How to hire a product development designer

How to hire a product development designer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The product development designer 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 product development designer 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 product development designer that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of product development designers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Product Development Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Development Designer	Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and toys. They combine art, business, and engineering to make products that people use every day... Show more	$17-39
   Designer	A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences... Show more	$21-46
   Industrial Design Internship	Industrial design interns will assist in developing product ideas while considering other criteria such as engineering, sales, marketing, and production. Interns are also tasked to come up with creative solutions to customer problems and dissatisfied needs, gather data by testing and validating ideas with the consumer research department, and prepare concept renderings with the right resources for marketing and sales presentation uses... Show more	$22-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • CAD
   • R
   • Tech Packs
   • Graphic Design
   • Solidworks
   • Design Software
   • Market Trends
   • Apparel
   • Technical Drawings
   • Product Design
   • Market Research
   • Design Process
   • Product Line

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
   • Maintain schedule relating to sketch hand off, cutting, sewing to insure timely product development
   • Coordinate the sample development with various Italian factories, from initial sketch to fit sample.
   • Develop requirements, authoring functional specifications, support QA and lead teams that cross functional and organizational boundaries
   • Lead Sr. drafter/designer for new vehicle design during document/model development leading to production.
   • Generate 3D modeling for valves, tubes and bearings with CATIA.

   More product development designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the product development designer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A product development designer 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 development designer in Kentucky may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level product development designer. Additionally, a product development designer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average product development designer salary

   $55,207yearly

   $26.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product development designer salary

   $36,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average product development designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$70,137	$34
   2	New York	$69,697	$34
   3	Washington	$69,225	$33
   4	Massachusetts	$66,325	$32
   5	Illinois	$55,647	$27
   6	Tennessee	$51,816	$25
   7	Alabama	$48,185	$23

   Average product development designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	DoorDash	$97,368	$46.81	41
   2	Converse	$73,755	$35.46
   3	Gillette	$73,695	$35.43
   4	P&G	$65,290	$31.39	11
   5	Legendary HEADWEAR	$61,959	$29.79
   6	Lennox International	$61,575	$29.60	5
   7	ISIS	$61,365	$29.50
   8	Magna International	$61,329	$29.49	3
   9	Retool	$59,421	$28.57
   10	Motion Recruitment	$56,579	$27.20	8
   11	Western Power Sports	$54,126	$26.02

4. Writing a product development designer job description

   A job description for a product development designer 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 product development designer job description:

   Product development designer job description example

   WHO WE ARE:
   
   Together we are a world-class diversified manufacturer with a commitment from our team to proudly provide pure precision solutions to our customers, delivering superior quality, value and service.
   
   Ferrotec (USA) Corporation is headquartered in Santa Clara CA with operations in Bedford NH, Livermore CA and San Jose CA. Ferrotec is a rapidly growing technology company with a worldwide presence in a broad array of end products, manufacturing systems, and industries serving primarily the semi-conductor industry. We provide our customers with advanced material, component, system, and manufacturing solutions.
   
   HOW YOU WILL IMPACT OUR TEAM:
   
   Responsible for modifying and designing components, assemblies, and/or subsystems. Gathers or develops basic data for sketches, layouts and calculations, and presents design proposal to engineer. Optimizes design factors such as ease of manufacture, availability of materials, modularization, serviceability, and cost. Identifies, specifies, and integrates commercially available industrial components when required. Utilizes various materials appropriate for the design application (i.e., machined components, weldments, ceramics, plastics, etc.). Uses manufacturing/engineering software systems for document and design control. Understands and meets customer specifications. Coordinates design development with other engineering staff and with other departments. Meets time estimates and project deadlines.
   
   WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:
   
   + Understands basic design and drafting practices and designs components requiring basic skills.
   
   + Follows defined, standard design practices and procedures.
   
   + Provides detailing assistance for a more senior level designer.
   
   + Requires the ability to produce clear, accurate, and complete engineering drawings using PC based CAD systems. Requires good organization and communication skills, and the ability to work well with others.
   
   + Designs components of moderate complexity or portions of a functional assembly/system.
   
   + Exercises judgement within defined practices and procedures to determine appropriate action.
   
   + Understands good design and drafting practices, particularly dimensioning and tolerancing and their effect on fit, function, and cost.
   
   + Checks completed layouts and drawings prepared by others for clarity, completeness, conformity to standards and specifications, and accuracy of calculations and dimensioning.
   
   Achievement of objectives must include an over-riding commitment to quality that must permeate the areas of responsibility. Enable and Drive Change in the Organization.
   
   Requirements
   
   WHAT YOU NEED TO JOIN OUR TEAM:
   
   + H.S. Diploma or equivalent and 3+ years experience

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right product development designer 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 product development designer job on Zippia to find and attract quality product development designer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with product development designer 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 product development designer

   Once you've found the product development designer 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new product development designer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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