How to hire a software automation engineer

How to hire a software automation engineer, step by step

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

What does a software automation engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the software automation engineer you need to hire. Certain software automation 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a software automation engineer 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 software automation engineer that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of software automation engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Software Automation Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Software Automation Engineer		$36-66
   Test Engineer	Test engineers are professionals who observe and record the quality of products, which includes functionality, durability, speed, and safety. They are responsible for checking the materials and procedures thoroughly throughout the production cycle... Show more	$28-50
   Software Analyst	A software analyst is responsible for creating and designing software programs and applications, as well as modifying existing ones for optimization according to business requirements. Software analysts work with the technical team to draw system codes, analyze programming languages, and ensure the stability and efficiency of software navigation by running multiple quality checks to the system... Show more	$29-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Python
   • Java
   • C #
   • Jenkins
   • Linux
   • GIT
   • CI
   • Automation Tools
   • Scrum
   • Jira
   • C++
   • Regression
   • UI
   • QA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Involve in using JIRA for managing the defect.
   • Help team members to automate their test case verification and debugging process to effectively reduce the testing phase.
   • Provide overarching strategic recommendations for productivity improvements and achieve QMS - ISO certification.
   • Develop Java and C++ modules for automation team to improve development.
   • Design, implement and test the system of C++ objects on UNIX platform.
   • Execute and evaluate automated selenium scripts of campaign page functional and regression testing.

   More software automation engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, software automation engineers' average salary in west virginia is 42% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level software automation engineers earn 45% less than senior-level software automation engineers.
   • Certifications. A software automation 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 software automation engineer's salary.

   Average software automation engineer salary

   $102,812yearly

   $49.43 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level software automation engineer salary

   $76,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average software automation engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$142,702	$69
   2	Washington	$116,032	$56
   3	Oregon	$112,257	$54
   4	Arizona	$96,058	$46
   5	Texas	$93,610	$45
   6	New York	$93,342	$45
   7	Massachusetts	$93,299	$45
   8	Colorado	$90,572	$44
   9	Virginia	$89,842	$43
   10	Minnesota	$86,577	$42
   11	Pennsylvania	$86,404	$42
   12	Michigan	$84,783	$41
   13	Georgia	$83,464	$40
   14	Ohio	$83,072	$40
   15	Illinois	$81,348	$39
   16	Florida	$81,321	$39
   17	North Carolina	$80,901	$39

   Average software automation engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Netflix	$156,778	$75.37	22
   2	Meta	$153,753	$73.92	2,916
   3	Roku	$148,874	$71.57	19
   4	Apple	$147,802	$71.06	478
   5	Google	$145,516	$69.96	583
   6	NVIDIA	$139,740	$67.18	50
   7	Zoox	$137,388	$66.05	106
   8	Asana	$137,195	$65.96	11
   9	Twitter	$135,922	$65.35	3
   10	Chewy	$134,578	$64.70	7
   11	Avid	$133,909	$64.38	17
   12	Hotel Tonight, Inc.	$133,157	$64.02
   13	Microsoft	$132,622	$63.76	741
   14	Amazon	$130,263	$62.63	835
   15	Snowflake Computing	$130,109	$62.55	30
   16	AppDynamics	$128,355	$61.71
   17	Grubhub	$128,294	$61.68	6
   18	CME Group	$127,974	$61.53	3
   19	Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky	$126,565	$60.85
   20	Cisco	$126,314	$60.73	407

4. Writing a software automation engineer job description

   A software automation 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. Below, you can find an example of a software automation engineer job description:

   Software automation engineer job description example

   We are looking for a Software Engineer to work in our team. We primarily focus on game automation and GeForce Experience and infrastructure around it. Our automation framework and most of the tools are written in Python, so the best candidate will have excellent Python and good understanding of game graphics and familiarity with the way games behave on the system. You will be working in a geographically distributed team, so we would like to have someone self-motivated with a good ability to plan ahead
   What you'll be doing:
   Automate gameplay for the top game titles.Work closely with manual testing team to implement customer needs.Triage, debug, and implement fixes in the software stack.Communicate optimally with various teams throughout the company, as well as customers and partners.
   
   What we need to see:
   BS or MS in EE/CS or equivalent experience.3+ years of industry related experience.Strong Python programming skills.Understanding of the PC gaming graphics (like why some graphic settings have almost no performance impact, or what is DLSS) Previous experience of working on a large modular system software code base is preferable.Strong problem-solving and debugging skills.Excellent communication and planning skills.
   
   Ways to stand out from the crowd:
   OpenCV and computer vision experience Pandas and some experience with data analytics Lua and experience with game plugins / modding Windows internals Binary file formats
   
   NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world's most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people on the planet working for us and, due to unprecedented growth, our special engineering teams are growing fast. If you're a creative and autonomous engineer with a genuine passion for technology, we want to hear from you!
   
   NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right software automation 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 software automation engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit software automation engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with software automation 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.

   If your interviews with software automation engineer applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you 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 software automation engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect software automation 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new software automation engineer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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How much does it cost to hire a software automation engineer?