How to hire a product development specialist

How to hire a product development specialist, step by step

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

What does a product development specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the product development specialist you need to hire. Certain product development specialist 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a product development specialist 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 specialist that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of product development specialists.

   Type of Product Development Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Development Specialist	Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They help companies understand what products people want, who will buy them, and at what price.	$20-56
   Marketing Coordinator	A marketing coordinator supports the marketing department on deciding strategies and business efforts to develop the brand image and boost customer satisfaction. Marketing coordinators' duties include assisting in advertising campaigns, scheduling promotional events, monitoring sales status, researching current market trends, maintaining a record of existing and potential clients, and contributing ideas to improve the brand's profitability... Show more	$16-32
   Marketing Internship	Marketing interns are usually marketing students or fresh graduates who are interested in getting actual work experiences before taking on a full-time job. They usually have an interest or academic background related to marketing... Show more	$11-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Development
   • Project Management
   • R
   • SQL
   • Product Quality
   • Cost Savings
   • PowerPoint
   • Market Research
   • Quality Issues
   • Product Line
   • Product Design
   • Technical Support
   • Market Trends
   • Java

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage workflow from initial sketch through final product placement.
   • Create, update and manage SKU's in PLM (product life cycle management) software.
   • Lead expert team that prove feasibility of manufacturing green elastomeric nonwovens by reactive extrusion.
   • Manage design control including FMEA risk analysis, surgeon clinical input documentation, design verification and validation activities.
   • Create PowerPoint presentations for business development, as well as internally for management and development meetings.
   • Supervise staff of 3 in GMP compliant facility.

   More product development specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average product development specialist salary

   $70,820yearly

   $34.05 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product development specialist salary

   $42,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average product development specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$105,829	$51
   2	Washington	$104,150	$50
   3	New York	$88,157	$42
   4	Virginia	$83,150	$40
   5	California	$82,022	$39
   6	Minnesota	$80,642	$39
   7	Pennsylvania	$80,447	$39
   8	Ohio	$77,703	$37
   9	Massachusetts	$77,106	$37
   10	District of Columbia	$75,682	$36
   11	North Carolina	$69,403	$33
   12	Texas	$67,486	$32
   13	Alaska	$63,618	$31
   14	Illinois	$60,921	$29
   15	Utah	$58,997	$28
   16	Wisconsin	$58,855	$28
   17	Colorado	$57,666	$28
   18	Florida	$54,402	$26
   19	Indiana	$49,449	$24
   20	Hawaii	$31,521	$15

   Average product development specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Bloomberg	$126,043	$60.60	20
   2	Meta	$125,395	$60.29	373
   3	Citi	$124,766	$59.98	25
   4	SAP	$115,275	$55.42	39
   5	BNY Mellon	$111,208	$53.47	33
   6	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$105,919	$50.92	486
   7	Nintendo	$98,759	$47.48	4
   8	Imation	$97,851	$47.04
   9	Tata Technologies	$92,367	$44.41
   10	Chubb	$92,174	$44.31	36
   11	Multisorb	$90,677	$43.59
   12	Syngenta	$87,819	$42.22	10
   13	AstenJohnson	$87,640	$42.13	1
   14	Markel	$86,187	$41.44	99
   15	The Timken Company	$85,801	$41.25	2
   16	tag	$85,634	$41.17
   17	Medtronic	$84,939	$40.84	59
   18	Whirlpool	$83,800	$40.29	19
   19	Tube Specialties	$82,924	$39.87
   20	Dahl Consulting	$82,216	$39.53	4

4. Writing a product development specialist job description

   A product development specialist 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. Below, you can find an example of a product development specialist job description:

   Product development specialist job description example

   • Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Business.
   • 1-3 years’ experience in a manufacturing environment.
   • Technical, analytical skills and strategic thinking.
   • Self-directed with sound decision-making.
   • Strong oral and written communication skills.
   • Proficiency with Microsoft Office/ Google and enterprise software.
   • Experience and/or knowledge in electrical or lighting is preferred.

   ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

   • Occasional travel may be required
   • Previous lighting experience is a plus!

   Why Barron Lighting Group:

   Barron Lighting Group in Glendale, Arizona has over 49 years of experience manufacturing and marketing high quality lighting products. Our deep-rooted core value of service and providing satisfaction for customers, vendors and employees has led to significant growth and success. At Barron, we believe our employees are most important and instrumental in our success. It is our desire to create an amazing place to work where employees feel a part of the team, empowered, valued, heard, respected, and happy to come to work every day. This is the Barron Way!

   Barron Lighting Group offers competitive salaries, ongoing training opportunities and a comprehensive benefits package including:

   • Great company culture!
   • Employee Reward Program
   • Profit Sharing 401(k) Employer Match
   • Benefit Package: BlueCross BlueShield Medical with FSA & HRA options, Principal Dental and VSP Vision Plans
   • Employer-Paid Life Insurance
   • Short Term Disability & Long-Term Disability

   We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer of Disabled / Veterans / Minorities / Women. We provide equal employment and affirmative action opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state or local laws.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right product development specialist 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 specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit product development specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting product development specialists 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.

   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 specialist

   Once you've selected the best product development specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new product development specialist 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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How much does it cost to hire a product development specialist?