How to hire a network planning engineer

How to hire a network planning engineer, step by step

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

What does a network planning engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the network planning engineer you need to hire. Certain network planning engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 planning engineer 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 planning engineer that fits the bill.

   This list presents network planning engineer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Network Planning Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Network Planning 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.	$34-59
   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 Planning
   • Capacity Planning
   • OSPF
   • Ethernet
   • RF
   • Network Design
   • BGP
   • Juniper
   • Java
   • QoS
   • Switches
   • Network Troubleshooting
   • Network Capacity
   • VPN

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage SunOS UNIX base network systems.
   • Excele at managing major network-wide upgrades; improve speed and predictability of multicast and order-routing data.
   • Evaluate KPI ad adjust parameters base in MRR and statistics.
   • Track and forecast minutes of use for voice switches across the country.
   • Perform node-swapping (BSC, HLR etc) in a live network.
   • Conduct functional tests by creating different test scenarios of control message exchanges within LTE NMS.

   More network planning engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, network planning engineers' average salary in nebraska is 42% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level network planning engineers 42% less than senior-level network planning engineers.
   • Certifications. A network planning 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 planning engineer's salary.

   Average network planning engineer salary

   $94,120yearly

   $45.25 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level network planning engineer salary

   $71,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average network planning engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$118,924	$57
   2	California	$118,173	$57
   3	Utah	$99,947	$48
   4	New Jersey	$98,746	$47
   5	Texas	$94,094	$45
   6	Florida	$92,898	$45
   7	District of Columbia	$92,182	$44
   8	Massachusetts	$91,424	$44
   9	Minnesota	$88,207	$42
   10	Illinois	$87,461	$42
   11	New York	$86,491	$42
   12	Virginia	$82,508	$40
   13	Georgia	$81,702	$39
   14	Oklahoma	$81,566	$39
   15	Missouri	$79,852	$38
   16	Kansas	$79,201	$38
   17	Colorado	$74,352	$36

   Average network planning engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Superior Group	$109,418	$52.60	1
   2	Randstad North America, Inc.	$107,875	$51.86	6
   3	Amazon	$103,723	$49.87	287
   4	AT&T	$103,179	$49.61	48
   5	Nokia	$95,954	$46.13	8
   6	Crown Castle International	$95,295	$45.81	2
   7	ACS Solutions	$93,684	$45.04
   8	Alcatel Networks Inc	$91,677	$44.08
   9	STARRY	$91,614	$44.05
   10	Tci Technology Consulting Inc	$91,371	$43.93
   11	Cogent Communications	$90,728	$43.62	2
   12	KBR	$89,203	$42.89	21
   13	Verizon Corporate Services Group Inc.	$88,163	$42.39
   14	Zayo Group	$84,119	$40.44
   15	L3Harris	$77,761	$37.39	27

4. Writing a network planning engineer job description

   A network planning 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 planning engineer job description:

   Network planning engineer job description example

   Provide technical guidance and training to Tier 1 operators.
   Serve as the escalation point for Tier 1 issues that cannot be resolved quickly.
   Provide on-call support for NOCC escalations after hours and during weekends.
   Configure and manage enterprise network infrastructure including deployment, monitoring, analysis, and troubleshooting.
   Configure and manage network monitoring tools (e.g. CA Spectrum, InfoBlox, Remedy).
   Perform root cause analyses to determine plans of action for restoring customer's services.
   Assist with Tier 3 projects including deployment of site upgrades.
   Interface with field technicians, vendors and customers on equipment and site activations/moves.
   Work with management to determine network trends and recommend future fixes/enhancements.
   Create and update network documentation that includes: diagrams, reports, and inventory.
   Lead various network projects/implementation efforts.
   This position is part of an onsite 24x7x365 NOCC environment where working rotating shifts is an essential function of the position as required by business needs. Workday schedule flexibility is required.
   This position is not eligible for remote work due to secure network access requirements.
   
   Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities considered:
   
   Experience managing and tracking tasks in a fast paced environment.
   Demonstrated experience with verbal and written communication, as well as analytical skills.
   Experience performing Splunk data analysis and developing queries.
   Experience developing Cisco eem applets.
   Ability to write scripts via PowerShell, python, etc.
   Experience with RF communications.
   
   Education & Experience:
   
   Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, Engineering, Networking, Information Technology or related field with 4 years' of prior related experience or 2 years post-Secondary/ Associate's Degree with a minimum of 6 years of prior related experience.
   Minimum of (4) Years' experience in a Network Engineering environment.
   CCNA Certification is required.
   Minimum of (2) Years' experience with Cisco IOS, Multicast, HSRP and OSI layers 1 - 4 (e.g. Ethernet, TCP/IP, Optical, TDM, BGP, ISIS, OSPF, EIGRP).
   Minimum of (2) Years' experience working with Long Term Evolution (LTE), VPN, and DMVPN technologies.
   Minimum of (2) Years' experience working with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Network Management System (NMS) applications used to monitor networked devices.
   Required to periodically travel up to 10% to support ground station site deployments across the country.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find network planning engineers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with network planning 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.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a network planning engineer applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • 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 planning engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the network planning engineer 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 good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new network planning engineer 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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How much does it cost to hire a network planning engineer?