How to hire a network/telecom engineer

How to hire a network/telecom engineer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a network/telecom engineer, 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

   Hiring the perfect network/telecom 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of network/telecom engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Network/Telecom Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Network/Telecom 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.	$26-56
   Network Consultant	Network consultants are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for designing, setting up, and maintaining computer networks for an organization or at a client location. These consultants are required to meet with the manager of an organization and network engineers to discuss their networking requirements... Show more	$28-63
   Systems Integration Engineer	A systems integration engineer is responsible for evaluating the efficiency and performance of the control systems to support business operations and requirements. Systems integration engineers develop technical solutions from business initiatives that would maximize a team's productivity and increase target performance... Show more	$37-67

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Switches
   • VoIP
   • Lan Wan
   • SIP
   • Firewall
   • Telecom
   • Servers
   • TCP/IP
   • RF
   • Network Performance
   • Unity
   • QoS
   • BGP
   • DNS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple, simultaneous customer projects of varying complexities while minimizing network impact during change/maintenance windows.
   • Interpret schematics and install wire wrap interconnection for switches and fuse panels for DSX and VRU's.
   • Increase carrier connections; simulate VoIP traffic to verify that hardware upgrades are successful and correctly implement.
   • Provide highly skil voice network planning, engineering and VOIP architecture for all levels including help desk.
   • Install, test and tune T1 switches and cable installations to include all T1 service from DSX to VDU's.
   • Conduct network surveillance activities, with an emphasis on efficient and effective troubleshooting and problem resolution techniques on DWDM transmission equipment.

   More network/telecom engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, network/telecom engineers' average salary in colorado is 42% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level network/telecom engineers earn 53% less than senior-level network/telecom engineers.
   • Certifications. A network/telecom engineer 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/telecom engineer's salary.

   Average network/telecom engineer salary

   $81,302yearly

   $39.09 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level network/telecom engineer salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average network/telecom engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$121,986	$59
   2	Washington	$105,246	$51
   3	Nevada	$92,060	$44
   4	District of Columbia	$91,992	$44
   5	New Jersey	$89,795	$43
   6	New York	$88,102	$42
   7	Maryland	$86,752	$42
   8	Texas	$79,850	$38
   9	Georgia	$79,501	$38
   10	Illinois	$76,958	$37
   11	Florida	$65,131	$31
   12	Colorado	$64,417	$31

   Average network/telecom engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	NVIDIA	$130,907	$62.94	34
   2	Ecs Federal	$88,610	$42.60	8
   3	Unison Systems	$87,351	$42.00
   4	Snap	$85,596	$41.15	7
   5	Gallagher	$80,964	$38.92
   6	Geller & Company	$75,950	$36.51
   7	Orchestra Technology	$75,515	$36.31	1
   8	Allied Universal	$74,714	$35.92
   9	The Blackstone	$74,402	$35.77	5
   10	Randstad North America, Inc.	$74,382	$35.76	13
   11	Experis US Inc	$72,436	$34.83
   12	JT3	$72,310	$34.76	4
   13	Fibertech Networks	$71,834	$34.54
   14	Cognizant	$71,296	$34.28	17
   15	ICS Nett	$71,214	$34.24
   16	Belcan	$70,507	$33.90	4
   17	L3Harris	$67,385	$32.40	67

4. Writing a network/telecom engineer job description

   A network/telecom 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a network/telecom engineer job description:

   Network/telecom engineer job description example

   This position's primary role is to operate and maintain network devices and to mitigate network outages and performance issues. Performs as the first line of defense to take appropriate action toward resolving network and system problems as they appear. Detects, analyzes, and resolves network switching and transmission system problems while minimizing impact on customer service. Differentiates between primary and secondary network failures. Based on the severity or type of event, determines what additional resouces are required. Issues service interruption reports to requisite customer agencies. Responsible for remotely supporting installation of various computer hardware equipment and bringing systems "on-line".
   + Monitors network devices and overall network health / performance
   
   + Responsible incident response, troubleshooting, and resolution per policies and procedures
   
   + Implement technical solutions to mitigate outages or performance issues
   
   + Position will require shift work (1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts, as well as 8-hour days)
   
   + Collaborates with software engineers, network operations, security operations, and system administrators to ensure quality and integrity of IT systems
   
   Minimum Qualifications:
   
   + Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Comouter Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, or other related disciplines
   
   + 3.0 GPA or greater
   
   Preferred Qualifications:
   
   + Previous helpdesk experience
   
   + Communicate clearly, both orally and in writing
   
   + Ability to commnicate technical terms / concepts to non-technical audiences and a highly motivated, process-oriented person that has a positive attitude
   
   #LI-Remote
   
   L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. L3Harris is committed to treating all employees and applicants for employment with respect and dignity and maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, characteristic or membership in any other group protected by federal, state or local laws. L3Harris maintains a drug-free workplace and performs pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where permitted by law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right network/telecom 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/telecom engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit network/telecom 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

   During your first interview to recruit network/telecom engineers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

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

   Once you've selected the best network/telecom engineer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new network/telecom engineer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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