How to hire a mask designer

How to hire a mask designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step mask designer hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your mask designer 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 mask designer 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 mask designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, mask designers 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of mask designers.

   Type of Mask Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Mask Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$27-72
   Graphic Designer, Marketing	A graphic designer of marketing specializes in developing creative imagery as part of a company's marketing efforts. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating with the marketing team to share insights and strategies, conceptualizing designs in adherence to objectives and deadlines, and preparing presentations... Show more	$16-33
   Graphic Designer/Production	A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company... Show more	$16-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CMOS
   • Cadence Virtuoso
   • Virtuoso
   • Drc
   • Lvs
   • RF
   • IC
   • Layout Design
   • Mask Design
   • Unix
   • I/O
   • Regression
   • Analog Layout
   • R

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead efforts for debugging DRC, ERC and LVS layout and verification issues.
   • Use of unix and linux operating systems.
   • Involve in the design and layout of the P7 family of CMOS microprocessors.
   • Complete verification of both DRC and LVS for layout blocks and full chips.
   • Work as part of a team providing IC mask design services to leading IC companies.
   • Customize existing cells to fit small spaces and fix cells from central engineering to run DRC and LVS clean.

   More mask designer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, mask designers' average salary in south dakota is 55% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level mask designers 62% less than senior-level mask designers.
   • Certifications. A mask designer 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 mask designer's salary.

   Average mask designer salary

   $93,084yearly

   $44.75 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level mask designer salary

   $57,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average mask designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$111,373	$54
   2	California	$110,919	$53
   3	California	$110,759	$53
   4	California	$110,724	$53
   5	California	$110,708	$53
   6	California	$110,601	$53
   7	Texas	$104,049	$50
   8	Massachusetts	$100,156	$48
   9	Massachusetts	$99,593	$48
   10	Arizona	$94,598	$45
   11	Oregon	$92,894	$45
   12	Oregon	$90,880	$44
   13	Colorado	$86,649	$42
   14	Florida	$60,994	$29

   Average mask designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$144,772	$69.60	50
   2	Western Digital	$124,453	$59.83	2
   3	Renesas Electronics	$116,902	$56.20
   4	Intel	$116,479	$56.00	6
   5	Achronix	$114,716	$55.15
   6	Micron Technology	$104,648	$50.31	3
   7	FormFactor	$95,001	$45.67	3
   8	Matthews International	$87,199	$41.92	1
   9	ON Semiconductor	$82,757	$39.79
   10	Cavium	$80,580	$38.74
   11	Randstad North America, Inc.	$78,804	$37.89

4. Writing a mask designer job description

   A good mask designer 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 mask designer job description:

   Mask designer job description example

   Senior layout designer will be responsible for leading our layout activity for high performance analog cores such as analog-to-digital converters, PLL, transceivers etc. Responsibilities include leading IC layout of cutting edge high performance, high speed CMOS integrated circuits in foundry CMOS process nodes in 5nm, 6nm, 7nm, 16nm, and 28nm following best practices from the industry. This person will be responsible for establishing the layout procedures and practices within the company while helping to build up the layout team. Job requirements include the following qualifications.
   
   QualificationsApplicant must be a US ResidentThorough knowledge of industry standard EDA tools from Cadence, Mentor and Synopsys. Must be able to set up LVS, DRC, ERC environments and debug verification issues using Cadence and Mentor tools.Experience with layout of high performance analog blocks such as analog to digital converters, references, digital to analog converters, PLL etc. desired.Experience with floor planning, block level routing and top level chip assembly.Knowledge of high performance analog layout techniques such as common centroid layout, shielding, use of dummy devices, thermal aware layout with consideration for electromigration.Demonstrated experience with analog layout for silicon chips in mass production.Experience with deep sub-micron design in foundry CMOS nodes 28nm and below preferred.Experience working with distributed design teams a plus.Knowledge of skill code an layout automation a plus.Self starter with the ability to define and adhere to a schedule.Must possess strong written and verbal communication skills.10+ years experience in high performance analog layout in advanced CMOS process.
   We are looking for trailblazers ...
   
   We strongly believe that the pace of the ongoing hardware revolution will be greatly accelerated by Omni Design's IP cores and the rapidly emerging semiconductor embedded design business ecosystem.
   
   At Omni Design, we have created an exciting environment with amazing talent across multiple disciplines. We like self-motivated individuals, we encourage initiative, we look for leadership qualities, we value teamwork, we like diversity, and we reward excellence. We are looking for trailblazers to bring Omni Design's vision to fruition.
   
   If you are interested in making an impact as part of a young, fast growing, cutting edge technology company, please reach out to us.
   
   Omni Design is an equal opportunity employer. We offer excellent compensation. We seek individuals that share our high standards and commitment to excellence.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find mask designers 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 mask designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level mask designers 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 mask designer job on Zippia to find and attract quality mask designer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting mask designers 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.

   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 mask designer

   Once you've found the mask designer 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 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.

   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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