How to hire a senior mechanical project engineer

How to hire a senior mechanical project engineer, step by step

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

What does a senior mechanical project engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a senior mechanical project engineer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   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 mechanical project 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 mechanical project engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Mechanical Project Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Mechanical Project Engineer	Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers design, develop, build, and test mechanical and thermal sensors and devices, including tools, engines, and machines.	$31-51
   Design Engineer	A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs... Show more	$27-49
   Staff Engineer	Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations... Show more	$33-80

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • CAD
   • Solidworks
   • HVAC
   • Plumbing
   • MEP
   • QA
   • Mechanical Systems
   • Mechanical Design
   • Mechanical Engineering Design
   • UL
   • Cost Estimates
   • Product Design
   • SR

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
   • Integrate project lead (IPT) for service upgrades product development and implementation.
   • Generate project fees for HVAC work.
   • Contribute with significant NR engineering cost saving per FEA analysis.
   • Ensure Duracell, UL, and outside applicable requirements are met.
   • Work on project requirements with scheduling, budgeting and IPT responsibilities.

   More senior mechanical project engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, senior mechanical project engineers' average salary in arkansas is 34% less than in texas.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior mechanical project engineers 38% less than senior-level senior mechanical project engineers.
   • Certifications. A senior mechanical project 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 mechanical project engineer's salary.

   Average senior mechanical project engineer salary

   $84,631yearly

   $40.69 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior mechanical project engineer salary

   $66,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average senior mechanical project engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$111,746	$54
   2	Texas	$106,881	$51
   3	Connecticut	$104,772	$50
   4	Massachusetts	$95,911	$46
   5	New York	$89,647	$43
   6	Maryland	$89,414	$43
   7	Colorado	$89,179	$43
   8	Washington	$87,535	$42
   9	Louisiana	$85,630	$41
   10	North Carolina	$85,315	$41
   11	South Carolina	$84,336	$41
   12	Indiana	$82,545	$40
   13	Michigan	$81,250	$39
   14	Florida	$80,822	$39
   15	Missouri	$80,659	$39
   16	Oregon	$80,073	$39
   17	Utah	$77,006	$37
   18	Wisconsin	$76,310	$37
   19	South Dakota	$75,781	$36
   20	Ohio	$75,145	$36

   Average senior mechanical project engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$128,266	$61.67	451
   2	Randstad North America, Inc.	$104,421	$50.20
   3	DRS	$101,576	$48.83	11
   4	Sargent & Lundy	$98,507	$47.36	486
   5	Fletcher Thompson	$97,963	$47.10
   6	Weatherford International	$97,832	$47.03	3
   7	Urban Engineers	$97,243	$46.75
   8	Raven Industries	$95,481	$45.90
   9	Neptune Technology Group	$95,321	$45.83	1
   10	P2S	$95,220	$45.78
   11	PEAK Technical Staffing USA	$95,153	$45.75
   12	Rain Bird	$94,140	$45.26	1
   13	Ball	$94,139	$45.26	1
   14	Westinghouse Appliances Australia	$94,034	$45.21	53
   15	Wacker Chemie	$93,868	$45.13
   16	Johnson Mirmiran & Thompson Inc	$93,823	$45.11	110
   17	Allison Transmission	$93,578	$44.99	13
   18	System One	$92,757	$44.59	67
   19	Hunter	$92,501	$44.47
   20	EN Engineering	$92,462	$44.45	13

4. Writing a senior mechanical project engineer job description

   A senior mechanical project engineer 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a senior mechanical project engineer job description:

   Senior mechanical project engineer job description example

   ENTRUST Solutions Group, an ENR Top 100 company, is a community of people, 2,500+ strong, who are committed to our clients and each other. We are diverse, talented, dedicated, and wholly focused on not only meeting the needs of our clients but exceeding their expectations.
   
   We provide comprehensive and dependable engineering, consulting, and automation services to gas and electric utilities, telecommunication service providers, pipeline operators, and industrial companies. With first-hand experience operating and maintaining energy infrastructure, our engineering professionals provide expertise in Renewables, Power Services, GIS and Data Solutions, Automation Integration, Pipeline Engineering, Integrity Services, Industrial Solutions, Telecommunications, and Process Safety Management.
   
   At ENTRUST, we work together as a team to accomplish more than we would individually, delivering innovative engineering solutions to meet our clients needs, while consistently maintaining the highest level of ethics and integrity.
   
   We are passionate about what we do, how we do it, and who we do it for. We work with a smile, connect easily with others, and believe that work-life balance and a flexible work environment benefits everyone.
   
   In return for top talent, ENTRUST Solutions Group offers competitive compensation, excellent benefits, and a positive work environment designed around the philosophy of mutual respect and the challenge of contributing to the continued success of our organization.
   ENTRUST SOLUTIONS GROUP BY THE NUMBERS: 35+ US locations with licenses in all 50 states 3000+ Employees company-wide 31+ Languages in which our employees are fluent 105+ Professional Engineers (PE)
   
   This position is hybrid based from St. Louis, MO or Cincinnati, OH or Louisville, KY
   Summary:
   This position is responsible for performing engineering tasks on multiple projects concurrently that may contain a high degree of technical difficulty, making decisions and recommendations that are considered authoritative and have important impact on engineering discipline design decisions leading design responsibility as an engineering discipline lead and acting as a project manager on small projects. Managing and/or assisting with clients to develop new business.
   Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
   Applying sound and diversified knowledge of discipline engineering principles and practices in broad areas of project assignments Initiating and maintaining extensive contacts with key engineers and officials in other organizations to confirm that engineering practices applied are consistent with current engineering standards, regulatory requirements, and current technological innovations Providing input to Project Managers and the Business Unit Leader concerning potential process and design improvements related to engineering design and technology Managing all projects that are assigned by the Business Unit Leader (BUL) to ensure the projects meet all required project measurements and indicators for performance which have been set by either the client or internally. These performance indicators include, but are not limited to, schedule performance, project budget performance, project profitability, client relationship and satisfaction, and project quality control. Maintaining, implementing and monitoring a system of quality control and check on all projects assigned Maintaining a system to accurately forecast fee revenue on an ongoing monthly basis Monitoring the training needs of individual staff members who are direct reports and identifying and scheduling training programs with the BUL Providing key support to the BUL in all business development activities Assisting in preparing proposals for the business unit by estimating engineering hours as an engineering discipline lead Developing and maintaining quality relationships with clients Maintaining a collaborative spirit in working with other Business Units providing the most optimum project team for projects often using personnel from multiple Business Units Performing miscellaneous job-related duties as necessary
   Required Qualifications:
   Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited university Registration as a professional engineer is highly preferred 8+ years of work experience, 4+ years of work experience in the refining, chemical, petro-chemical or manufacturing facility Collaborative approach to problem solving Strong oral and written communication skills Ability to build relationships with clients and staff members Strong technical engineering expertise (expert level) related to one or more engineering disciplines Strong industry contacts and knowledge of the industry Unquestioned business and personal integrity
   
   ENTRUST Solutions Group is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law. Headhunters and recruitment agencies may not submit resumes/CVs through this website or directly to managers. ENTRUST does not accept unsolicited headhunter or agency resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement with ENTRUST Solutions Group.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior mechanical project engineers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 mechanical project engineer

   Once you've found the senior mechanical project 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior mechanical project 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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