How to hire a senior process engineer

How to hire a senior process engineer, step by step

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

What does a senior process engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior process engineer you need to hire. Certain senior process engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   The following list breaks down different types of senior process engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Process Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Process 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.	$39-64
   Packaging Engineer	A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.	$31-56
   Reliability Engineer	A reliability engineer is in charge of determining and managing the asset reliability risks of businesses. Reliability engineers are professionals who solve problems related to engineering... Show more	$36-69

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Continuous Improvement
   • Project Management
   • Data Analysis
   • Process Improvement
   • Sigma
   • Process Design
   • Technical Support
   • Product Quality
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • SR
   • GMP
   • Process Equipment
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Capital Projects

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage customer complaint resolution, root cause analysis, maintaining conformance for ISO certification.
   • Utilize simplified SPC charting for critical processes.
   • Assist MRB team in reviewing non-conforming product.
   • Implement SPC and write ISO-9000 documents for all chemical processes.
   • Provide engineering explanation for low CPK issues and solve QA problems.
   • Maintain, troubleshoot, modify, and update process and design specification.

   More senior process engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior process engineer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior process engineer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior process engineers' average salary in vermont is 37% less than in louisiana.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior process engineers earn 39% less than senior-level senior process engineers.
   • Certifications. A senior process engineer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior process engineer's salary.

   Average senior process engineer salary

   $105,378yearly

   $50.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior process engineer salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average senior process engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$136,052	$65
   2	Texas	$121,452	$58
   3	Nevada	$119,858	$58
   4	Massachusetts	$113,683	$55
   5	Arizona	$112,013	$54
   6	Maryland	$109,367	$53
   7	Virginia	$106,553	$51
   8	Colorado	$106,206	$51
   9	Utah	$106,127	$51
   10	Michigan	$106,116	$51
   11	South Carolina	$104,611	$50
   12	Illinois	$102,682	$49
   13	Minnesota	$102,634	$49
   14	Oregon	$102,505	$49
   15	North Carolina	$97,387	$47
   16	New York	$96,234	$46
   17	Pennsylvania	$94,977	$46
   18	Missouri	$93,840	$45
   19	Kentucky	$90,260	$43
   20	Kansas	$89,508	$43

   Average senior process engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$141,429	$67.99	104
   2	California Resources	$140,977	$67.78
   3	eBay	$139,301	$66.97
   4	Zoox	$129,721	$62.37	19
   5	Cheniere Energy	$129,120	$62.08
   6	Amazon	$126,125	$60.64	229
   7	Starbucks	$125,663	$60.41	2
   8	Intuitive Surgical	$123,442	$59.35	13
   9	Rivian	$122,813	$59.04	11
   10	Exxon Mobil	$122,784	$59.03	27
   11	Valero Energy	$122,688	$58.98	5
   12	Cepheid	$121,744	$58.53
   13	Chevron	$121,730	$58.52	1
   14	Citi	$121,694	$58.51	14
   15	GoPro	$121,652	$58.49
   16	Dolby Laboratories	$121,572	$58.45	1
   17	CyberCoders	$120,777	$58.07
   18	HERE Holding Corporation	$120,077	$57.73
   19	Emergent BioSolutions	$119,837	$57.61
   20	Genentech	$118,838	$57.13	27

4. Writing a senior process engineer job description

   A good senior process 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 senior process engineer job description:

   Senior process engineer job description example

   Terumo Medical Corporation (TMC) develops, manufactures, and markets a complete, solutions-based portfolio of high-quality medical devices used in a broad range of applications for numerous areas of the healthcare industry. TMC places a premium on providing customers with world-class products, training and education programs that drive clear economic value, better clinical outcomes and improved quality of life for patients. TMC is part of Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation; one of the world's leading medical device manufacturers with $5+ billion in sales, 20,000+ employees worldwide and operations in more than 160 nations. Terumo Medical Corporation is comprised of two strategic business divisions: Terumo Interventional Systems and Terumo Medical Products.
   
   The Sr Engineer I - Process Engineering position is responsible for providing advanced engineering support to existing product process transfer projects, process improvements/cost reduction activities affecting the form, fit or function of the product, and new product development process and production equipment development requirements in accordance within all TMC processes and procedures.
   Job Details:
   
   Provide engineering support to the design, development, and qualification of products, processes, and process equipment in accordance with TMC QA101 Product Development & Design Controls and in full compliance with all design control, quality, and company regulations and national and international regulatory body requirements. This activity includes, but is not limited to, the understanding of change control, validation, documentation practices, process control, and design control requirements.
   2. Participate in and provide manufacturability insight and guidance to the design and development of new products to facilitate the development of viable production processes for the products under development.
   3. Serve as a Process Leader for the development or transfer of production processes. Accountable for the execution of all engineering activities required to develop, implement, and validate processes under development or modification. The Process Leader “owns”” the big picture of the production process and ensures that its overall performance and validation requirements are achieved.
   4. Actively lead and participate in the performance of formal process validations to ensure their compliance to validation protocols. Ensure all protocols and validation reports are correct and well-written.
   5. Install production/process equipment and support the conduct of Installation Qualification (IQ), Operational Qualification (OQ), pre-Process Qualification (PQ), and formal PQ validation activities and the documentation of their results.
   6. As required, serve as a Problem Solver to product and process issues and apply the proper engineering tools and techniques for their resolution and implementation of any required process modifications.
   7. Participate in and contribute to project team meetings, Design Reviews and other formal project reviews.
   8. Participate in and provide input to the development of project planning activities to include project cost and schedule estimates and performance requirements definition.
   9. Prepare and present technical presentations to all levels of personnel in a manner that effectively communicates technical activities in an understandable way to the target audience.
   10.Performs other job related duties assigned.
   Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Experience in the development of new manufacturing processes for global Medical Devices or other highly regulated industries in accordance with global regulatory and quality standards and requirements.Experience in the application of Design for Manufacturability (DFM); Design for Assembly (DFA), and Lean Six Sigma principles and tools. Demonstrated understanding of the cross-functional interactions needed for the development of new products and manufacturing processes, preferably within FDA design control guidelines.Demonstrated strong analytical and problem solving skills; ability to solve complex problems and implement solutions or processes.Demonstrated ability in the design, development and implementation through production qualification of a new or novel medical device production process.Strong communications skills. Demonstrated ability to understand and explain complex engineering problems to non-engineering personnel; the ability to create and deliver presentations to executive management; and the ability to prepare detailed Technical Reports appropriate to send to the FDA. Effective use of MS Office Suite.
   Background, ExperienceBS in Mechanical, Biomedical, or similar engineering discipline from an accredited university or college with 7 or more years of working experience with increasing responsibility in Product and Process Development in the medical device field.
   It is Terumo's policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As a Company, we value diversity of background and opinion, and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior process engineers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior process engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior process engineers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior process engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit senior process 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 process 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 process engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior process engineer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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 process 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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