How to hire a vice president of software engineering

How to hire a vice president of software engineering, step by step

Here's a step-by-step vice president of software engineering hiring guide:

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

What does a vice president of software engineering do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The vice president of software engineering 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 vice president of software engineering's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, vice presidents of software engineering 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of vice presidents of software engineering and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Vice President Of Software Engineering	Description	Hourly rate
   Vice President Of Software Engineering	Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.	$48-97
   Chief Technology Officer	The job of chief technology officers (CTOs) is to oversee the technological needs and research and development of an organization. The CTOs, who are like chief information officers, make decisions for a company's technology infrastructure that aligns with the organization's business goals... Show more	$50-136
   Information Technology Director	An information technology (IT) Director is a professional responsible for the management, strategy, and execution of an organization's IT infrastructure. He/She supervises a team of workers while working with the organization's management and external vendors and advisors... Show more	$46-94

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Cloud
   • Software Development
   • Infrastructure
   • Software Engineering
   • Scrum
   • Python
   • AWS
   • C++
   • API
   • JavaScript
   • SDLC
   • Web Services
   • UI

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the team through the transition to a new ERP system involving new workflows.
   • Manage development projects through the SDLC using waterfall methodology.
   • Configure and manage production and developer Linux networks, including firewalls and monitoring tools.
   • Manage and coordinate all hardware/software engineering, installation, and service of HVAC temperature control system projects.
   • Implement the scrum methodology and tools for a TDD and continuous integration.
   • Design large scale distribute applications using Java and XML.

   More vice president of software engineering duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average vice president of software engineering salary

   $142,315yearly

   $68.42 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level vice president of software engineering salary

   $100,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average vice president of software engineering salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$180,959	$87
   2	Washington	$149,964	$72
   3	Massachusetts	$143,072	$69
   4	Connecticut	$137,519	$66
   5	New York	$136,287	$66
   6	New Jersey	$136,213	$65
   7	Delaware	$125,341	$60
   8	Virginia	$124,764	$60
   9	Illinois	$120,979	$58
   10	Ohio	$120,496	$58
   11	North Carolina	$120,057	$58
   12	Texas	$119,916	$58
   13	Arizona	$119,592	$58
   14	Georgia	$118,007	$57
   15	Louisiana	$111,147	$53
   16	Florida	$108,665	$52
   17	Utah	$104,774	$50
   18	Missouri	$95,994	$46
   19	Colorado	$93,175	$45
   20	Oklahoma	$92,779	$45

   Average vice president of software engineering salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$216,105	$103.90	266
   2	The Walt Disney Company	$181,414	$87.22	83
   3	Broadridge	$172,868	$83.11	21
   4	ViacomCBS	$170,777	$82.10
   5	General Electric	$169,648	$81.56	80
   6	Indeed	$166,982	$80.28
   7	Bank of the Ozarks	$166,176	$79.89	64
   8	Salesforce	$164,703	$79.18	87
   9	Warner Bros.	$163,035	$78.38	75
   10	Citi	$162,514	$78.13	206
   11	365 Retail Markets	$162,361	$78.06
   12	CyberCoders	$161,510	$77.65	1
   13	Deutsche Bank	$161,364	$77.58	73
   14	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$160,623	$77.22	8
   15	Moody's	$160,406	$77.12	11
   16	Deloitte	$160,270	$77.05	844
   17	Equinix	$160,140	$76.99	6
   18	Starz	$159,832	$76.84	9
   19	SiriusXM	$159,003	$76.44	1
   20	American Life Insurance Company	$158,332	$76.12

4. Writing a vice president of software engineering job description

   A job description for a vice president of software engineering 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 vice president of software engineering job description:

   Vice president of software engineering job description example

   SMBC Capital Markets Inc is hiring a software engineer in the software development group. The position will support the XVA simulation analysis for XVA desk, trading desk, product analysis, as well as research departments in both New York and London office.
   
   SMBC Capital Markets, Inc. is a market maker for swaps, including interest rate, currency and commodity swaps and related derivative products, headquartered in New York as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMBC. SMBC Capital Markets, Inc. was provisionally registered as a swap dealer with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on December 31, 2012. Our business works in close collaboration with SMBC Nikko Capital Markets, Capital Markets Limited in the UK, and SMBC Capital Markets Asia, Ltd in Hong Kong to provide global coverage to SMBC's corporate, institutional, and project clients. Capital Markets maintains its own middle and back-office functions, including Risk Management, Compliance, Systems, Finance, and Operations.
   Responsibilities This role will be part of the XVA dev team that supports the XVA simulation analysis for the XVA desk. This role will take responsibilities of supporting both the in-house and external software solutions for the daily XVA analysis. They will troubleshoot any issue with the production environment to ensure the solutions meet the SLAs. This role will be responsible of implementing new products or functionalities in both in-house and external software solutions to support the XVA desk and other front, middle office's specifications and requirements. This role will be involved in larger projects of building a new XVA simulation platform. They will need to be a quick learner and be adaptive. This role will work collaboratively with business users to assist and provide answers to Credit risk analysis related enquiries. Qualifications
   4+ years of practical work experience involving system architecture and software application and message and data transfer and processing. Be able to provide implementation on new products as well as troubleshooting on existing models.
   Be well-versed in software implementation. Proficient programming language such as C/C++, C#/.NET, Python; ability to automate processes via scripting language(s). And have an active interest in other computing technology and tools.
   Have a solid background and work experience with mathematical finance and strong analytical and quantitative skills, especially in the financial products and XVA, credit risks area.
   Have the maturity to solve problems directly and independently. Strong solid analytical skills for diagnosing and troubleshooting potential system issues; Sharp mind to process solution with quick turn-around.
   Must be a good team player to work collaboratively with multiple teams.
   Have an excellent communication skills. Ability to provide summaries and explanations of technical issues verbally or in writing providing the backing details as needed.
   Have a strong work ethic. Ability of multi-tasking. Ability to prioritize work and to deliver.
   Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, Operations or comparable discipline is desirable. Proficient coding skills and a good level of understanding of the financial products, business logic within the CM scope.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find vice presidents of software engineering 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 vice presidents of software engineering they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level vice presidents of software engineering 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 vice president of software engineering job on Zippia to find and recruit vice president of software engineering candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with vice president of software engineering 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 vice president of software engineering

   Once you have selected a candidate for the vice president of software engineering 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 vice president of software engineering. 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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