How to hire a product design engineer

How to hire a product design engineer, step by step

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

What does a product design engineer do?

Post a product design engineer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the product design engineer you need to hire. Certain product design engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 product design 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 shows salaries for various types of product design engineers.

   Type of Product Design Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Design Engineer	Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers design, develop, build, and test mechanical and thermal sensors and devices, including tools, engines, and machines.	$33-62
   Engineer	Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects... Show more	$31-62
   Equipment Engineer	The duties of an equipment engineer depend on one's organization or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around designing and developing mechanical and electronic equipment, analyzing and improving existing systems, performing customization according to customers' preferences, installing and removing attachments, and conducting regular maintenance procedures... Show more	$33-65

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CAD
   • Mechanical Design
   • GD
   • Prototyping
   • Industrial Design
   • Creo
   • Project Management
   • R
   • Design Reviews
   • Design Concepts
   • UL
   • NX
   • Finite Element Analysis
   • Product Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead team members and shop floor personnel to correct all floor and inventory issues to insure BoM accuracy.
   • Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
   • Perform environmental testing, cost reductions, FMEA's, failure analysis, and successfully launch electronic control modules.
   • Provide design concepts, design analysis and prototyping solutions for parts and product assemblies to satisfy customer project requirements.
   • Create 3D and 2D models, designs, assemblies, drawing, BOM's and customer conceptual design packages.
   • Interpret UL documents for compatibility of products/specs.

   More product design engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the product design engineer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A product design engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a product design engineer in Missouri may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level product design engineer. Additionally, a product design engineer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average product design engineer salary

   $94,827yearly

   $45.59 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product design engineer salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average product design engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$145,926	$70
   2	Washington	$110,613	$53
   3	Colorado	$108,449	$52
   4	Arizona	$96,401	$46
   5	Massachusetts	$96,107	$46
   6	Texas	$88,244	$42
   7	New York	$80,951	$39
   8	Michigan	$79,195	$38
   9	Illinois	$78,720	$38
   10	New Jersey	$76,909	$37
   11	Ohio	$75,748	$36
   12	Minnesota	$75,051	$36
   13	Pennsylvania	$74,710	$36
   14	Indiana	$74,537	$36
   15	Wisconsin	$73,447	$35
   16	Georgia	$71,629	$34

   Average product design engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$157,121	$75.54	987
   2	Apple	$148,763	$71.52	607
   3	Google	$142,388	$68.46	157
   4	Amazon	$131,064	$63.01	577
   5	Western Digital	$129,875	$62.44	22
   6	Square	$121,907	$58.61
   7	Duolingo	$118,506	$56.97	28
   8	Koch Industries	$108,357	$52.09
   9	Micron Technology	$104,405	$50.19	155
   10	Texas Instruments	$103,839	$49.92	39
   11	Sony Electronics	$102,886	$49.46	1
   12	Xilinx	$101,949	$49.01
   13	Gillette	$101,465	$48.78
   14	IDP	$100,643	$48.39
   15	Visteon	$97,213	$46.74
   16	Broadcom	$97,152	$46.71	137
   17	LivePerson	$96,973	$46.62
   18	Illumitex	$96,202	$46.25
   19	P&G	$95,967	$46.14	21
   20	General Electric	$92,882	$44.65	295

4. Writing a product design engineer job description

   A product design 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 product design engineer job description:

   Product design engineer job description example

   Plan, coordinate, and perform product design development and post-development and analysis work by utilizing product design practices and principles. Provide leadership and technical direction within a product development team. Provide technical product support to internal and external customers.
   Responsibilities:
   Analyze assignments and determines engineering specifications which must be fulfilled for problems or projects Produce and /or evaluate possible design solutions to improve cost, quality, delivery and performance on specialized knowledge of engineering applications together with possible involvement of other functional engineers and /or customer/supplier personnel Apply life cycle management of existing products, including cost reduction, maintenance and enhancement of the product lines Prepare and present technical reports Apply knowledge of company products, policies and practices to provide economies through standardization of parts and products Liaison between the North American affiliates and Japanese headquarters Authorities for an employee are granted by means of work instructions, policies and procedures and/or direction provided by management to meet the requirements of the customer
   Education:
   BSME or BS in Engineering or equivalent technical experience
   Experience:
   0 to 2 years minimum Experience in negotiating styling and design requirements Experience with product development processes and disciplines Experience estimating and creating Cost/Mass targets for component parts Technical experience relating to design/diagnostics of mechanical system preferably in an automotive industry but not limited
   Skills:
   Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite Knowledge of Computer Aided Design (CAD) Catia/NX and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) systems Excellent problem solving and analytical skills Ability to plan, set priorities and achieve results Ability to multitask in a deadline-driven environment Ability to work effectively with persons from other cultures Proven communication skills both verbal and written
   Other:
   Expected travel 10~50% based on projects phase
   Work Environment:
   
   This job operates in an office and manufacturing environment, and routinely uses standard office equipment. The noise level in the work environment and job sites can be loud.
   
   Physical Demands:
   
   The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee may also be required to work in hot temperatures
   
   This job description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are exclusive standards of the position Incumbents will follow any other instruction, and perform any other related duties, as may be required by their supervisor

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right product design 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 product design engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit product design 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.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with product design engineer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of 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 product design engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect product design 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a product design engineer?