Amtec Hiring Guides

How to Hire Design Engineers in Seattle

Amtec Hiring Guides

How to Hire Design Engineers in Seattle

Current Environment

Rarely does an engineering job offer as much creative freedom as a design engineer. It is truly a left-brain, right-brain combination, requiring the technical and mechanical skills of the engineering field with the increasingly important creative vision for design aesthetics, functionality, and user experience.

The job is about taking conceptual ideas, for example, a product design, and transforming the idea into a real product.

Design engineers are tasked with making products that look good and are easy and safe to use. They also need analytical skills to ensure the product can be made cost-effectively and efficiently.

The field is a close cousin to mechanical engineering, and people in these two disciplines often work together on project teams

The field is broad, and many different industries and types of companies need to hire design engineers.

Engineering Disciplines That Need Design Engineers

  • Aerospace
  • Manufacturing
  • Architecture
  • Construction
  • Civil
  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • Chemical
  • Textile
  • Nuclear
  • Structural

History

An article in Interesting Engineering, a publication dedicated to the art of engineering, explained how to first Computer-aided Design CAD system called Sketchpad developed in 1963 started the field of electronically rendering engineering designs.

Starting around the mid-1970s, as computer-aided design software systems began to provide more capability than just an ability to reproduce manual drafting. By the late 80s and early 90s, with CAD systems now able to include engineering calculations in designs, systems expanded rapidly and became capable enough to be practical in design engineering.

Now, new tools and technology, including computer-aided design tools, 3D printers, and even virtual reality are expanding what design engineers are capable of doing.

Will COVID-19 Affect the design engineering Field?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected employment and the job market, however many sectors of the engineering field have played a critical role in combatting the virus.

National Academy of Engineering President John Anderson pointed out that “engineer” is an action-oriented verb, and engineers have been critical in so many areas of pandemic management. “Engineers consider themselves problem solvers and also creators. We create products, processes, and systems that address economic and societal needs,” said Anderson.

With this need for continued innovation in many industries, opportunities are not expected to decrease.

How will Recruiting design engineers Help Your Company?

How will Hiring design engineers Help Your Company?

Recruiting the top design engineers can ensure you have the right expertise on the team for design, documentation, development, manufacturing, and testing and improvement of both physical and digital products, systems, and equipment. As mentioned previously, these roles are a necessary component for companies in many industries.

When building a successful team, it’s important to consider how new design resources will align with your current team.

Fill the Knowledge Gap

If your current team members do not have a strong knowledge of the most current software systems for design, you have an opportunity to fill the gaps. You can source candidates that excel with a particular skill or fluency in software systems for engineering.

Creative Flair

Creativity is another area that is key for design engineers. When you are looking for recruits, ask for samples of previous design work. With design engineering, looks and function go hand-in-hand.

design engineer Details

Responsibilities

To help you the best design engineers in Seattle, here are some of the details of the job.

The design engineer usually works with a team of other engineers, as well as designers and creative teams, such as marketing, to develop conceptual and detailed designs for products. This can involve developing prototypes to ensure the product or system functions as it is supposed to and is fit for its purpose.

A career in design engineering allows a lot of variety as almost every consumer product imaginable for large-scale production— automobiles, phones, consumer electronics, medical equipment, kitchen appliances, software, and the list goes on.

A few additional responsibilities include:

  • Study, research and develop ideas for new products and the systems used to make them.
  • Modify existing products or processes to increase efficiency or improve performance.
  • Work with marketers to develop the product concept and specifications to meet customer needs, and may direct the design effort.
  • Develop (or work with specialists) to ensure a high-quality user experience for digital products.
  • Design engineers typically work closely with industrial engineers, electrical engineers, and mechanical engineers on project teams.

Looking for another position? View other positions we place in Seattle, Washington.

Education

Often colleges and universities that have programs in the design engineering field offer specialties or concentrations such as:

  • Design engineering
  • Electrical design engineering
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Product design
  • Visual design engineering

Though some design engineer jobs require a master’s degree or doctorate, many project engineer jobs only require a bachelor’s degree, experience in the industry, and skills.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the top 3 undergraduate colleges for engineering (those that also offer a doctorate).

These programs train students in the principles of engineering and offer specialized courses in design engineering and its many specialized facets. Armed with a degree, graduates have a multitude of opportunities to work for large or small companies that need design and engineering skills to design both physical and digital products.

Top Schools

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • University of California Berkeley

  • Georgia Institute of Technology

Salary Range

design engineers in the U.S.

$62k
Low
$103k
Average
$150k
High
960k

Total design engineers Employed in the U.S.

88.6%

Men

11.4%

Women

design engineer Salary Comparison

National

Nationally, annual compensation for design engineers ranges between $62,000 for entry-level and $150,000 for seasoned project engineers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 960,000 project engineers employed in 2019, with just 11.4% of those employed being women. It is estimated the 12.8% are Asian, 5.8% Black or African American, 8% Hispanic or Latino, and 79.6% are white.

The median annual wage for design engineers is $103,000 compared with $94,500, the median annual wage for all engineers.

Washington

The average annual salary for design engineers in Washington was 97k in 2019. The hourly wage averaged $46.77.

For more detailed compensation information for design engineers in Seattle, download our free compensation/salary report below.

Working in Seattle

Do [position-plural] like working and living in the famous city of Seattle? Most say yes, but certainly not all. Seattle seems to be one of those places that people fall in love with, or leave as soon as they can.

As far as cities go, Seattle could be the winner in the beauty contest. It’s surrounded by natural wonders—the sea, majestic mountains, and the greenest emerald forests. Hence the city’s moniker – the Emerald City.

It’s also got some mega employers and high salaries for techies. Here are few other highlights about living and working in Seattle.

Pros

    • Access to nature. After all, it’s called the Emerald City because it is surrounded by the greenest of green rain forests, kept so green by monumental amounts of rain. This all leads to outdoor adventure opportunities.
    • Career opportunities. Especially for those in the technology industry, like Silicone Valley, some of the largest global technology companies are based in Seattle or its surrounding communities.
    • Recognize any of these company names? Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks, Nintendo, Microsoft, Tableau, both Zillow and Redfin in the real estate tech space.
    • No state income tax. YAY!
    • Good public trasportation. The Link light rail allows for a reasonable commute into downtown, and it travels fairly far into the surrounds of the city. There are also reliable buses. Many people who live in the city don’t have a car get along.

On the other hand, the online forums are full of folks who do not care for the city. The main complaints?

Cons

    • As with other Tech-driven cities such as San Francisco and San Jose, the high salaries of big tech have increased the cost of living on everything.
    • Rents are high. The average apartment rents for $1873, according to RentCafe.
    • Traffic. It’s about the worst in the country. The Seattle Times reported on a study that ranked Seattle 7th for the most time spent sitting in traffic.
    • The weather. It rains A LOT. But for many people, it’s not the rain, but the constant gray. The average days of sunshine per year: 152.
    • No state income tax, but if you live in Seattle, the sales tax is 10%, one of the highest rates in the country.

Current Weather

Not your city? View other cities where we place design engineers.

Demand for design engineers in Seattle

Demand for design engineers in Seattle

Although the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics does not list this title specifically, the position is very similar in scope and qualifications to a mechanical engineer. Based on this data, employment is expected to grow about 4% from 2019 to 2019, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Design and mechanical engineers are essential for various manufacturing industries, particularly automotive manufacturing. Engineers are needed to continually improve the looks and performance of automobiles, and the range and performance of hybrid and electric cars. However, employment declines in some manufacturing industries could temper the overall employment growth of design engineers.

The supply of candidates and demand for open positions have a direct correlation to a company's ability to hire. Download a free Supply and Demand report for design engineers in Seattle, Washington below.

How to Hire the Best design engineers

Finding and hiring the best design engineer candidates can save you money right away and well into the future.

The costs of making a bad hire are well documented. The cost can run as much as 30% of the employee's first-year earnings according to the US Department of Labor. Bad hires can cost a whopping $240,000 in expenses related to hiring, compensation, and retention per The Undercover Recruiter. 74% of companies who admit they've hired the wrong person for a position lost an average of $14,900 for each bad hire according to CareerBuilder. These statistics support our long-held position that behavioral questions are the best way to get to know your candidates and past behavior is the best indicator of future performance.

Recruiting Best Practices

The information below comes from the best practices Amtec uses for finding the highest quality candidates.

Defining the Position

When defining the role you are creating, we recommend a position profile to fully evaluate the position you are hiring for. You must decide if the engineer can work remotely or must work in Washington. If working in Seattle is essential, make sure you include that in your job posting so candidates can decide how many miles they can commute.

How to Source the Best Candidates

When you are looking to source the best quality candidates for your open positions, make sure you have done the legwork to hire an "A Player". You can do this by making sure your company's perspective is aligned with the current market, you have taken into account the job responsibilities, as well as what type of characteristics you are looking for to fit your company culture. Then proceed to write a job posting to attract high-quality candidates.

Characteristics of design engineers

Find the Best Design Engineers

If you need to recruit the sharpest design engineers:

  • Look for candidates who have exemplary knowledge of the software, systems, and tools required for the job.
  • The best candidates are focused, self-motivated, and innovative.
  • Consider candidates who will best fit your current company culture and team environment.
  • Partner with a recruiting agency that specializes in engineering to find the best candidates.

How to Screen Candidates

You wrote a job posting, posted the position online, and received a lot more resumes than you’d bargained for! Next comes the enormous task of sorting through those resumes to eliminate the ones that are clearly not a good fit. Now, you have a stack of resumes for candidates who have potential. So how do you go about screening the remaining candidates?

It starts on the phone! As a recruiter, the goal of your telephone screening is to learn more about your candidates. You can confirm that they have the educational qualifications and relevant experience, but you also need to determine if they would fit into your company's culture. To make this job easier, use a system to consistently evaluate results. This way you can equally and objectively compare candidates and evaluate their "soft skills", like communication and thinking process. Download Amtec's Professional Assessment Questionnaire below to help with screening candidates.

Free Professional Assessment Questionnaire

An individually customized questionnaire that helps assess a candidate's competence with written communication skills, thinking processes, and other relevant skills.

How to Interview Candidates

At Amtec, we believe in the power of behavoral interview questions to go beyond the experience and skills listed on the candidate's resume. Although you will want to confirm in the interview that the candidate does indeed have the experience listed on their resume, your assessment needs to go much deeper than that. An interview using behavioral questions can help you determine how well the candidate will fit with your company culture.

Download Amtec's best practices on conducting super effective interviews to find the best candidates and fill your open jobs.

Behavioral Interview Guide

Get the info you need to hire the best design engineers

Free Interview Guide