How to hire a video engineer

How to hire a video engineer, step by step

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

What does a video engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your video engineer 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 video engineer 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 video engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, video 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 video engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Video Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Video Engineer	Broadcast and sound engineering technicians set up, operate, and maintain the electrical equipment for radio programs, television broadcasts, concerts, sound recordings, and movies.	$31-74
   Stage Technician	A stage technician is part of the production and technical side of a stage play performance. The stage technician's job is to work alongside the floor director and the props team in the set up of the stage before a performance and packing it up afterward... Show more	$12-27
   Event Technician	An event technician is someone who ensures that events are held successfully. The event technician handles the audio, video, and other technical aspects of an event... Show more	$10-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • MPEG
   • VOD
   • Video Equipment
   • Linux
   • Java
   • Windows
   • Video Conferencing
   • TCP/IP
   • Project Management
   • Video Network
   • Apple
   • Video Content
   • Video Systems
   • AV

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Program content and manage the company's YouTube channel.
   • Utilize a CMS to manage digital assets and develop the proper HTML coding for distribution requests.
   • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
   • Perform quality control of audio, video and close captioning elements for tape, DVD, and CD duplication.
   • Apply proper RF propagation and antenna theory to install and operate multi-band UHF microphone and multi-channel communication systems at live events.
   • Configure channel maps for multiple headend systems.

   More video engineer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $100,343yearly

   $48.24 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level video engineer salary

   $65,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average video engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$155,056	$75
   2	Massachusetts	$127,264	$61
   3	Connecticut	$126,002	$61
   4	District of Columbia	$120,609	$58
   5	Washington	$119,566	$57
   6	New York	$106,408	$51
   7	Minnesota	$98,024	$47
   8	North Carolina	$94,695	$46
   9	Pennsylvania	$85,549	$41
   10	Georgia	$84,348	$41
   11	Maryland	$83,734	$40
   12	Virginia	$83,221	$40
   13	Colorado	$81,948	$39
   14	Texas	$78,614	$38
   15	Florida	$77,864	$37

   Average video engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	ByteDance	$164,346	$79.01	1
   2	Magnum Semiconductor	$152,991	$73.55
   3	Apple	$151,593	$72.88	7
   4	Advanced Systems Group	$135,406	$65.10	2
   5	Amazon	$134,052	$64.45	18
   6	Synaptics	$132,293	$63.60
   7	Zoom Video Communications	$131,704	$63.32	1
   8	McKinsey & Company Inc	$127,142	$61.13
   9	Alarm.com	$123,906	$59.57
   10	Fox News	$123,162	$59.21
   11	Smith Micro Software	$121,694	$58.51
   12	Warner Bros.	$121,475	$58.40	3
   13	NBCUniversal	$116,923	$56.21	34
   14	Activision Blizzard	$114,120	$54.87	1
   15	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$111,623	$53.66
   16	Visa	$109,331	$52.56
   17	Qualcomm	$109,150	$52.48
   18	CyberCoders	$108,951	$52.38
   19	Yeshiva University	$108,225	$52.03
   20	Brightcove	$106,171	$51.04

4. Writing a video engineer job description

   A good video 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 video engineer job description:

   Video engineer job description example

   1. Must be able to effectively communicate in both written and verbal forms at all levels of the business, including external clients, peers, colleagues and executive management

   2. Excellent oral and written communications skills in English.

   3. Must have effective listening skills and attention to detail.

   4. Ability to work with colleagues at all levels in a positive and productive manner.

   5. Consistently uses sound judgment when deciding on the best solution to a problem.

   6. Able to think analytically in order to diagnose problems and interpret information.

   7. Ability to handle sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.

   8. Ability to prioritize work based on business need and defined objectives.

   9. Advanced computer proficiency in Microsoft Office products including Excel and Word.

   10. Typically faces situations that have a variety of interpretations and require careful evaluation.

   11. Ability to document and analyze processes and recommend improvements.

   12. Ability to organize and synthesize large amounts of information into concise presentations and reports.

   13. Willing and able to work a flexible schedule that may include extended hours, travel, regular overnight and out-of-town stay, occasional night-shifts and after hour calls for service and repair.

   14. Ability to travel to any location where the Company operates and expand territory as business needs dictate.

   RESPONSIBILITIES:

   1. Install and configure Satellite receivers, Encoders, Transcoders, Ad splicers.

   2. Monitor IPTV services and linear channels for Audio/Video quality Analyze real-time and historic data from monitoring systems to proactively address issues.

   3. Actively monitor and support Headend Infrastructure and equipment including but not limited to Satellite receivers, encoders/transcoders, and Ad Splicers.

   4. Proficient in Linux operating system and scripting.

   5. Efficiently coordinate with NOC and other engineering teams towards resolving technical issues and towards conducting scheduled maintenances.

   6. Installation, wiring, labeling and configuration of equipment.

   7. Open to nights and weekends shifts and overtime hours when required.

   What You Need to Bring

   requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

   · 1-2 years' experience in an IPTV Headend or Data center

   · Understanding and hands-on experience with Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) encoding and delivery, namely HLS (DASH is an advantage)

   · Wiring and wire management skills mainly copper, CAT5/CAT6, Coaxial.

   · Excellent troubleshooting skills.

   · Understanding of TCP and IP addressing.

   · Self-motivated with strong desire to learn new technologies

   · Excellent Audio/Visual observation skills towards catching impairments and quality issues.

   Preferred:

   · Associate degree in Computer Science or equivalent technical experience.

   · Understanding of IPTV systems and video compression.

   · Microsoft Office and Visio Skills

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting video engineers 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.

   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 video engineer

   Once you've found the video 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 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.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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 video engineer?