How to hire a product planner

How to hire a product planner, step by step

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

What does a product planner do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The product planner 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?

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   Hiring the perfect product planner 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.

   Here's a comparison of product planner salaries for various roles:

   Type of Product Planner	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Planner	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$34-59
   Expeditor	The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors... Show more	$13-25
   Inventory Control Lead	An Inventory Control Lead oversees supplies in an organization, aiming to meet market demands and avoid oversupply. They perform regular inspections and assessments, review invoices and other documentation, monitor product distribution operations, and produce regular progress reports... Show more	$13-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Development
   • Product Planning
   • Product Line
   • Logistics
   • MRP
   • Product Management
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • Expedite
   • Product Roadmap
   • Production Control
   • ERP
   • Inventory Management
   • Competitive Analysis
   • Market Research

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage company MRP purchases including contractor and consultant contract review.
   • Perform financial forecasting, leveraging MRP to plan performance of products and evaluate ROI of raw materials.
   • Task with supervising raw materials suppliers for computer test equipment construction using several ERP systems.
   • Support implementation of new ERP system (MFGPRO Eb2) relate to engineering procurement systems and processes.
   • Set up KANBAN to assure the steady flow of parts without stock outs as well as growing inventories.
   • Work collaboratively with purchasing, production, engineering, quality control, BOM analysts, buyers, and suppliers.

   More product planner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your product planner job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A product planner can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, product planners' average salary in wyoming is 49% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level product planners 43% less than senior-level product planners.
   • Certifications. A product planner with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a product planner's salary.

   Average product planner salary

   $94,669yearly

   $45.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product planner salary

   $71,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 8, 2026

   Average product planner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$121,792	$59
   2	Washington	$111,044	$53
   3	Maine	$97,305	$47
   4	Michigan	$92,152	$44
   5	Colorado	$91,756	$44
   6	Arizona	$90,013	$43
   7	Oregon	$86,570	$42
   8	Texas	$86,041	$41
   9	Maryland	$84,774	$41
   10	North Carolina	$84,762	$41
   11	Indiana	$84,207	$40
   12	South Carolina	$80,008	$38
   13	Ohio	$79,974	$38
   14	Minnesota	$78,825	$38
   15	New York	$78,087	$38
   16	Illinois	$76,683	$37
   17	Iowa	$73,787	$35
   18	Missouri	$73,711	$35

   Average product planner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$137,752	$66.23	62
   2	Microsoft	$132,730	$63.81	83
   3	ConocoPhillips	$113,158	$54.40	1
   4	Coty	$109,095	$52.45
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$104,619	$50.30	326
   6	Xilinx	$104,347	$50.17
   7	DoubleVerify	$102,897	$49.47
   8	Cirrus Logic	$101,445	$48.77	3
   9	OmniVision Technologies	$100,877	$48.50
   10	Intel	$100,807	$48.46	17
   11	Micron Technology	$100,282	$48.21	34
   12	Bayer	$99,646	$47.91	20
   13	WEX	$96,609	$46.45	22
   14	Stefanini	$95,526	$45.93	3
   15	Keysight Technologies	$95,244	$45.79
   16	Pioneer Technology Group	$95,138	$45.74
   17	Fujitsu	$94,051	$45.22	16
   18	Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)	$93,321	$44.87	10
   19	FCA US LLC	$92,348	$44.40	5
   20	Honda	$92,071	$44.26	2

4. Writing a product planner job description

   A good product planner 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 product planner job description:

   Product planner job description example

   How would you like to work in a place where your contributions and ideas are valued? A place where you can serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice? At Wellstar, our mission is simple, yet powerful: to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve. We are proud to have become a shining example of what's possible when the brightest professionals dedicate themselves to making a difference in the healthcare industry, and in people's lives.
   Responsibilities
   
   The Product Planner is responsible for managing product and team plans that are related to the innovation work cycle. This includes tasks throughout problem development and solution scoping. They are to identify and organize cross-functional teams while forming and assigning roles, establish and implement meeting cadence including managing third party partners and internal partners, track and monitor deliverables. They offer creative solutions by staying up-to-date on emerging technologies to be applied to healthcare problems throughout different industries. Manage across the various points in product lifecycle utilizing effective project and business management skills. Drive the execution of multiple business plans and initiatives across the team and cross-functional workgroups. Assist in the management of third-party vendors and ensure business needs are being met. Creatively identify tasks, needs and jobs to be done. Promote and support company policies, procedures, mission, vision, values, and standards of ethics and integrity.
   
   Qualifications
   
   Required Minimum Education:
   ● Bachelor's degree required, Master's preferred
   Required Minimum Experience:
   • 1 year experience in the healthcare field preferred
   • Experience working with Microsoft suit applications.
   • Experience working on a team
   Required Minimum Skills:
   ● Embrace teambuilding and possess interpersonal skills ● Above-average ability to adapt and be flexible to drive change from the business perspective ● Understanding of how to work in settings that present vague product parameters ● Capable of creative problem solving and identifying tangible outputs to reach product implementation ● Demonstrate insights into industry trends and emerging technology, specific to healthcare and beyond ● Actively respect good work of teams and honor past accomplishments while pushing for necessary change ● Dedicate time to listen to experts across the company, understand a variety of perspectives and strive to expand context every day ● Demonstrate an affinity for constantly being curious and exploring alternatives to clients' issues. This includes demonstrating tenacity and creative thinking to solve intractable business problems systemically. ● Ability to balance curiosity with pragmatism. This skill requires the ability to recognize organizational dynamics and industry constraints that influence recommendations. ● Demonstrate an understanding of the challenges facing organizations to adopt new technologies. Expertise must extend to further understand approaches and processes that can enable an organization to turn insights into rapid actions that deliver outcomes that exceed expectations ● Inspire teams to do their best work and pursue excellence in their own lives ● Empower colleagues across Wellstar Health System to do their best work by sharing knowledge and tools Hybrid work model

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right product planner 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 planners they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit product planners 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 planner job on Zippia to find and recruit product planner candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit product planners, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up 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 planner

   Once you've decided on a perfect product planner 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 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 planner. 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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