How to hire a software specialist

How to hire a software specialist, step by step

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

What does a software specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your software specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a software specialist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A software specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, software specialists 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 software specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Software Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Software Specialist	Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device... Show more	$28-55
   Principal Software Engineer	A Principal Software Engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of an organization's projects. They diagnose, document, and troubleshoot systems to resolve problems identified through testing, as well as implement strategies to improve integration and efficiency.	$47-87
   Staff Software Engineer	A Staff Software Engineer is responsible for developing, maintaining, and repairing company software for maximum efficiency and usability. They instruct and mentor their team members in software development techniques and cloud development.	$48-89

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • C++
   • C #
   • Database
   • Software Development
   • Java
   • Technical Support
   • Software Systems
   • Troubleshoot
   • Web Services
   • Linux
   • Software Applications
   • Software Support
   • XML
   • JavaScript

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop Javascript code that integrates with Accela in order to automate business process.
   • Manage and design UAT tests for new software release, delegate out tasks, and report results back to QA department.
   • Analyze data sources and parameters for reports generate in PL/SQL and XML.
   • Develop and support custom applications utilizing Perl, HTML, and SQL.
   • Project lead in various projects involving java and/or web application development.
   • Complete intensive in-house training in UNIX and specialize software programs.

   More software specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the software specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A software specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a software specialist in Nebraska may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level software specialist. Additionally, a software specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average software specialist salary

   $84,009yearly

   $40.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level software specialist salary

   $60,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average software specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$89,232	$43
   2	Pennsylvania	$87,671	$42
   3	North Carolina	$85,814	$41
   4	Connecticut	$85,382	$41
   5	New Jersey	$85,004	$41
   6	Arizona	$83,656	$40
   7	Maryland	$83,468	$40
   8	Massachusetts	$82,341	$40
   9	Virginia	$81,294	$39
   10	Texas	$81,168	$39
   11	California	$78,858	$38
   12	Michigan	$78,707	$38
   13	Florida	$77,082	$37
   14	Georgia	$76,019	$37
   15	Ohio	$75,440	$36
   16	Alabama	$68,513	$33
   17	Illinois	$66,251	$32
   18	Indiana	$63,594	$31
   19	Missouri	$60,086	$29
   20	Minnesota	$58,746	$28

   Average software specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	American Express	$104,650	$50.31	49
   2	Nokia	$104,047	$50.02	52
   3	Nabors Industries	$100,144	$48.15	1
   4	Ford Motor	$99,868	$48.01	496
   5	Amdocs	$99,654	$47.91	3
   6	Maxisit Inc.	$97,658	$46.95
   7	Formosa Plastics	$95,316	$45.83	2
   8	INDUS Technology	$95,219	$45.78	1
   9	North Country Business Products	$92,469	$44.46
   10	Connors Group	$92,376	$44.41
   11	Continental	$91,570	$44.02
   12	Dassault Systèmes	$91,082	$43.79
   13	Endress and Hauser	$89,878	$43.21
   14	Molloy College	$87,213	$41.93
   15	Eaton	$86,982	$41.82	71
   16	Motorola Solutions	$86,300	$41.49	30
   17	Deloitte	$85,263	$40.99	856
   18	ABB	$84,429	$40.59	19
   19	Aricent	$84,275	$40.52
   20	Symbio	$83,995	$40.38

4. Writing a software specialist job description

   A job description for a software specialist 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 software specialist job description:

   Software specialist job description example

   Work as part of a cross-functional team to develop and maintain cargo inspection detection systems for the Ports and Borders group. Your role will be to modernize a product and port the legacy C++ code to C#. You will develop software following the company's Agile processes and coding standards for new and existing products. Interact with Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Scientists to develop code that is consistent with customer requirements. Utilize object oriented design principals, practices, and patterns to ensure our code base is reusable and maintainable. Use TDD to ensure the code base is tested and to enable refactoring in the future. Be proactive in leading group design discussions and/or grabbing another developer to pair program on non-trivial features/code. Report project status and issues to management as required. Evaluate customer problems, troubleshoot and assist Field Service Engineers, and help customers through problem resolution utilizing effective written and verbal communication skills.
   **Required Skills:**
   
   Must have a strong programming background with at least 3 years of production product development experience in C# and at least 5 years of overall programming experience. Proficient in C++, templates and STL.
   
   Must have strong object oriented design skills (OOD). Must be open to using Agile methodologies and practices. Must be able to create design documentation, requirements specifications, and other technical documentation. Must have strong troubleshooting/bug fixing skills. You must be able to work and communicate proactively and effectively in a small cross-functional development team environment.
   
   **Desired Skills:**
   
   Experience with Agile SW practices, particularly TDD. Familiarity with OO design patterns, design of loosely coupled extensible architectures. Experience identifying code smells and utilizing refactoring techniques to reduce entropy in the code base. Experience with a documented form of design such as UML. Experience with revision control (e.g. Git) and Agile software process experience (e.g. SCRUM), Multi-threading, TCP/IP networking, bus architectures, Web Services, Visual Studio, 'C++', and SQL Server, interfacing with real-time/embedded systems, image processing, TFS and Azure DevOps.
   
   **Education:**
   
   Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent experience.
   
   **Travel:**
   
   If travel is necessary, typically will be 10%.
   
   **Location:**
   
   Office is located in Vista, CA. Local candidates are preferred. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.
   
   **ABBTECH is an EOE/Minorities/Women/Disabled Individuals/Veterans**

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find software specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting software specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a software specialist 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 software specialist

   Once you've selected the best software specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new software specialist. 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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How much does it cost to hire a software specialist?