How to hire a senior network support engineer

How to hire a senior network support engineer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a senior network support 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

   A senior network support engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior network support 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.

   Here's a comparison of senior network support engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Network Support Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Network Support Engineer	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$42-69
   Support	A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department... Show more	$11-25
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Switches
   • Routers
   • Network Support
   • Network Troubleshooting
   • IPSEC
   • BGP
   • Network Infrastructure
   • Linux
   • OSPF
   • Remedy
   • MPLS
   • Technical Support
   • TCP/IP
   • Acls

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage firewall and security issues, including researching, analyzing and reporting technical information regarding information security issues.
   • Experience in configuring and troubleshooting of OSPF and EIGRP.
   • Create, modify and implement ACL's on routers and switches.
   • Diagnose, troubleshoot and repair servers, desktops, laptops, switches, routers, hubs and printers.
   • Have received F5 formal training in LTM, ASM, WAM/AAM, iRules, Viprion, and vCMP.
   • Install and configure DNS, DHCP.

   More senior network support engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior network support engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior network support engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior network support engineer in Florida may be lower than in Idaho, and an entry-level senior network support engineer usually earns less than a senior-level senior network support engineer. Additionally, a senior network support engineer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior network support engineer salary

   $113,596yearly

   $54.61 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior network support engineer salary

   $88,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average senior network support engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$132,532	$64
   2	Illinois	$120,287	$58
   3	New Jersey	$118,336	$57
   4	Virginia	$109,614	$53
   5	Colorado	$107,329	$52
   6	Texas	$106,706	$51
   7	Pennsylvania	$105,207	$51
   8	Utah	$105,083	$51

   Average senior network support engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	UTStarcom Inc	$145,643	$70.02
   2	F5	$141,573	$68.06	5
   3	Barclays	$136,627	$65.69	3
   4	BNY Mellon	$130,593	$62.79	13
   5	Amazon	$130,168	$62.58	272
   6	Ubiquiti	$127,628	$61.36
   7	AT&T	$120,457	$57.91	42
   8	U.S. Cellular	$116,759	$56.13
   9	Lenovo	$110,925	$53.33	3
   10	*n/a*	$108,707	$52.26	2
   11	Teva Pharmaceuticals	$108,149	$51.99
   12	MORI Associates	$104,476	$50.23
   13	Oracle	$102,267	$49.17	1,489

4. Writing a senior network support engineer job description

   A job description for a senior network support 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 network support engineer job description:

   Senior network support engineer job description example

   Our Team
   
   Technology Services Group (TSG) powers BNY Mellon by providing scale, capacity, and capability to deliver the critical technology required to operate the global financial services markets.
   
   TSG is defined by three core values:
   
   * Creative innovators, delivering excellence and simplicity
   * Always doing the right thing for the bank, colleagues, and clients
   * Fostering a collaborative, diverse and inclusive environment, where we challenge each other to execute as one TSG team
   
   As part of TSG, our Production Services team is
   
   * Maintain a secure and stable production environment for the Bank and Clients around the globe (including Database Network, Messaging, Voice, and Video technology)
   * Monitor the Cyber Technology Operations Center (CTOC) 24x7x365 for real-time observation of the technology estate
   
   Role :
   
   The team is responsible for all network support escalations (router, switches, WAN, firewalls, proxies, load-balancers), supporting DR events (BNYM, regulatory, client) and life-cycle management.
   
   Responsibilities :
   
   * The team is responsible for all network client connectivity requests (new, modify, decommission), providing support for DR events (BNYM, regulatory, client), and to provide escalation support.
   * Hands on experience with Cisco routers / switches / VPN, Palo Alto Firewalls or similar suppliers, Load Balancers, Carrier Technology, DNS/DHCP, and Segmentation Products
   * Experience is supporting network client connectivity, including VPN and MPLS.
   * Experience in supporting disaster recovery testing events to clients and regulatory financial institutions.
   * Designs, implements, integrates, and provides full support for complex software in a multi-tiered, multi-platform environment.
   * Maintains and supports moderately complex infrastructure environments.
   * Performs complex troubleshooting as a subject matter expert.
   * Works to ensure appropriate monitoring and alerting setup.
   * Leads root cause analysis and problem management for complex problems to address underlying technical issues.
   * Collaborates with business and application development stakeholders. Lead production readiness reviews for new releases and validate the supportability of changes prior to introduction into production,
   * Lead production readiness reviews and PTO controls for new releases and projects.
   * Analyzes system requirements.
   * Reviews and evaluates plans for major projects and initiatives to ensure they meet system needs.
   * Coordinates the monitoring of major changes to infrastructure environment.
   * Analyzes the most complex issues that arise.
   * Collaborates with infrastructure engineering, quality assurance, app support for capacity monitoring & instrumentation.
   * Creation of architectural diagrams and design specifications to aid automation.
   * Designs, implements, and maintains automation toolsets for configuration management, infrastructure and application deployment processes.
   * Complex Incident, Problem Management & Troubleshooting.
   * Maintains business and operations relationships to ensure business needs are addressed. Interface with other technology groups including Application Development and Support.
   * May mentor or provide guidance for junior team members.
   * Contributes to the achievement of area objectives.
   * Responsible for budget activity.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   * Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline, or equivalent work experience required; advanced degree preferred
   * 10 - 12 years of related infrastructure experience required; experience in the securities or financial services industry is a plus.
   * Experience with Cisco IOS, Nexus OS, ACI, Software support for all products above.
   * Networking skills like Cisco routing and switching / data required.
   * CCNP Routing/Switch.
   * Certification in CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) preferred.
   * Willingness to learn new technologies.
   
   BNY Mellon is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Minorities/Females/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans. Our ambition is to build the best global team - one that is representative and inclusive of the diverse talent, clients and communities we work with and serve - and to empower our team to do their best work. We support wellbeing and a balanced life, and offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies and employee forums.
   
   Designs, implements, integrates, and provides full support for complex software in a multi-tiered, multi-platform environment. Maintains and supports moderately complex infrastructure environments. Performs complex troubleshooting as a subject matter expert. Works to ensure appropriate monitoring and alerting setup. Leads root cause analysis and problem management for complex problems to address underlying technical issues. Collaborates with business and application development stakeholders. Lead production readiness reviews for new releases and validate the supportability of changes prior to introduction into production, Lead production readiness reviews and PTO controls for new releases and projects.Analyzes system requirements. Reviews and evaluates plans for major projects and initiatives to ensure they meet system needs.Coordinates the monitoring of major changes to infrastructure environment. Analyzes the most complex issues that arise.Collaborates with infrastructure engineering, quality assurance, app support for capacity monitoring & instrumentation. Creation of architectural diagrams and design specifications to aid automation.Designs, implements, and maintains automation toolsets for configuration management, infrastructure and application deployment processes. Complex Incident, Problem Management & Troubleshooting.Maintains business and operations relationships to ensure business needs are addressed. Interface with other technology groups including Application Development and Support.May mentor or provide guidance for junior team members.Contributes to the achievement of area objectives. Responsible for budget activity MODIFIED BASED UPON LOCAL REGULATIONS/REQUIREMENTSBachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline, or equivalent work experience required; advanced degree preferred10 - 12 years of related infrastructure experience required; experience in the securities or financial services industry is a plus. BNY Mellon is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Minorities/Females/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans. Our ambition is to build the best global team - one that is representative and inclusive of the diverse talent, clients and communities we work with and serve - and to empower our team to do their best work. We support wellbeing and a balanced life, and offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies and employee forums.
   
   BNY Mellon is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Minorities/Females/Individuals With Disabilities/Protected Veterans.
   
   Our ambition is to build the best global team - one that is representative and inclusive of the diverse talent, clients and communities we work with and serve - and to empower our team to do their best work. We support wellbeing and a balanced life, and offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies and employee forums.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right senior network support engineer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior network support engineer job on Zippia to find and attract quality senior network support engineer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior network support 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.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a senior network support engineer applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 network support engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior network support engineer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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 network support 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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