How to hire a principal quality engineer

How to hire a principal quality engineer, step by step

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

What does a principal quality engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a principal quality 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

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

   This list presents principal quality engineer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Principal Quality Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Principal Quality 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.	$38-63
   Quality Control Supervisor	A quality control supervisor specializes in carrying out and implementing systems and procedures that ensure product quality within an organization. They are primarily responsible for devising priorities and standards, managing schedules to abide by the production timeline, monitoring activities, coordinating with production and quality control personnel, assessing employee performance, and thoroughly discussing new systems for all staff... Show more	$22-41
   Quality Assurance Supervisor	A quality assurance supervisor oversees and leads the quality control operations within a manufacturing plant or similar establishment. They are primarily responsible for crafting and implementing policies that prioritize the efficiency of products or services, supervising and evaluating the performances of the workforce, and setting standards and procedures that align not just with the goals of the company, but the national and international level of production standards... Show more	$22-45

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sigma
   • Corrective Action
   • ISO
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Medical Devices
   • Management System
   • Product Quality
   • Java
   • FDA
   • QA
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Supplier Quality
   • Quality System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage quality and performance for precision investment casting products manufacture for aerospace customers.
   • Use of FMEA, IPC-610 documents and processes.
   • Audit supplier procedures and operations to ensure compliance with both ISO 9001 and military requirements.
   • Develop and maintain product safety risk management files including design/process risks FMEA and user risks.
   • Provide quality leadership / guidance on all QMS matters as well as product compliance to the facility.
   • Demonstrate competency and understanding of QA/QC systems, auditing standards and technical codes (ASME, API.

   More principal quality engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, principal quality engineers' average salary in arkansas is 34% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level principal quality engineers earn 40% less than senior-level principal quality engineers.
   • Certifications. A principal quality 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 principal quality engineer's salary.

   Average principal quality engineer salary

   $103,677yearly

   $49.84 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level principal quality engineer salary

   $80,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average principal quality engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$130,896	$63
   2	Arizona	$117,719	$57
   3	Massachusetts	$111,799	$54
   4	Texas	$107,647	$52
   5	Ohio	$107,218	$52
   6	Minnesota	$104,577	$50
   7	District of Columbia	$102,448	$49
   8	Pennsylvania	$98,334	$47
   9	Colorado	$97,968	$47
   10	North Carolina	$97,367	$47
   11	Maine	$97,208	$47
   12	Georgia	$96,995	$47
   13	Oregon	$96,980	$47
   14	Maryland	$96,537	$46
   15	New Hampshire	$95,433	$46
   16	Illinois	$93,888	$45
   17	Indiana	$89,429	$43
   18	Utah	$86,714	$42

   Average principal quality engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Palo Alto Networks	$146,007	$70.20	181
   2	Abiomed	$133,326	$64.10
   3	Crestron Electronics	$130,920	$62.94	4
   4	Citrix	$129,537	$62.28
   5	Broadcom	$129,160	$62.10	43
   6	TIBCO Software	$127,931	$61.51
   7	Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC	$126,302	$60.72
   8	Walgreens	$125,899	$60.53	4
   9	CyberCoders	$124,893	$60.04	2
   10	Dell	$123,717	$59.48	65
   11	Edwards Lifesciences	$123,389	$59.32	96
   12	Salesforce	$123,226	$59.24	34
   13	AT&T	$118,644	$57.04	49
   14	Skyworks Solutions	$117,533	$56.51	11
   15	Herbalife Nutrition	$116,968	$56.23	35
   16	MathWorks	$116,833	$56.17
   17	Battelle	$116,285	$55.91	2
   18	Mayo Clinic	$114,930	$55.25	10
   19	Intralinks	$114,837	$55.21	11
   20	BD	$112,641	$54.15	19

4. Writing a principal quality engineer job description

   A good principal quality engineer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a principal quality engineer job description:

   Principal quality engineer job description example

   The Career Potential
   
   Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is committed to improving and saving lives with diagnostics. To do this we hire people who share this dream and are ready for new adventures. As a valued team member, you will carve your own career path and be part of building this company stronger and better than ever before. There is no limit to the experiences, opportunities and new directions you will have access to here at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. More importantly, you will be driving the surge of a whole new direction in important medicine. That's something we can all take pride in as we take this journey together.
   
   Ortho is known in the industry as a leader in customer service and support. Deeply understanding and exceeding the needs of our clinical lab, hospital and blood bank customers is what we do. It's who we are. If you join Ortho, no matter what your role, you will be expected to keep that Customer Excellence focus in your work.
   
   The Opportunity
   
   As we continue to grow, we are seeking a Principal Quality Engineer who will provide Quality Engineering leadership at our Memphis Distribution Center. This position is located in Memphis, TN.
   
   The Responsibilities
   
   Ensure the effective management of non-conforming product, ensuring adequate segregation and material controls are in place. Manage the overall Material Review Process and ensures timely disposition and as necessary destruction of product including provision of objective evidence through issuance of certificates of destruction.Manage the CAPA portfolio at the Memphis Distribution Center. Lead the deployment of industry best practice problem solving tools (including but not limited to Process Excellence tools) to drive rigor in the identification of root cause at the Distribution Center. Following risk level determination, drive to robust corrective and preventative actions and ensure that CAPA effectivity is assessed at the site utilizing appropriate statistical methodologies. Chair's the Site Intermediate Quality Review Board (IQRB) ensuring quality system records are maintained and progressed to closure per timeliness defined within the governing procedures.Develop and maintain the Site Master Validation Plan ensuring all necessary facility infrastructure, equipment, pack-outs and shipping lanes are maintained in a validated state. Participate in the validation process as a subject matter expert (SME) and approves validation protocols and reports as the quality representative. Ensure that periodic reviews are conducted, and revalidation is performed at the necessary frequency or as required following the assessment within the Change Management process.Support the administration of the Change Control Process at the Memphis Distribution Center. Ensure that changes are adequately scoped, actions are executed, objective evidence is provided and the timeliness of change implementation. As necessary, deputizes for the Quality Site lead as the Change Implementation Board (CIB) Chair.Act as a subject matter expert (SME) and partner with key stakeholders and business partners across the organization. Provide coaching, mentoring and training to associates at the Memphis site in Quality Engineering and Validation principles and techniques.Support the implementation and maintenance of the Quality Management System at the Memphis Distribution Center and participates in both Internal and External Quality Management System inspections. Partner with Global Compliance to identify and mitigate compliance risks at the Memphis Site.Participate in audits and inspections of the facility as a co-host and/or subject matter expert (SME).
   
   The Individual
   
   Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, QA, or other related business field with a minimum of 7 years of supply chain/distribution experience in the medical device, biologics or pharmaceutical environment is required.Broad based technical knowledge and competency within Quality Engineering, Quality Assurance and Quality Systems allied with a good working knowledge of operations and/or supply chain environment in the medical device or pharma sector.Experience and knowledge associated with specific Quality System Regulations, standards and directives required including FDA/Quality System Regulation, 21 CFR Part 820, ISO13485:2016 is required.Ability to effectively negotiate and influence business stakeholders and other departments is a required.Strong critical thinking and decision-making skills with an ability to provide innovative solutions within the boundaries of the quality and compliance environment in which the business operates within.Strong conflict resolution and change management skills Strong written and verbal communication skills.Strong analytical reasoning skills Demonstrated ability to work in a diverse, cross-functional environment.Experience hosting and/or participation in quality management system audits is preferred.Knowledge of State Board of Pharmacy requirements and National Association of Board of Pharmacy (NABP) Accreditation preferred.Demonstrated knowledge of business impact of compliance issues and risk management is desirable.ASQ certification is desirable.
   
   EOE/AA Disability/Veteran
   
   #LI-KS1

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5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting principal quality 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.

   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 principal quality engineer

   Once you've found the principal quality 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 also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new principal quality 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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