How to hire a senior field applications engineer

How to hire a senior field applications engineer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior field applications engineer 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

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   Hiring the perfect senior field applications engineer 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 field applications engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Field Applications Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Field Applications Engineer	Sales engineers sell complex scientific and technological products or services to businesses. They must have extensive knowledge of the products’ parts and functions and must understand the scientific processes that make these products work.	$44-76
   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
   Sales Engineering Manager	A sales engineering manager specializes in developing systems and procedures to optimize a company's sales operations, aiming for client satisfaction and profit growth. It is their duty to set goals and timelines, establish guidelines, manage different teams, research new business and client opportunities, gather and analyze data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing operations, develop sales strategies, and implement solutions against problem areas... Show more	$42-80

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Technical Support
   • Linux
   • RF
   • Pre Sales
   • Analog
   • FAE
   • Emerging Technologies
   • Technical Solutions
   • System Design
   • Pre-Sales
   • Post Sales
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Product Line
   • Customer Relationships

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist customers in FPGA tool usage / issue, and sometimes write application VHDL code to achieve a module function.
   • Manage all technical interactions (RFP responses, job site walk-through, design reviews, statement of work creation, etc . )
   • Provide customer support for XILINX FPGA circuit board system consisting of PCI, USB, API and JTAG interfaces.
   • Develop and maintain product history and applications database for FAE use.
   • Visit customer sites to provide 1st level response and debugging issue.
   • Work and collaborate with the FAE team and other organizations within the company.

   More senior field applications engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, senior field applications engineers' average salary in missouri is 47% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior field applications engineers 43% less than senior-level senior field applications engineers.
   • Certifications. A senior field applications 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 senior field applications engineer's salary.

   Average senior field applications engineer salary

   $122,117yearly

   $58.71 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior field applications engineer salary

   $92,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average senior field applications engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$150,070	$72
   2	Virginia	$134,357	$65
   3	Illinois	$133,754	$64
   4	New York	$128,081	$62
   5	Maryland	$126,567	$61
   6	Arizona	$124,707	$60
   7	Texas	$122,946	$59
   8	Oregon	$115,773	$56
   9	Georgia	$113,821	$55
   10	Massachusetts	$111,566	$54
   11	Pennsylvania	$105,984	$51
   12	Washington	$102,019	$49
   13	Michigan	$95,546	$46
   14	Minnesota	$91,398	$44

   Average senior field applications engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Xilinx	$138,990	$66.82
   2	SiFive	$134,489	$64.66
   3	Rambus	$134,001	$64.42
   4	Cirrus Logic	$133,941	$64.39	4
   5	Renesas Electronics	$133,455	$64.16	8
   6	Broadcom	$133,297	$64.09	11
   7	Amd	$132,317	$63.61	23
   8	Amphenol	$131,902	$63.41	34
   9	Qorvo	$131,854	$63.39
   10	Maxim Integrated	$131,365	$63.16
   11	Adobe	$130,555	$62.77	21
   12	Silicon Labs	$130,233	$62.61	2
   13	Infineon Technologies	$129,634	$62.32	27
   14	ZTE USA	$128,741	$61.89
   15	Vicor	$128,006	$61.54	2
   16	Avnet	$127,282	$61.19	8
   17	CyberCoders	$124,068	$59.65
   18	Supermicro	$123,235	$59.25	6
   19	Teradyne	$122,956	$59.11	29
   20	ARM	$122,044	$58.67	9

4. Writing a senior field applications engineer job description

   A job description for a senior field applications engineer 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 senior field applications engineer job description:

   Senior field applications engineer job description example

   Humatics has developed a breakthrough micro-location system that will revolutionize how people and machines locate, navigate and collaborate. A single Humatics system, using advanced radio-frequency technology, can pinpoint multiple, moving targets with submillimeter precision - enabling new uses of industrial automation and human-robotic interaction.
   We are seeking a Senior Field Applications Engineer to help drive client adoption, use case implementation, system integration and testing of our microlocation technology. You will join a team of experienced and highly motivated electrical, computer, RF and robotics engineers with decades of experience in navigation and autonomous robot operation to realize a wide variety of new applications.
   
   You will work directly with Humatics' Sales, Marketing, and Business Development teams to provide solutions to customers' challenges, install and support our technology both at HQ and in the field, and serve as a conduit between customers and Humatics' technology team. You will regularly work directly with customers, both remotely and in the field, to scope out and deliver working solutions at customer sites. You will be a key player in ensuring our products meet customer needs through field work and effective communication of field and customer experiences into the Humatics organization.
   
   This position is based at Humatics headquarters in Waltham, MA and currently reports directly to the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
   Assist Sales and Business Development with prospective customer and partner engagements to drive adoption Work with Marketing and Engineering to ensure that product capabilities match marketing strategies and material Collaborate with Marketing, Business Development and Sales to assess customer use-case viability, align with current or planned technology development, and develop solutions using our technology Interact often with customers to enhance their understanding of our technology and products Work closely with the engineering teams to gain an in depth understanding of our technology and products Work closely with QA, Testing, and Engineering teams to ensure in field insights are incorporated into development and testing processes Develop or modify system elements (source code, system parameters, hardware, etc.) in order to ensure solutions that solve customers' challenges Create working demonstrations with various robotics assets for our lab and for various trade shows Support the deployment and on boarding of products at the pilot stage as well as commercialized products at customer sites Contribute to field testing and analysis efforts Travel as required based on prospect and customer requirements and for marketing events Code software to enable robotics to fully leverage the system, Python and C/C++
   Qualifications
   Bachelor's or Master's in electrical, mechanical, systems, or robotics engineering or a related technical field Minimum of 5 years' experience in field application engineering, systems engineering, or similar working directly with customers Computer programming skills in languages such as C\C++ or Python Experience with direct customer interaction, both in sales and technical context, to align technical value between a prospect use case and technology Aid in the sales process to build trust with technical stakeholders to move deals from concept to close. Post sales experience working with clients to expand the use case and technology footprint. Success being part of an enterprise sales team achieving or exceeding quarterly and annual revenue objectives. Experience with radio-frequency position sensors (e.g., GPS, GNSS), inertial navigation, and/or motion control products strongly desired Experience with Linux, Windows or similar command line operation Strong experience with robotics systems at the programmatic and control level. Strong communication skills including presenting results and recommendations both internally and to external customers Ability to tackle challenging technical problems quickly and independently with minimal supervision
   Compensation
   Competitive salary Meaningful equity ownership in a well-funded startup Generous Medical, dental and vision benefits 401(k) plan Paid Holidays, Paid Parental Leave and Unlimited Vacation
   If you do not meet all of these qualifications, but are excited about the opportunity, please apply!
   
   Humatics is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior field applications engineer 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 field applications engineer

   Once you've found the senior field applications engineer 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior field applications engineer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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