineering department job description

   A job description for a manager of engineering department 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 manager of engineering department job description:

   Manager of engineering department job description example

   Adaptive Solutions Group is a premier provider of information technology personnel. We provide a variety of technical professionals available for contract, contract to hire, or direct placement positions to companies in and around the Kansas City, St. Louis, and Denver Areas.
   We are currently looking for a Cloud Onboarding and Engineering Department Manager to join our team.
   
   Responsibilities
   Sets overall direction, vision, and strategic plan for the cloud onboarding and engineering teams while aligning with the strategic direction defined by CEP senior leadership. Develops and codifies contingency plans in conjunction with the Cloud Enablement Office, and the cloud technical leadership team. Sets direction and develops standards for policies and procedures across cloud onboarding and engineering that align with organizational and cloud-practice goals and objectives. Leads efforts to identify opportunities for task automation, process improvements, and enhancements that result in increased quality, efficiencies, and ROI. Identifies, establishes, and monitors key performance indicators to ensure accurate delivery and continuous improvements. Leads the definition and management of service level agreements to meet customer expectations and quality standards. Performs supervisory responsibilities, including career planning/support, training, interviewing, hiring, rewarding, disciplining, and performance and salary reviews. Leads resource identification and planning to support department and business objectives. Makes decisions on administrative or operational matters and ensures effective achievement of objectives. Defines forecast and expenses for area of responsibility. Negotiates with vendors and maintains relationships outside of company. Creates a collaborative team that supports a diverse environment. Understands and communicates business goals and company culture. Protects our customers, our employees, and our brands by incorporating security and compliance in all decisions, while continuously identifying opportunities for improving security and implements strategies to improve our security posture. Directs activities of two or more teams and/or areas through subordinate managers who exercise full supervision in terms of costs, methods, or staffing, or has commensurate sphere of responsibility for technical, systems, process decisions, and/or outcome. Maintains effective relationships with all levels of company management and internal and external customers that promote understanding and produces results for both parties.
   
   Required Qualifications
   Must be presently authorized to work in the U.S. without a requirement for work authorization sponsorship by our company for this position now or in the future Must be committed to incorporating security into all decisions and daily job responsibilities 8+ years of related experience 3+ years of leading cloud transformation initiatives, or leading engineering or operations teams in Azure or AWS. Experience instantiating or leading DevOps and/or NoOps services and practices, including the automated deployment of infrastructure as code. Experience leading in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. Experience building a talent pool with skills needed to improve performance; identifies succession plan and/or participates in succession planning.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   Bachelor' s degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Management Information Systems, or related field preferred
   Adaptive Solutions Group offers a competitive compensation and benefits package that includes medical, dental, STD/LTD, life insurance coverage, 401k, paid vacation and holidays.
   
   Adaptive Solutions Group is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and veteran or disability status.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right manager of engineering department 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 managers of engineering department they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit managers of engineering department 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 manager of engineering department job on Zippia to find and recruit manager of engineering department candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting managers of engineering department 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.

   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 manager of engineering department

   Once you have selected a candidate for the manager of engineering department 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.

   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.

   To prepare for the new manager of engineering department first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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