How to hire a senior technical designer

How to hire a senior technical designer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior technical designer 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior technical designer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior technical designer that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior technical designers.

   Type of Senior Technical Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Technical Designer	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.	$25-63
   Design Engineer Internship	When it comes to a design engineer internship, an intern is primarily responsible for performing support tasks while under the supervision and directives of a manager or a more experienced engineer. Their duties typically revolve around processing documents, updating records and populating databases, responding to inquiries and correspondence, running errands, sharing insights, and even participating in designing projects... Show more	$18-37
   Mechanical Engineering Internship	One of the primary responsibilities in a mechanical engineering internship is to follow directives from engineers and managers while gaining practical experience. There are instances when an intern must take part in crafting various materials under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, produce reports and paperwork, operate tools and devices, and provide assistance should anyone need... Show more	$15-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • PLM
   • CAD
   • Garment Construction
   • Prototyping
   • Tech Packs
   • Patternmaking
   • Product Development
   • Autocad
   • Adobe Illustrator
   • JavaScript
   • UI
   • Java
   • Development Process

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and train QC team.
   • Manage newborn, infant & toddler technical specialists.
   • Lead design team in implementing Solidworks from concept phase to documentation phase.
   • Manage local sewing vendors to cut and sew women's dress patterns and outerwear style development for expand business.
   • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
   • Develop apparel specification packages for overseas factories.

   More senior technical designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior technical designer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior technical designer 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 technical designer in Alabama may be lower than in California, and an entry-level senior technical designer usually earns less than a senior-level senior technical designer. Additionally, a senior technical designer 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 technical designer salary

   $84,266yearly

   $40.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior technical designer salary

   $53,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average senior technical designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$117,944	$57
   2	Massachusetts	$102,783	$49
   3	Maryland	$100,712	$48
   4	Washington	$97,727	$47
   5	New York	$95,744	$46
   6	Virginia	$92,904	$45
   7	Nevada	$89,460	$43
   8	Colorado	$87,895	$42
   9	Wisconsin	$84,343	$41
   10	Arizona	$81,456	$39
   11	Oregon	$80,855	$39
   12	Missouri	$80,233	$39
   13	Texas	$77,585	$37
   14	Minnesota	$75,238	$36
   15	South Carolina	$71,664	$34
   16	Florida	$57,496	$28

   Average senior technical designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$132,878	$63.88	100
   2	eBay	$127,708	$61.40	9
   3	Atlassian	$125,474	$60.32	16
   4	DoorDash	$124,093	$59.66	59
   5	Amazon	$118,033	$56.75	851
   6	AT&T	$107,961	$51.90	54
   7	The TJX Companies	$106,922	$51.40	4
   8	Sony Interactive Entertainment America	$106,572	$51.24
   9	Nike	$106,349	$51.13	134
   10	Rockstar Games	$105,169	$50.56	4
   11	Starbucks	$102,620	$49.34	5
   12	Caterpillar	$102,194	$49.13	42
   13	Logitech	$101,885	$48.98	2
   14	ArenaNet	$101,526	$48.81
   15	Under Armour	$101,027	$48.57	76
   16	JCPenney	$100,474	$48.30	9
   17	ZeniMax Media	$99,381	$47.78	2
   18	Naughty Dog	$98,951	$47.57	4
   19	Warner Bros.	$97,559	$46.90	39
   20	Capgemini	$97,477	$46.86	80

4. Writing a senior technical designer job description

   A senior technical designer 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 technical designer job description:

   Senior technical designer job description example

   Welcome to Peacock, the dynamic new streaming service from NBCUniversal. Here you'll find more than a job. You'll find a fast-paced, high-flying team for unique birds that want to be at the epicenter of technology, sports, news, tv, movies and more. Our flock works hard to connect people to what they love, each other and the world around them by creating shared experiences through culture-defining entertainment.
   
   As a company, we embrace the power of difference. Our team is committed to creating an organization that champions diversity and inclusivity for all by curating content and a workforce that represents the world around us. We continue to challenge ourselves and the industry by being customer-centric, data-driven creatures of innovation. At Peacock, we are determined to forge the next frontier of streaming through creativity, teamwork, and talent.
   Here you can fly to new heights!
   
   As a Senior Design Technologist on our team, you will build high-quality, functional prototypes that illustrate, demonstrate, and prove the value and viability of current and future Peacock products, help designers and Product Managers create A/B experiments, and overall be a bridge between design and technology.
   
   What we're looking for in a candidate:
   
   You are a skilled professional with relentlessly high standards and deep operational knowledge and expertise in digital product prototyping.
   
   You are thoughtful and like to learn. You are fully versed in consumer digital product best practices, technologies, and tools. You pick up new tools quickly and put them into action.
   
   You learn the tech stack so that you can always judge the technical viability of your prototypes.
   
   You feel most at home in a fast-paced, iterative, and collaborative environment.
   
   You are highly resourceful, fluid, and adaptable-able to work on multiple tracks and pivot from one project to another.
   
   What you will be doing:
   
   Create and deliver functional prototypes, a/b test experiments in Web and Client Apps, front-end specifications for technical implementation
   
   Present work product to all audiences. Formulate and communicate ideas and plans to peers, leadership, and engineering contributors.
   
   Balance inputs from product, design, research, technology, and external partners. Create a network of cross-functional partners. Build rapport and earn trust.
   
   Collaborate with designers, product owners, and engineers to successfully deliver products to market.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right senior technical designer 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 technical designer job on Zippia to find and recruit senior technical designer 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 technical designers, 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. 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 technical designer

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior technical designer 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 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior technical designer. 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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