How to hire a staff design engineer

How to hire a staff design engineer, step by step

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

What does a staff design engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the staff design engineer you need to hire. Certain staff design 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 staff design engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, staff design 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.

   Here's a comparison of staff design engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Staff Design Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Staff Design 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).	$42-87
   Engineering Trainee	An engineering trainee is responsible for shadowing engineers in their duties and performing administrative tasks as needed. Engineering trainees assist the engineers in inspecting construction sites and conducting field research... Show more	$20-39
   Principal Engineer	A principal engineer is responsible for monitoring the overall design phase of the construction process, including coordinating with the client for progress and updates, as well as performing adjustments as needed based on clients' specifications and requirements. Principal engineers also inspect the materials and resources used to ensure that the project stays within the budget goals and set timeframe... Show more	$45-85

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Architecture
   • RF
   • CAD
   • Synthesis
   • Analog
   • SOC
   • Verilog
   • C++
   • RTL
   • Circuit Design
   • FPGA
   • IP
   • Product Development
   • IC

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage aspects of commercial architecture projects, develop solutions to problems that arise during construction.
   • Manage complex resolution of provisioning issues and develop practices and procedures for circuit installation and maintenance.
   • Design parts and Verilog libraries for PCB system level integration.
   • Design ASIC base control electronics for an army smart sub-munition (SADARM).
   • Re-Implement porting and connecting script for design auto generation from scratch using Perl.
   • Design of VSWR protection circuit for CMOS power amplifiers integrate in WLAN product lines.

   More staff design engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $128,071yearly

   $61.57 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level staff design engineer salary

   $89,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average staff design engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$138,097	$66
   2	Texas	$121,425	$58
   3	Arizona	$116,923	$56
   4	District of Columbia	$112,562	$54
   5	Washington	$106,593	$51
   6	Maryland	$104,654	$50
   7	Massachusetts	$103,017	$50
   8	Colorado	$101,594	$49
   9	Virginia	$100,847	$48
   10	North Carolina	$97,563	$47
   11	Illinois	$93,471	$45
   12	Georgia	$88,159	$42
   13	Pennsylvania	$85,637	$41
   14	New York	$80,718	$39

   Average staff design engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	HBO	$177,452	$85.31
   2	Fungible	$168,679	$81.10
   3	VMware	$164,923	$79.29
   4	Adobe	$164,131	$78.91	38
   5	Brocade Services Corporation	$159,496	$76.68
   6	Micron Technology	$158,735	$76.31	103
   7	Nutanix	$156,508	$75.24	194
   8	Futurewei Technologies	$155,118	$74.58
   9	Harley-Davidson	$153,124	$73.62	1
   10	Rivian	$152,234	$73.19	35
   11	SiFive	$151,663	$72.91	3
   12	ServiceNow	$150,836	$72.52	25
   13	Juniper Networks	$150,494	$72.35
   14	Sony Electronics	$148,881	$71.58	2
   15	Volterra Alumni Network	$148,781	$71.53
   16	Achronix	$148,257	$71.28
   17	Fortinet	$147,562	$70.94	3
   18	Goodwin Recruiting	$147,383	$70.86	1
   19	Snagajob	$147,315	$70.82
   20	Tesla	$146,082	$70.23	3

4. Writing a staff design engineer job description

   A good staff design 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 staff design engineer job description:

   Staff design engineer job description example

   Staff Design Quality Engineer (Smith & Nephew, Inc., Andover, MA): Support new product development to deliver safe and effective products to the market. Ensure all aspects of design controls are robust and comply with company policies and governmental regulations. Conduct key design control deliverable which include, but are not limited to: risk management, product performance analysis on similar products, design verification and validation, human factors testing, design transfer to manufacturing (including inspection methods, process qualification, design for manufacturability, etc), DHF tracking and completion, and product release authorization for distribution. Compile and present the quality data to key stakeholders/leadership during technical design reviews. Assist with the preparation for regulatory submissions and support sustaining quality with defending design control elements during internal and external audits. Provide training, support and mentorship to more junior engineers within the quality engineering organization. Lead or assist in process improvement and CAPA, utilizing tools such as six sigma or lean manufacturing. Researches and provides insight into current trends in design control and risk management, following new standards and regulations. Lead design control gap assessments and remediation as required.
   Minimum Requirements:
   
   Must have a Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a technically related field plus 6 years of post baccalaureate experience in the job offered or related role in quality-engineering in a senior position, OR a Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a technically related field plus 3 years of experience in the job offered or related role in quality-engineering in a senior position.
   
   Of the required experience, must have 6 years of experience if qualifying with a bachelor's degree, or 3 years of experience if qualifying with a master's degree, in each of the following:
   
   * Design verification and validation
   * Medical device design controls
   * Quality systems both FDA QSR and ISO 13485
   * Medical device risk management (ISO 14971)
   * Medical device manufacturing.
   
   Must be willing and able to travel up to 10% of the time.
   
   Smith+Nephew provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find staff design 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 staff design engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level staff design 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 staff design engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit staff design engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit staff design engineers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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.

   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 staff design engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the staff design engineer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the 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 staff design 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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How much does it cost to hire a staff design engineer?