How to hire a project development engineer

How to hire a project development engineer, step by step

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

What does a project development engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your project development engineer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a project development engineer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A project development engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, project development engineers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents project development engineer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Project Development Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Project Development 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.	$31-52
   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
   Quality Engineer	A quality engineer's responsibilities include ensuring that the manufacturing processes are efficient and accurate, documenting findings that would raise concerns, conducting quality tests while observing parameters, and implementing changes as necessary to meet the highest quality standards. Quality engineers need to have excellent problem-solving and observation skills to detect any irregularities and possible malfunctions... Show more	$29-49

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Renewable Energy
   • Project Management
   • Cost Estimates
   • CAD
   • Technical Reports
   • Development Projects
   • Data Collection
   • Technical Specifications
   • Business Development
   • HVAC
   • UL
   • Cost Savings
   • R
   • Technical Support

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple crews for installation, implementation and service of RF and telecommunications systems throughout Florida.
   • Develop & test commercial grade HVAC products for large scale facilities such as airports, schools or complexes.
   • Communicate with other engineering disciplines to complete overall design and construction of projects including electrical, HVAC, structural and mechanical.
   • Design and create complete web business applications for internal departments, including system architecture, front-end UI and back-end database functionality.
   • Help develop a wide variety of industrial/consumer composite packaging products utilizing polymer extrusion processes.
   • Develop proposals for in-house extrusion coating options that include the product offering and capital proposal.

   More project development engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, project development engineers' average salary in kentucky is 33% less than in maryland.
   • Seniority. Entry-level project development engineers 41% less than senior-level project development engineers.
   • Certifications. A project development engineer 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 project development engineer's salary.

   Average project development engineer salary

   $85,059yearly

   $40.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level project development engineer salary

   $65,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average project development engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$102,096	$49
   2	Texas	$97,800	$47
   3	Rhode Island	$93,199	$45
   4	Virginia	$91,930	$44
   5	Washington	$91,871	$44
   6	New Jersey	$90,294	$43
   7	Michigan	$89,260	$43
   8	New York	$88,806	$43
   9	Oklahoma	$86,805	$42
   10	Arizona	$86,014	$41
   11	Colorado	$83,881	$40
   12	North Carolina	$80,361	$39
   13	Arkansas	$79,168	$38
   14	Illinois	$77,170	$37
   15	Minnesota	$76,536	$37
   16	Georgia	$73,564	$35
   17	Florida	$67,683	$33

   Average project development engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cheniere Energy	$123,295	$59.28
   2	ConocoPhillips	$109,823	$52.80
   3	Nikola Motor	$104,635	$50.31
   4	Ameresco	$101,119	$48.61	13
   5	PBF Energy	$100,458	$48.30	2
   6	Tesla	$98,520	$47.37	8
   7	Air Products	$96,063	$46.18	2
   8	Occidental Petroleum	$95,170	$45.75
   9	Hasbro	$87,029	$41.84	1
   10	Air Liquide	$86,875	$41.77	3
   11	Cupertino Electric	$86,750	$41.71	13
   12	Timmons Group	$86,201	$41.44	76
   13	Jacobs Engineering Group	$84,817	$40.78
   14	Veeder-Root	$84,059	$40.41
   15	Southern	$83,752	$40.27	17
   16	Johnson Controls	$82,586	$39.70	28
   17	Michael Baker	$82,585	$39.70	8
   18	Pape-Dawson Engineers	$82,184	$39.51	7
   19	Stantec	$82,012	$39.43	258
   20	Techtronic Industries TTI	$81,733	$39.29	22

4. Writing a project development engineer job description

   A good project development 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 project development engineer job description:

   Project development engineer job description example

   Are you inspired by “what's next”? So are we.
   
   When you join the Albemarle team, you contribute to a better tomorrow. You will play a role in powering many of the world's largest and most critical industries, from energy and communications to transportation and electronics. We are putting innovation to work to improve people's lives and we want YOU to be a part of it.
   
   Job Description
   
   Albemarle Corporation is seeking a Project Engineer for Project Development of Sustaining Capital Projects supporting the Kings Mountain and New Johnsonville, TN manufacturing facilities. Working with the Project Development Team Project, the primary function of this role is to help plan and execute multiple site projects in the development stage. The Project Engineer is accountable for achieving safety, operability, schedule, and cost goals on assigned projects. Candidate must be highly motivated to manage and develop multiple projects from concept through SELECT (FEL1 through FEL2) with a cross functional team.
   Responsibilities
   Work with cross functional team to define project scope, goals and deliverables that support business goals in collaboration with stakeholders, including meetings, setting of priorities, evaluating comments/requests and ensuring stakeholder's approval.Ensure adequate engineering tracking and reporting controls are established to evaluate the project's progress and schedule performance. Works with project management as well as contracting & procurement to ensure requirements are included in scope as the project moves to DEFINE (FEL 3).Research, interpret, and ensure compliance with regulatory and design codes and standards. Maintains awareness of changing requirements and considers them in engineering designs.Review technical feasibility of proposed solutions to engineering problems. Ensures constructability reviews are used in project phases to validate the completeness and operability of designs. In coordination with project manager, leads the development of the design basis for all project technical disciplines.Collaborates with the engineering functional team on the conceptual and front-end engineering design efforts, utilizing approved engineering service providers where needed, for capital projects that will be used to obtain funding and project approval Verifies drawings and design details of existing facility are up to date prior to the start of designs.Communicates directly with outside equipment and material vendors to specify, obtain quotes, and follow up on early purchases of equipment and services.Ensures teams (internal and external) review and revise engineering specifications and standards as required by supervision or as needed to ensure compliance with industry and regulatory requirements Develops or enhances project tools and engineering guidelines used to standardize engineering design parameters and processes Participates in HSE reviews, permit audits and housekeeping inspections. Ensures that process hazard analysis open/action items are adequately addressed in engineering deliverables prior to full project funding Maintains quality and timeliness of safety activities and deliverables throughout the project delivery process.Leads project team in generation and review of engineering technical documents.Ensures compliance with company procedures and project documentation requirements.Helps coordinate project controls and cost forecasting, in collaboration with Project Controls lead.Assists in developing project schedules and estimates Helps prepare project updates and reporting to site/corporate leadership Maintains effective communication throughout the project life cycle Work effectively with internal and external customers to meet project objectives
   Essential Qualifications
   Prior engineering experience in petrochemical or specialty chemical plant setting. Ability to work on multiple projects concurrently and 3-5 years of engineering experience in a chemical plant setting.A leader in safety on assigned projects including setting expectations and being visible in the field.Ability to judge the quality of engineering and construction documents.Ability to drive project definition and secure team alignment.High level of ownership with assigned projects.Experience with SAP project module and other basic SAP transactions is a plus.
   Education Requirements
   Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field required. Prefer Chemical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering degree
   Choose to unlock your full POTENTIAL. Apply today.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting project development 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 project development engineer

   Once you've selected the best project development engineer 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new project development engineer. 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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How much does it cost to hire a project development engineer?