How to hire a systems engineer and team lead

How to hire a systems engineer and team lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step systems engineer and team lead hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a systems engineer and team lead job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new systems engineer and team lead
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The systems engineer and team lead 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

   A systems engineer and team lead's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, systems engineers and team lead 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 systems engineer and team lead salaries for various roles:

   Type of Systems Engineer And Team Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Systems Engineer And Team Lead	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$38-65
   Network Engineer	A network engineer is responsible for managing a network system, monitoring its performance, and upgrading its features to optimize performance and boost efficiency. Network engineers also create new systems, designing them based on clients' specifications and business needs... Show more	$29-53
   Management Engineer	A management engineer specializes in designing and developing systems to optimize business or establishment procedures. Their duties typically revolve around coordinating with various departments to obtain necessary data, conducting observations and inspections to determine the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, executing maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency of services, and performing research and analysis to come up with the ideal solutions... Show more	$31-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Architecture
   • Project Management
   • Java
   • System Engineering
   • Windows Server
   • DOD
   • Technical Support
   • Network Infrastructure
   • Linux
   • System Design
   • SQL Server
   • Earned Value Management
   • OS
   • Unix

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform file and operating system backups utilizing TSM and manage SAN storage through EMC attach systems.
   • Recruit to establish and manage Virtualization\Storage\Backup environments.
   • Used liveupgrade / SVM / VxVM for OS mirroring solutions.
   • Deploy new staging and production environments from rack mounting to OS configuration.
   • Operate on UNIX platform to verify and validate communication for external segments.
   • Perform software development bug fixing using Java, XML, HTML, and SQL.

   More systems engineer and team lead duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the systems engineer and team lead job description is a good way to get more applicants. A systems engineer and team lead 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 systems engineer and team lead in Montana may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level systems engineer and team lead. Additionally, a systems engineer and team lead with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average systems engineer and team lead salary

   $105,392yearly

   $50.67 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level systems engineer and team lead salary

   $80,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 26, 2025

   Average systems engineer and team lead salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$138,291	$66
   2	Pennsylvania	$119,925	$58
   3	Washington	$117,755	$57
   4	Massachusetts	$114,435	$55
   5	Colorado	$108,292	$52
   6	Michigan	$106,773	$51
   7	District of Columbia	$104,896	$50
   8	Virginia	$104,534	$50
   9	New York	$104,198	$50
   10	Arizona	$101,693	$49
   11	Georgia	$98,798	$48
   12	North Carolina	$98,510	$47
   13	Texas	$97,668	$47
   14	Utah	$96,966	$47
   15	Minnesota	$94,978	$46
   16	Illinois	$94,764	$46
   17	Wisconsin	$93,407	$45
   18	Connecticut	$92,632	$45
   19	Alabama	$90,925	$44
   20	Ohio	$90,690	$44

   Average systems engineer and team lead salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cloudflare	$147,105	$70.72	39
   2	Amazon	$141,112	$67.84	392
   3	Kelly Services	$119,968	$57.68	10
   4	Randstad North America, Inc.	$116,141	$55.84	21
   5	Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi	$114,324	$54.96
   6	TeleCommunication Systems	$114,152	$54.88
   7	Motion Recruitment	$113,794	$54.71	24
   8	Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)	$111,142	$53.43	34
   9	FCA US LLC	$108,349	$52.09	6
   10	Magna International	$107,251	$51.56	12
   11	M&T Bank	$105,422	$50.68	17
   12	Bank of America	$104,770	$50.37	24
   13	Pratt & Whitney	$103,968	$49.98
   14	Siemens	$102,841	$49.44	32
   15	Magna-Power	$102,189	$49.13	5
   16	Forrester	$101,455	$48.78
   17	Boeing	$101,251	$48.68	267
   18	PatientKeeper	$100,296	$48.22
   19	Sabre	$99,593	$47.88
   20	Dynetics	$97,206	$46.73

4. Writing a systems engineer and team lead job description

   A good systems engineer and team lead 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 systems engineer and team lead job description:

   Systems engineer and team lead job description example

   "Hands on" team leader, responsible for overseeing team's daily initiatives, while also providing technical support for Mainframe Services z/OS operating systems.
   
   Participates in design, development and implementation of systems engineering activities, including operating system technical support, systems programming and data center capabilities. Responsible for components of complex engineering and/or analytical tasks and activities. Serves as a seasoned/proficient technical resource; provides technical knowledge and capabilities as team manager and leader. Will influence activities of the team for initiatives and operations.
   Responsibilities:
   
   * Provide leadership to team, acting as first point of escalation, as well as collaborate on activities within the z/OS team and across mainframe engineering teams
   
   * Provide system-level support of multi-user operating systems, hardware and software tools, including installation, configuration, maintenance, and support of these systems
   
   * Research, plan, install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain and upgrade hardware and software interfaces with the operating system.
   
   * Write and maintain system documentation
   
   * Collect information, analyze and evaluate existing or proposed systems
   
   * Identify alternatives for optimizing computer resources
   
   Required Skills:
   
   * Minimum of 7 years of experience in mainframe systems programming role
   
   * Subject Matter Expert in IBM Mainframe z/OS operating system, control, structure, logic, security
   
   * Strong knowledge and experience with SMP/E, JES2, JES3, JCL, ISPF dialog management, REXX.
   
   * Extensive understanding of IBM zEnterprise server hardware and facilities
   
   * Previous experience managing large scale global deployments
   
   Desired Skills:
   
   * Experience with wide range of IBM and ISV product and vendor installation support tools
   
   * Experience with IBM Assembler
   
   * Experience with System Automation, Performance Monitoring, Communication Server, CICS, DB2, IMS, WMQ, Batch Scheduling, Change Management, Storage Management, ISPF dialog development HTML
   
   The Technology Infrastructure Organization:
   
   * Is committed to building a workplace where every employee is welcomed and given the support and resources to perform their jobs successfully.
   * Wants to be a great place for people to work and strive to create an environment where all employees have the opportunity to achieve their goals.
   * Believes diversity makes us stronger so we can reflect, connect and meet the diverse needs of our clients and employees around the world.
   * Provides continuous training and development opportunities to help employees achieve their career goals, whatever their background or experience.
   * Is committed to advancing our tools, technology, and ways of working to better serve our clients and their evolving business needs.
   * Believes in responsible growth and is dedicated to supporting our communities by connecting them to the lending, investing and giving they need to remain vibrant and vital.
   
   LOB Job Description:
   
   The team is responsible for the Mainframe z/OS operating system and server configuration, releases, patching, recovery and on-call support for systems in the RVA datacenter. This position is inclusive of the Mainframe Staffing Strategy to hire and maintain optimal staffing levels and expertise needed to ensure the successful operations of Mainframe Services. As well this position is needed to address the well tenured demographic of the z/OS operating system engineering team and reduce risk of knowledge loss through hiring and retaining mainframe technical talent.
   
   Shift:
   
   1st shift (United States of America)
   
   Hours Per Week:
   
   40

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find systems engineers and team lead 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 systems engineer and team lead job on Zippia to find and attract quality systems engineer and team lead candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting systems engineers and team lead 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.

   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 systems engineer and team lead 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 systems engineer and team lead

   Once you have selected a candidate for the systems engineer and team lead 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.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new systems engineer and team lead. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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