How to hire a network support engineer

How to hire a network support engineer, step by step

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

What does a network support engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your network support engineer 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 network support engineer 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

   Hiring the perfect network support engineer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents network support engineer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Network Support Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Network Support 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.	$31-53
   NOC Technician	A NOC (Network Operations Center) technician is responsible for providing the highest customer service by resolving the customers' technical and network issues that affect the performance and stability of the systems operations. NOC technicians diagnose system failures and create support tickets for immediate troubleshooting... Show more	$14-32
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Switches
   • Network Support
   • OSPF
   • BGP
   • Technical Support
   • TCP/IP
   • Lan
   • DHCP
   • Linux
   • DNS
   • VPN
   • Network Infrastructure
   • Firewall
   • Windows Server

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage, support, upgrade and administer DNS and DHCP for all devices on the network.
   • Manage a remote VOIP trial which include configuring and supporting customer premise equipment as well as carrier side equipment.
   • Manage and administrate security policy and procedures for all VPN network connectivity and accounts.
   • Create strong relationship with customers by resolving TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP relate problems through remote desktop and on site.
   • Use various forms of Linux operating systems to create firewalls, webservers, PBX, and VPN.
   • Set up VLANs and STP guards on core and access layer switches - change configurations when require.

   More network support engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, network support engineers' average salary in arkansas is 31% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level network support engineers 41% less than senior-level network support engineers.
   • Certifications. A network support 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 support engineer's salary.

   Average network support engineer salary

   $86,406yearly

   $41.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level network support engineer salary

   $66,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average network support engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$106,963	$51
   2	Virginia	$92,277	$44
   3	District of Columbia	$89,699	$43
   4	Washington	$87,670	$42
   5	Maryland	$87,305	$42
   6	Arizona	$84,660	$41
   7	Massachusetts	$83,435	$40
   8	North Carolina	$83,170	$40
   9	Connecticut	$80,689	$39
   10	Texas	$80,253	$39
   11	New Jersey	$79,587	$38
   12	Colorado	$79,498	$38
   13	North Dakota	$78,430	$38
   14	New York	$75,778	$36
   15	Indiana	$75,357	$36
   16	Illinois	$75,238	$36
   17	South Carolina	$74,309	$36
   18	Georgia	$73,946	$36

   Average network support engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$126,856	$60.99	502
   2	Blackboard	$115,105	$55.34
   3	Two Sigma	$111,731	$53.72
   4	Tesla	$110,460	$53.11	28
   5	TEKsystems	$109,488	$52.64	93
   6	Amazon	$108,966	$52.39	395
   7	Interactive Brokers	$105,695	$50.81	8
   8	Texas Instruments	$105,000	$50.48	7
   9	F5	$103,603	$49.81	4
   10	Cisco	$103,127	$49.58	248
   11	Microsoft	$101,865	$48.97	23
   12	Sentinel Technologies	$97,182	$46.72	4
   13	The Network	$95,644	$45.98	2
   14	Juniper Networks	$93,007	$44.71
   15	DXC Technology	$91,730	$44.10	12
   16	DISYS	$90,432	$43.48
   17	Lenovo	$87,245	$41.94	3
   18	Aeris Communications	$86,993	$41.82
   19	Homeland Stores	$85,781	$41.24
   20	Sampson Regional Medical Center	$85,259	$40.99	3

4. Writing a network support engineer job description

   A job description for a network support engineer 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 network support engineer job description:

   Network support engineer job description example

   At EMC, you'll put your skills to good use as an important member of our team. You can count on gaining valuable experience while contributing to the company's success. EMC strives to hire and retain the best people by engaging, developing and rewarding employees.
   Essential Functions:
   Configures and updates Windows Active Directory domain. Establishes and administers network security including the addition and deletion of users to the network and LifePROManages and secures cloud-based applications including Microsoft Office 365, Azure, Zoom and other applications Monitors system to ensure that sufficient disk space is available for applications, and disk configuration is tuned for the performance appropriate to the application Assists with LifePro cycle and ensures nightly, daily, and quarterly cycles are performed in an accurate and timely manner and all systems are available for use each weekday morning Responds to help desk calls and evaluates, troubleshoots, diagnoses, repairs and resolves moderately complex team member questions/issues and operating difficulties associated with equipment, software, hardware, drivers, functionality and updates Upgrades, installs, maintains and troubleshoots server hardware, desktop equipment and network infrastructure, along with critical business applications as needed Sets up and configures team member's virtual or workstation desktop experience Performs server operating system/domain upgrades and installations Recommends improvements to existing processes and procedures for assigned departments including companywide recommendations Creates and monitors a data compliance procedure using EMCNL's document retention policy Safeguards information system assets by identifying and solving potential and actual security problems. Provides recommendations for improving IT asset and data security regarding companywide software Protects systems by monitoring access privileges, control structures, and resources Recognizes and documents problems by identifying abnormalities Assists with the testing and distribution of security updates as directed Assists with vulnerability remediation as directed Performs assigned security audits to ensure software is configured correctly according to policies and guidelines Creates, maintains, and updates hardware and software inventory Documents security controls as required Works with Compliance on vendor management using Compliance 360Creates and updates new documentation such as procedure manuals, tutorial documentation, systems configurations, best practices manuals, security manuals, software flow charts, and software installation manuals Assist with licensing and support renewal documentation Assists with configuring and maintaining backup system hardware and software Assists with off-site disaster recovery hardware, software, and testing Ensures nightly storage replication is completed and working properly
   
   Education & Experience:
   Associates degree, preferably in computer science, or equivalent relevant experience Two years with IT support, including network configuration experience
   
   Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
   Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to effectively troubleshoot hardware and/or software problems Good knowledge of operations for applicable systems in addition to general insurance principles and operations Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to foster a cooperative work environment Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, including customer service skills Excellent organizational and prioritization skills Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment Ability to work after hours if needed for technical emergencies
   
   Our employment practices are in accord with the laws which prohibit discrimination due to race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, active military status, citizenship status, marital status or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.
   
   All of our locations are tobacco free including in company vehicles.
   
   To learn more about why you're gonna love it here, watch the video below.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right network support engineer 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 network support engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit network support engineers 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.

   To find network support engineer 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

   Recruiting network support 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 support 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 support engineer

   Once you've found the network support engineer 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.

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