How to hire a network engineer

How to hire a network engineer, step by step

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

What does a network engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The network engineer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

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

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

   Type of Network Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Network 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.	$29-53
   Network Operation Technician	A network operation technician is responsible for providing technical assistance with computer network issues. Network operation technicians repair and troubleshoot networks and routers, identifying the source of defects by listening to the customers and determining step-by-step guidelines for resolution... Show more	$19-47
   Network Support Analyst	Network support analysts are professionals who provide technical support as well as maintain various network components for an organization's network system. These analysts are responsible for installing and configuring local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), internet systems, and other components of network systems... Show more	$25-61

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Switches
   • Troubleshoot
   • Network Infrastructure
   • BGP
   • OSPF
   • Lan Wan
   • Firewall
   • Lan
   • Juniper
   • TCP/IP
   • VoIP
   • EIGRP
   • Network Design
   • IOS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage UCCE deployments which include CUCM, IPIVR, CVP , 3rd party reporting and CUIC.
   • Manage UNIX's projects to meet project dateline while solving daily network crisis.
   • Perform the tasks of designing, implementing, supporting, and managing networking and telecommunication infrastructure.
   • Manage all domain registrations, SSL certificate management.
   • Create locally manage and centrally manage gateways on checkpoint firewall.
   • Manage and administrate security policy and procedures for all VPN network connectivity and accounts.

   More network engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, network engineers' average salary in alabama is 34% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level network engineers 44% less than senior-level network engineers.
   • Certifications. A network 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 network engineer's salary.

   Average network engineer salary

   $83,557yearly

   $40.17 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level network engineer salary

   $62,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average network engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$113,611	$55
   2	Washington	$100,627	$48
   3	Arizona	$86,661	$42
   4	Massachusetts	$84,392	$41
   5	New York	$83,638	$40
   6	Connecticut	$82,714	$40
   7	Maryland	$81,820	$39
   8	New Jersey	$81,418	$39
   9	District of Columbia	$81,326	$39
   10	Virginia	$79,238	$38
   11	Texas	$78,626	$38
   12	Colorado	$77,164	$37
   13	Minnesota	$77,099	$37
   14	Pennsylvania	$76,334	$37
   15	North Carolina	$75,663	$36
   16	Illinois	$75,002	$36
   17	Kansas	$74,969	$36
   18	Ohio	$74,957	$36
   19	Indiana	$74,230	$36
   20	Georgia	$73,166	$35

   Average network engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Citadel	$157,205	$75.58	3
   2	Meta	$138,517	$66.59	839
   3	Apple	$134,840	$64.83	121
   4	PayPal	$133,365	$64.12	10
   5	Google	$131,229	$63.09	118
   6	DoorDash	$129,771	$62.39	12
   7	Lyft	$126,873	$61.00
   8	Dropbox	$126,160	$60.65	1
   9	Zoox	$126,063	$60.61	14
   10	Safeway	$125,770	$60.47
   11	Nutanix	$125,756	$60.46	57
   12	Intuitive Surgical	$125,539	$60.36	4
   13	Twitter	$125,501	$60.34	2
   14	ICE Mortgage Technology	$123,490	$59.37
   15	NVIDIA	$123,274	$59.27	65
   16	Bloomberg	$123,024	$59.15	3
   17	DocuSign	$122,626	$58.95	6
   18	Box	$122,578	$58.93	10
   19	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman	$122,577	$58.93
   20	Skyfire	$122,518	$58.90

4. Writing a network engineer job description

   A network engineer 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. Below, you can find an example of a network engineer job description:

   Network engineer job description example

   A Network Engineering position providing support to SMBC Capital Markets and Nikko. Responsibilities include network infrastructure and telecom, delivering uninterrupted business operation, performing scheduled maintenance, and ownership of projects and implementations. Main areas of expertise include: cloud deployments, automations, data, network security and logistics.
   Responsibilities - Work on assigned network infrastructure projects
   - Perform analysis of alerts and events reported by network management platforms and work with senior staff on resolution
   - Provide support during system installations across all sites
   - Provide 2nd level support on daily network infrastructure issues reported by infrastructure and development groups
   - Provide support to other Systems Infrastructure teams during project implementation
   - Maintain inventory of network and telecom devices
   - Facilitate meeting with vendors and maintain vendor contact database Qualifications Experience/Knowledge Requirements 5 - 7 years' experience
   Candidate should have strong theoretical and hands on knowledge on cloud networking deployments as code. Candidate should have strong theoretical and hands on and skills to support, configure, and install networking hardware devices
   Candidate should have previous experience working with network infrastructure areas preferably in a financial institution
   
   Required Skills/Abilities - Advanced knowledge on configuration cloud infrastructure components. - Advanced knowledge on network infrastructure as code deployments in cloud via Terraform, Cloud Formation. - Advanced knowledge on automation via Anssible. - Advanced knowledge on routers, switches, firewalls - Advanced knowledge on design and architecture of LAN, MAN, WAN, SAN networks. - Advanced Knowledge of routing protocols EIGRP, BGP, NAT, LACP, CDP, UDLD, VPC, DNS, DHCP - Advanced knowledge on troubleshooting networking issues OSI layers 1-7 across data, voice and video, storage networks - Knowledge on network management platforms: Solarwinds, Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Collaboration and Assurance, DCNM,
   - Ability to support mixed data, voice, and video networks
   - Capability of performing and complete tasks and projects independently
   - Understanding of WiFi networks and basic components
   - Ability to perform copper and fiber cable structure work

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right network engineer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your network engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit network engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting network engineers 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview network engineer 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 engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect network engineer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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.

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