How to hire a senior engineer/scientist

How to hire a senior engineer/scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior engineer/scientist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior engineer/scientist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior engineer/scientist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior engineer/scientist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior engineer/scientist 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

   Hiring the perfect senior engineer/scientist 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 senior engineer/scientist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Engineer/Scientist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Engineer/Scientist	Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition, they test prototypes to make sure that they function according to design.	$39-67
   Stress Analyst	A stress analyst is a type of aerospace engineer; they design, construct, and test aircraft. They may also work on missiles or spacecraft... Show more	$30-54
   Principal Systems Engineer	A Principal Systems Engineer supervises a group of other engineers in technical projects. They develop and lead systems engineering projects and efforts.	$46-87

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Technical Reports
   • Technical Support
   • Product Development
   • Project Management
   • DOD
   • Systems Engineering
   • System Performance
   • Architecture
   • RF
   • Windows
   • IR
   • DOE
   • R

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage third party vendor equipment mainly running on Unix and AIX such as VMS and SMS.
   • Provide consultation to the ISO team in achieving certification, and enable company to win many more deals as a result.
   • Used high speed oscilloscopes and logic analyzers for debugging memory issues on internal and customer designs.
   • Install and upgrade various servers (Unix and NT), switches and routers on the test wireless network.
   • Perform engineering verification testing and debugging of update products using digital oscilloscopes, logic analyzers and assort basic test equipment.
   • Develop synthesize-able decimation filter architecture.

   More senior engineer/scientist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, senior engineers/scientist' average salary in indiana is 34% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior engineers/scientist 41% less than senior-level senior engineers/scientist.
   • Certifications. A senior engineer/scientist 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 senior engineer/scientist's salary.

   Average senior engineer/scientist salary

   $107,792yearly

   $51.82 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior engineer/scientist salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average senior engineer/scientist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$130,222	$63
   2	District of Columbia	$119,116	$57
   3	Washington	$112,406	$54
   4	Ohio	$111,132	$53
   5	Arizona	$110,834	$53
   6	New Mexico	$108,205	$52
   7	Massachusetts	$107,778	$52
   8	Texas	$107,598	$52
   9	Minnesota	$102,463	$49
   10	Illinois	$102,455	$49
   11	Oregon	$100,336	$48
   12	New Jersey	$100,105	$48
   13	Virginia	$97,788	$47
   14	Connecticut	$95,356	$46
   15	Utah	$93,936	$45
   16	New York	$92,931	$45
   17	North Carolina	$92,930	$45
   18	Georgia	$91,192	$44

   Average senior engineer/scientist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Microsoft	$149,286	$71.77	286
   2	Amazon	$147,129	$70.74	684
   3	ICE Mortgage Technology	$135,762	$65.27
   4	Best Buy	$129,569	$62.29	7
   5	Nexient	$125,754	$60.46
   6	23andMe	$125,652	$60.41	1
   7	Mythic	$124,172	$59.70
   8	Dev	$123,912	$59.57	40
   9	Randstad North America, Inc.	$123,779	$59.51
   10	Plexus Scientific	$121,671	$58.50
   11	FireEye	$121,137	$58.24
   12	AbbVie	$118,643	$57.04	121
   13	Novartis	$118,158	$56.81	6
   14	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$118,047	$56.75	163
   15	CoreLogic	$117,079	$56.29	2
   16	Amd	$116,984	$56.24	24
   17	Sutro Biopharma	$116,674	$56.09
   18	Sanofi US	$116,269	$55.90	31
   19	Jobot	$116,126	$55.83
   20	Catalent Pharma Solutions	$115,824	$55.68	33

4. Writing a senior engineer/scientist job description

   A senior engineer/scientist 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 senior engineer/scientist job description:

   Senior engineer/scientist job description example

   The Chemical Sciences and Engineering (CSE) Division Department Head primarily provides administrative management and oversight of research activities within the Electrochemical Energy Storage (EES) department and reports directly to the CSE Division Director.
   
   The responsibilities include: contributing to the development of strategic plans for CSE and EES, helping to manage departmental research and administrative activities in support of the six individual research groups within EES, developing new initiatives for program growth, fostering career development and independent research for all staff members, ensuring staff access to divisional resources and facilities, developing productive relationships with sponsors, helping to market the intellectual property of the department, and providing leadership and shouldering responsibility for Environmental, Health and Safety (ESH) matters within EES and in support of CSE Divisional management of ESH. EES is comprised of eighty-plus researchers covering all aspects of advanced battery research.
   
   This position is supported by CSE and EES, but some of the support should also come from the individual's research activities. These activities can include project/program technical guidance/management or hands-on technical work.
   **Position Requirements**
   
   The manager's skills should consist of:
   
   Comprehensive leadership and management skills. Comprehensive knowledge of advanced battery operation and structure, material fabrication methods, physical and electrochemical principles underlying operation of batteries, and the experimental techniques associated with these areas. Considerable knowledge of a wide range of disciplines related to advanced battery development including chemistry and materials science. Considerable skill in oral and written communication, and in interpersonal relationships. Considerable knowledge and experience in safe laboratory practices. Finally, good general knowledge of related engineering disciplines.
   
   This position description documents the general nature and level of work, but it is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all activities, duties, and responsibilities required of job incumbent. Consequently, job incumbent may be required to perform other duties as assigned.
   
   This requisition will be posted until the position is filled. There is no deadline for applications. The review of candidates will begin in mid-November 2022.
   
   **Job Family**
   
   Research Development (RD)
   
   **Job Profile**
   
   Chemistry Leader 2
   
   **Worker Type**
   
   Regular
   
   **Time Type**
   
   Full time
   
   _As an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. In support of this commitment, Argonne encourages minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply for employment. Argonne considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law._
   
   _Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne's Legal Department._
   
   _All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case-by-case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual be to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment._
   
   _Please note that all Argonne employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All successful applicants will be required to provide their COVID-19 vaccination verification as a condition of employment, subject to limited legally recognized exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination._

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior engineer/scientist 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 senior engineer/scientist

   Once you've found the senior engineer/scientist 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 senior engineer/scientist. 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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