How to hire a network designer

How to hire a network designer, step by step

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

What does a network designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a network designer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   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 network designer 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 network designer that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of network designer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Network Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Network Designer	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.	$29-55
   Administrator	Administrators are administrative professionals who oversee the whole office or department. They manage office activities and supervise administrative functions in the office... Show more	$22-54
   Systems Administrator	Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures... Show more	$28-48

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Network Design
   • PC
   • OSPF
   • Network Operations
   • EIGRP
   • BGP
   • TCP/IP
   • Network Infrastructure
   • Juniper
   • QoS
   • Switches
   • Network Performance
   • SONET
   • Network Systems

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design, manage and troubleshoot EIGRP and OSPF routing environment comprise of multiple areas.
   • Achieve proficiency in all major network transport protocols, SNA/SDLC, Bisync, TCP/IP, Cisco and Motorola IP routing equipment.
   • Utilize advanced encryption devices to secure communications between all locations manage by the department.
   • Support to other engineers with Linux and cfengine administration.
   • Design and implement an NT 4.0 LAN environment to support 60+ users.
   • Configure and install network routers, switches, wireless controllers and access points.

   More network designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your network designer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A network designer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, network designers' average salary in montana is 34% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level network designers earn 46% less than senior-level network designers.
   • Certifications. A network designer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a network designer's salary.

   Average network designer salary

   $84,818yearly

   $40.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level network designer salary

   $62,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 9, 2025

   Average network designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$95,811	$46
   2	North Carolina	$91,245	$44
   3	Tennessee	$87,213	$42
   4	Washington	$86,821	$42
   5	Texas	$85,483	$41
   6	Ohio	$78,433	$38
   7	Arizona	$78,247	$38
   8	Missouri	$77,767	$37
   9	South Dakota	$76,032	$37
   10	New Jersey	$75,893	$36
   11	Virginia	$74,223	$36
   12	Oklahoma	$73,565	$35
   13	Pennsylvania	$73,275	$35
   14	Colorado	$70,207	$34
   15	Minnesota	$68,672	$33
   16	Puerto Rico	$55,940	$27

   Average network designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AT&T	$97,711	$46.98	58
   2	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$97,604	$46.92	1
   3	Nokia	$96,547	$46.42	5
   4	Burns & McDonnell	$89,161	$42.87	45
   5	Matlen Silver	$87,196	$41.92	4
   6	Randstad North America, Inc.	$84,634	$40.69	7
   7	Northrop Grumman	$83,843	$40.31	30
   8	Xator	$83,559	$40.17
   9	Uk-elite-soccer	$82,873	$39.84
   10	Page Southerland Page	$81,853	$39.35
   11	TENICA Global Solutions	$81,406	$39.14	22
   12	Evoqua Water Technologies	$81,032	$38.96
   13	Peraton	$80,516	$38.71	72
   14	IBM	$80,160	$38.54	26
   15	CenturyLink	$79,968	$38.45	6
   16	Liberty of Puerto Rico	$79,415	$38.18
   17	Pierson Wireless	$79,034	$38.00
   18	BT Group	$78,598	$37.79
   19	Mid-states Supply	$78,366	$37.68
   20	Bt Financial Group	$77,630	$37.32

4. Writing a network designer job description

   A network designer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a network designer job description:

   Network designer job description example

   The problem manager is a key role within a company's IT Service Management (ITSM) organization.
   Their primary task is to prevent incidents from happening as well as minimizing the impact of incidents that can't be prevented.
   The problem manager identifies, prioritizes and assigns responsibility for problems and then manages them through the entire process to solution.
   A key part of the role is creating and managing a knowledge base to maintain the information about known errors and workarounds for the service desk and self-service portals to use.
   This includes accountability for setting policies and providing leadership and direction for the development, design and integration of the process as it applies to other applicable frameworks and related ITSM processes being used and / or adopted in the organization.
   Must have foundational knowledge and experience applying network routing protocols.
   Familiar (doesn't need to be a SME) with Layer 3 protocols such as OSPF, BGP, VRRP, HSRP, MPLS, LSP, GRE
   Extensive LAN/WAN background and experience to understand systems and network architecture configurations.
   Must have experience in incident management and incident response in an enterprise network.
   Knowledge of Cisco IOS, Juniper JUNOS, Brocade and Foundry OS
   Have the ability to provide data analysis and statistics to program leadership to properly leverage support teams for process improvements
   Understands the services that are delivered to the customers
   Provide management information and use it proactively to prevent the occurrence of incidents and problems in the production environment
   Escalates the analysis and resolution of cross-functional problems to Unit and IT Enterprise levels
   Conducts ‘post mortem' or Post-Implementation Reviews (PIR) for continuous improvement
   Develops and improves Problem Control and Error Control procedures
   Responsible for identifying opportunities for improvement and audits the use of the process on an operational level
   Serve as a support representative for cross organizational initiatives.
   Ensure root cause analysis is performed and permanent solutions are implemented.
   
   Education:
   
   Candidate must have 10 years of experience that can be a combination of work history and education.
   BS in Computer Science, Network Engineering, Systems Engineering or related technical discipline and 8+ years' experience. Additional experience in lieu of degree
   CCNA or JNCIA equivalent certification - (Preferred)
   Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
   3 years of experience using an industry recognized, ITIL based Problem/Incident/Change ticketing system - (Preferred)
   3 years of work experience within IT Service Management areas

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

   To find network designer candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with network designer 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.

   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.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview network designer candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • 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 network designer

   Once you've found the network 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.

   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.

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