How to hire a solar engineer

How to hire a solar engineer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a solar 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

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

   This list shows salaries for various types of solar engineers.

   Type of Solar Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Solar Engineer	Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacturing of electrical equipment, such as electric motors, radar and navigation systems, communications systems, and power generation equipment. Electronics engineers design and develop electronic equipment, such as broadcast and communications systems—from portable music players to global positioning systems (GPSs).	$25-53
   Electrical & Instrumentation Designer	An electrical instrumentation designer's main job is to design instruments that can be used in various areas such as laboratories, power plants, or research institutes. They work together with a team or individually to design instruments, create a prototype, and test its functions... Show more	$28-52
   Electrical Designer	An electrical designer designs and develops electrical circuit and system layouts for electric power distribution. The responsibilities of an electrical designer include assembling electrical panels and leading a team of document control personnel in-charged to identify and organize facility maintenance drawings... Show more	$22-42

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Renewable Energy
   • System Design
   • Solar PV
   • Solar Projects
   • Pvsyst
   • Solar Design
   • CAD
   • Solar Array
   • Solar Systems
   • Solar Power
   • Electrical Drawings
   • System Components
   • System Performance
   • Site Surveys

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
   • Test, debugging and operation.
   • Can draw in any state with many different AHJ requirements.
   • Have extensive knowledge if NEC solar codes along with PGE or utility codes.
   • Utilize Google Sketchup and Solidworks to create 3D model of PV system design.
   • Design, fabricate and debug PC board test fixtures for production PC boards.

   More solar engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $77,229yearly

   $37.13 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level solar engineer salary

   $53,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average solar engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$104,720	$50
   2	New Jersey	$88,031	$42
   3	Massachusetts	$85,639	$41
   4	Texas	$83,865	$40
   5	New York	$83,104	$40
   6	Connecticut	$81,777	$39
   7	Minnesota	$81,291	$39
   8	Illinois	$75,405	$36
   9	Wisconsin	$74,889	$36
   10	Pennsylvania	$71,771	$35
   11	Oregon	$71,661	$34
   12	Nevada	$71,291	$34
   13	Arizona	$68,050	$33
   14	Colorado	$67,791	$33

   Average solar engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	WEC Energy Group	$110,183	$52.97	3
   2	Northrop Grumman	$91,875	$44.17	160
   3	Ace	$89,023	$42.80
   4	Sephora	$87,788	$42.21
   5	EDF	$87,742	$42.18
   6	Florida Power and Light	$86,449	$41.56	61
   7	Fortune Brands Home & Security	$78,633	$37.80
   8	AECOM	$75,364	$36.23	117
   9	Black & Veatch	$73,064	$35.13	209
   10	GPAC	$73,032	$35.11
   11	Boston Solar	$71,112	$34.19
   12	Fisher Associates	$69,715	$33.52
   13	Leidos	$67,864	$32.63	503
   14	Tradesmen International	$67,862	$32.63	2
   15	Solar.com	$65,817	$31.64	27
   16	Solar Energy Solutions	$65,502	$31.49	19
   17	Amergy Solar	$56,492	$27.16
   18	Aerotek	$48,822	$23.47	5
   19	PeopleReady	$41,173	$19.79	2

4. Writing a solar engineer job description

   A solar 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 solar engineer job description:

   Solar engineer job description example

   AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet - on land, at sea and in flight.
   
   The Electrical Power System Engineer is responsible for working with the satellite photovoltaic systems (solar cells, panels, and arrays) non-recurring, recurring, and sustaining efforts. This includes design, systems engineering, verification testing, supporting procurement, and spacecraft level assembly, integration, and testing.
   Responsibilities:
   
   * Using knowledge of photovoltaic fundamentals perform the design and development of state-of-the art photovoltaic systems and assemblies for space-based applications.
   * Supervise vendor development and production of sub-components (cells, cover-glass, interconnects, CICs).
   * Plan and execute development, functional, performance, and life testing of units and assemblies.
   * Strong understanding of the space environment (radiation, vacuum UV, atomic oxygen, temperature, etc.) and its affects on photovoltaics cells and assemblies, along with the materials used.
   * Execute the design, analysis, and evaluation of projects using sound engineering principles and adhering to business standards, practices, procedures, and program requirements.
   * Perform trade studies to determine optimal system architecture.
   * Evaluate and champion new technology and methods.
   * Develop and maintain system design documentation including models, drawings, drawing trees, bill of materials, analysis reports, etc. using standard software tools and methods.
   * Prepare and present necessary information required to conduct thorough design and readiness reviews with management and/or peers
   * Troubleshoot and investigate component anomalies and failures, perform root-cause analysis, and provide resolution.
   * Develop test plans and procedures, identify hardware needs, design of test set-ups.
   * Communicate with manufacturing/production to ensure successful transfer of information and efficient processes are understood and documented.
   * Technical support for production and test of space-qualified electrical power system and the associated hardware.
   
   Qualifications
   
   * US Citizen or Permanent Resident Card Holder
   * Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field.
   * Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience in photovoltaic CIC/panel/array design and analysis of spacecraft and/or other complicated electrical power systems.
   * Demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary team with other engineers.
   * Ability to work flexibly and adaptively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
   * Excellent English written and verbal communication skills.
   * Ability to travel to support meetings, testing and integration.
   
   AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find solar engineers 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 solar engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit solar engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with solar 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   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 solar engineer

   Once you've found the solar engineer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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 solar 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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