How to hire a wind energy engineer

How to hire a wind energy engineer, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The wind energy engineer 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 wind energy engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, wind energy 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 wind energy engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Wind Energy Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Wind Energy Engineer		$32-49
   Engineer	Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects... Show more	$31-62

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Development
   • Engineering Support
   • Blade Design

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop tools to automate equipment fault detection and energy analysis using data collect from commercial HVAC systems.
   • Interface LABVIEW with computational efforts in order to generate a comparison with computational performance predictions.
   • Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
   • Design both electrical and racking systems for PV systems in EPC projects.

3. Make a budget

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

   $83,631yearly

   $40.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level wind energy engineer salary

   $68,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average wind energy engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$105,605	$51
   2	Massachusetts	$91,984	$44
   3	Massachusetts	$91,906	$44
   4	Idaho	$91,628	$44
   5	Colorado	$77,703	$37

   Average wind energy engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AIR Worldwide	$83,242	$40.02
   2	Verisk Analytics	$81,074	$38.98
   3	National Renewable Energy Laboratory	$79,934	$38.43

4. Writing a wind energy engineer job description

   A job description for a wind energy engineer 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 wind energy engineer job description:

   Wind energy engineer job description example

   We have an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Researcher position focusing on tropical and extratropical cyclone modeling for offshore wind turbine risk assessment at the Argonne National Laboratory.
   
   This appointment will be at the Environmental Science Division embedded within our Computer, Environment, and Life Sciences Directorate. The project aims to improve the performance in modeling tropical and extratropical cyclones using a fully coupled atmosphere, ocean and wave modeling system, and determine the impacts of anthropogenic warming on cyclone dynamics. The modeling will be primarily at the mesoscale, and the output will be applied to microscale modeling at the wind turbine scale. Model development, model sensitivity analysis, machine learning, and risk assessment work are all anticipated.
   
   This is a three-year multi-institutional project funded by Department of Energy Wind Energy Technology Office.
   In this role you can expect to:
   
   + Utilize data collected by variety data sources, including satellite, in-situ observations, and more.
   
   + Utilize state-of-the-art numerical models such as weather forecast and research (WRF) model, WaveWatch III and Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM).
   
   + Interact with a wide range of talents (model developers, atmospheric scientists such as hurricane experts, ocean/coastal scientists, data scientists) from the whole spectrum of the wind energy scientific community;
   
   + Present and publish their work at major symposia and journals.
   
   **Position Requirements**
   
   Required Skills:
   
   + Recent or soon-to-be-completed PhD (typically within 0-3 years) in atmospheric science or related field
   
   + Experience of running atmospheric/oceanic numerical models in a high-performance computing environment
   
   + Knowledge of high-level programming languages (e.g., Python) under Unix/Linux environment
   
   + Effective verbal communication skills and effective written skills
   
   + Ability to model Argonne's Core Values: Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork
   
   Preferred Skills:
   
   + Strong experience of atmospheric modeling used for studying cyclones
   
   + Experience in air-sea interactions
   
   + Experience in ocean wave and/or ocean circulation modeling
   
   + Solid knowledge of data analysis techniques
   
   + Strong capability of visualizing scientific dataset
   
   **Job Family**
   
   Postdoctoral Family
   
   **Job Profile**
   
   Postdoctoral Appointee
   
   **Worker Type**
   
   Long-Term (Fixed Term)
   
   **Time Type**
   
   Full time
   
   _As an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. In support of this commitment, Argonne encourages minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply for employment. Argonne considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law._
   
   _Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne's Legal Department._
   
   _All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case-by-case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual be to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment._
   
   _Please note that all Argonne employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All successful applicants will be required to provide their COVID-19 vaccination verification as a condition of employment, subject to limited legally recognized exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination._

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit wind energy 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.

   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 wind energy engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect wind energy engineer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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 wind energy 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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