How to hire a principal archaeologist

How to hire a principal archaeologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step principal archaeologist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a principal archaeologist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new principal archaeologist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a principal archaeologist, 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 principal archaeologist 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 shows salaries for various types of principal archaeologists.

   Type of Principal Archaeologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Principal Archaeologist	Anthropologists and archeologists study the origin, development, and behavior of humans. They examine the cultures, languages, archeological remains, and physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world.	$12-53
   Archaeologist	An Archaeologist is focused on studying past human activity. They record, interpret, and preserve archaeological remains for future generations.	$15-36

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Research Design
   • State Agencies
   • Shpo

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage contracts for curation of museum items, propose actions to repatriate NAGPRA materials and resolve curation problems.
   • Conduct geomorphologic and soils investigations in support of archaeological surveys and excavations.
   • Work extensively with office personnel to prepare reports derive from fieldwork that correspond to SHPO obligations.
   • Assist in report production and maintain field specimen catalogues for several sites; water screen and process artifact flotation samples.
   • Coordinate donor-country efforts to encourage refugee returns to Sarajevo and eastern Bosnia.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, principal archaeologists' average salary in wyoming is 46% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level principal archaeologists earn 76% less than senior-level principal archaeologists.
   • Certifications. A principal archaeologist 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 principal archaeologist's salary.

   Average principal archaeologist salary

   $55,230yearly

   $26.55 hourly rate

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   Entry-level principal archaeologist salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

4. Writing a principal archaeologist job description

   A principal archaeologist 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 principal archaeologist job description:

   Principal archaeologist job description example

   Grounded in safety, quality, and ethics, our experts lead their fields and guide our work with rigor, a creative spirit, and vision for growth. We draw from more than 20 technical specialties around the globe and are committed to fostering an inclusive community of diverse talents, backgrounds, and expertise. We're a place to apply your passion and collaborate with top environmental talents on work that's critical to our clients and the communities they support. Join a team that has the environment down to a science.
   **Your Opportunity**
   
   This is a career opportunity for a Principal level senior cultural resources manager for a leading environmental consulting firm providing NEPA/CEQA analyses, technical studies, and project permitting to a wide variety of private and federal, state, and local government clients in the western U.S. The individual will lead cultural resources projects and selected business development opportunities and provide successful and independent management of archaeological and historical resources projects, including direction of large field studies and assembly, supervision, and direction of field teams.
   
   **Your Key Responsibilities**
   
   + Technical resource lead and/or principal investigator for complex, high profile natural resource investigations.
   
   + Mentor, supervise, and technical and operations resources for staff and senior project managers.
   
   + Program management and financial management for key client programs, possibly multidisciplinary management.
   
   + Ensuring the delivery of high-quality technical products through implementation and of quality review and independent review protocols.
   
   + Lead business development and marketing by building new client relationships and maintaining existing ones.
   
   + Lead technical elements of proposal development, including scope, budget, and schedule to ensure complete satisfaction.
   
   + Maintain a high professional profile externally through membership in professional organizations, continually increasing client contact base.
   
   **Qualifications**
   
   **Your Capabilities and Credentials**
   
   + Professional writing, problem solving, and communication skills.
   
   + Valid driver's license and good driving record required.
   
   + Experience leading and conducting Phase I and II Cultural Resource Surveys in California.
   
   + Proven experience of Determinations of Eligibility for National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources.
   
   + Impact Assessment of Project Alternatives on Cultural Resources.
   
   + Section 106 and 110 (NHPA) Consultation.
   
   + Memoranda of Agreement and Programmatic Agreements.
   
   + Data Recovery and Monitoring Plans.
   
   + Historic Property Treatment Plans.
   
   + Ethnographic Research.
   
   + Native American Consultation.
   
   + NAGPRA Consultation.
   
   + Lead for Construction Monitoring Coordination and Field Coordination.
   
   + Knowledge GIS/GPS and ability to direct others to record and create maps in GIS.
   
   + Registered Professional Archaeologist.
   
   **Education and Experience**
   
   + MA/MS in cultural resources or archaeology, especially California archaeology. Demonstrated expertise in the application and interpretation of California and federal laws and regulations for large and complex projects.
   
   + Minimum 5 years supervisory, management, and team-oriented experience in consulting acquired over 10 to 15 years of progressively responsible cultural resources positions.
   
   Typical office environment working with computers and remaining sedentary for long periods of time. Field work may include exposure to the elements including inclement weather. Ability to lift and move items and equipment up to 50 lbs.
   
   _This description is not a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that may be required of the employee and other duties, responsibilities and activities may be assigned or may be changed at any time with or without notice._
   
   Stantec is a place where the best and brightest come to build on each other's talents, do exciting work, and make an impact on the world around us. Join us and redefine your personal best.
   
   **Primary Location** : United States-California-San Diego
   
   **Other Locations** : United States-California-Monrovia, United States-California-Santa Barbara, United States-California-Pasadena, United States-California-Los Angeles, United States-California-Irvine, United States-California-Thousand Oaks, United States-California-San Bernardino
   
   **Job** : Archaeologist
   
   **Organization** : BC-2351 Environmental Services-US Pacific
   
   **Employee Status** : Regular
   
   **Job Level** : Manager
   
   **Travel** : Yes, 20 % of the Time
   
   **Schedule** : Full-time
   
   **Job Posting** : Sep 26, 2022, 5:33:40 PM
   
   
   Stantec provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for future and current employment and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We prohibit discrimination in decisions concerning recruitment, hiring, referral, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, job training, terminations or any other condition of employment. Stantec is in compliance with local, state and federal laws and regulations and ensures equitable opportunities in all aspects of employment. EEO including Disability/Protected Veterans

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find principal archaeologists 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 principal archaeologist job on Zippia to find and recruit principal archaeologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit principal archaeologists, 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 principal archaeologist

   Once you've found the principal archaeologist 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 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 principal archaeologist. 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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