How to hire a planning engineer

How to hire a planning engineer, step by step

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

What does a planning engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The planning 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a 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 planning engineer that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of planning engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Planning Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Planning Engineer	Industrial engineers find ways to eliminate wastefulness in production processes. They devise efficient systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service.	$29-52
   Product Support Engineer	A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference... Show more	$32-58
   Process Improvement Engineer	A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability... Show more	$29-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Infrastructure
   • Transmission Planning
   • NERC
   • Cost Estimates
   • Transmission Systems
   • GIS
   • Technical Support
   • FERC
   • CAD
   • SQL
   • Renewable Energy
   • Regional Planning
   • Process Improvement

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and automate customize KPI dashboard reports using a combination of SQL and visual basic scripts.
   • Manage retrofit projects for progressive stamping equipment.
   • Manage IP address inventory and bandwidth capacity.
   • Manage multiple projects involving both internal and vendor resources affecting national production infrastructure.
   • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
   • Configure OSPF and BGP on the L3 switches, route redistribution.

   More planning engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, planning engineers' average salary in vermont is 37% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level planning engineers 45% less than senior-level planning engineers.
   • Certifications. A 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 planning engineer's salary.

   Average planning engineer salary

   $82,521yearly

   $39.67 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level planning engineer salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average planning engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$110,713	$53
   2	Massachusetts	$93,575	$45
   3	Colorado	$90,537	$44
   4	Arizona	$88,943	$43
   5	Connecticut	$88,513	$43
   6	Oklahoma	$88,451	$43
   7	Virginia	$85,947	$41
   8	Utah	$85,383	$41
   9	Texas	$84,304	$41
   10	Michigan	$84,138	$40
   11	Maryland	$83,892	$40
   12	Minnesota	$82,787	$40
   13	New York	$82,363	$40
   14	Arkansas	$81,534	$39
   15	Missouri	$79,603	$38
   16	Georgia	$76,598	$37
   17	Indiana	$73,147	$35
   18	North Carolina	$72,716	$35
   19	Tennessee	$72,185	$35
   20	Florida	$70,481	$34

   Average planning engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$128,046	$61.56	242
   2	Apple	$123,555	$59.40	109
   3	ConocoPhillips	$114,430	$55.01
   4	BP America Inc	$110,662	$53.20	13
   5	Dropbox	$110,200	$52.98
   6	Marathon Petroleum	$109,025	$52.42	12
   7	Cybersource	$106,413	$51.16
   8	NVIDIA	$103,770	$49.89	19
   9	Uber Technologies	$103,749	$49.88
   10	Twitter	$102,232	$49.15	1
   11	California Resources	$101,879	$48.98
   12	Rivian	$98,923	$47.56	9
   13	Pacific Gas and Electric	$97,650	$46.95
   14	MUFG EMEA	$97,239	$46.75
   15	Southern California Edison	$95,991	$46.15	9
   16	KLA	$94,335	$45.35	6
   17	Daimler Trucks North America	$94,331	$45.35
   18	Tesla	$94,022	$45.20	228
   19	Occidental Petroleum	$93,553	$44.98	10
   20	W. R. Grace & Co	$93,498	$44.95	3

4. Writing a planning engineer job description

   A job description for a planning 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 planning engineer job description:

   Planning engineer job description example

   The Senior Mine Planning Engineer is responsible for the mine designs and life-of-mine plans, along with the engineering required in the development of those designs and plans for Americas Mining Corporation's (AMC) open pit mining operations and projects in Mexico. This includes providing industry standard documentation for each project. Periodic travel to the company's operations in Mexico is required.
   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
   Complete Mine Design Updates / Detailed Pushback Designs as required Complete Ultimate Waste Dump / Leach Heap or Dump Designs as required Optimize Ultimate Pit Designs / Pushback Designs / Pushback Sequences Complete Mine Equipment Requirement Studies Monitor / Coordinate annual Mine Design Parameters updates Monitor / Coordinate / Assist (as required) with annual Life-of-Mine Operating Plans Assist with the establishment of best practices for the Mine Planning / Mine Design Functions. Assist with the implementation of Training Plans to increase the Technical Level of the company's Mine Planning Engineers. Assist with Operating Alternative Analyses as required Assist with SEC Reserve Requirements for Reserve Reporting as required Work as directed.
   REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
   A MINIMUM OF A Bachelor of Science degree in Geology, Geological Engineering or Mine Engineering discipline. Fluency in both Spanish and English preferred. Professional registration is preferred. Knowledge of Hexagon MinePlan software, Datamine software or other Mine Planning / Modeling software Ability to work well as a team member and demonstrate leadership as required. Strong interpersonal skills in developing consensus building Excellent oral and written communication skills required. Must have computer skills with MS Windows, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, AutoCAD. Other duties as assigned
   Required Education and Experience
   A Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering or related field. Seven (7) years of industry experience, including three (3) years of mine production experience and three (3) years of mine planning experience.
   A core value of ASARCO LLC is "Safety First." The Company is committed to help employees continuously improve their efforts to work in the most safe, inclusive, socially and environmentally responsible manner practicable. Employee safety and health, both on and off the job, are critically important to the Company. Therefore, ASARCO LLC requires employees to have and effectively demonstrate good working knowledge of modern safety systems. Each employee will take prime responsibility for ensuring that s/he works within all required safety procedures and processes.
   
   ASARCO LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates must possess a current and valid driver's license. Offers of employment are contingent upon a successful criminal background check and pre-employment physical including a drug screen.
   
   ASARCO LLC offers an excellent low-cost benefits package for medical/prescription/ dental/vision, disability coverage, life insurance and other optional coverage, and 401(k) plan with company match.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit planning engineers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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.

   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 planning engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect planning 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 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 employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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How much does it cost to hire a planning engineer?