How to Hire a Mechanical Engineer

Why hire a mechanical engineer?

An efficient mechanical engineer crafts and designs mechanical components to help streamline business operations, thus helping the company achieve its revenue goals.

Contributions of a great mechanical engineer:

• Conducts full life cycle product development
• Crafts and designs mechanical systems and components that meet customers’ needs
• Performs experiments, gathers and interprets data to analyze results

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance mechanical engineer

If you have ongoing needs, hiring a full-time mechanical engineer gives you that coverage. You get consistency in the work and a reliable employee who understands your company’s needs. You also don’t have to wait to find a mechanical engineer when you have a new project you want to start immediately.

A freelance mechanical engineer is a solution when you have a single project with a definite end date. You can hire the freelancer for the duration of the project without continuing to pay that person when the project is complete. It’s also a way to have the expertise of a mechanical engineer who specializes in a certain area when you only need that expertise for a short time. This freelance mechanical engineer can serve as a consultant for the project.

What are the types of mechanical engineers?

While many positions are simply called mechanical engineers, the field also has specialties based on the specific industry or job duties of the engineer. Some types of mechanical engineers include:

• Acoustical engineer: This type of engineer creates solutions for noise and vibration control. Examples include creating sound barriers and using ultrasonic frequencies.
• Aerospace engineer: These mechanical engineers work on an interdisciplinary team with experts in related fields, such as propulsion, aerodynamics and avionics, to create aircraft and spacecraft.
• Heating and cooling engineer: This specialty focuses on environmental control systems for airplanes, cars, schools, computer rooms and other environments that need temperature and humidity control.
• Robotics engineer: A robotics engineer designs robotic systems often used to make jobs easier or safer.
• Automotive engineer: Some mechanical engineers help with the production and development of vehicles. They might work on vehicle safety, fuel economy or electronics systems.

Where to find mechanical engineers

To find the right mechanical engineer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Offer mechanical engineer internships. If you already have mechanical engineers on your staff, consider hiring mechanical engineer interns to find a new crop of employees. Internships let you test out new graduates to find a good fit.
• Attend engineering events. Go to engineering conferences to meet mechanical engineers and network with others in the field who might have recommendations.
• Participate in mechanical engineering organizations. Join and become actively involved in mechanical engineering organizations to meet people in the industry.
• Ask for referrals. Your current mechanical engineers might know others in the field, either from their college programs or previous jobs, whom they can recommend for the job.
• Post your job online. Try posting your mechanical engineer job on Indeed to find and attract quality mechanical engineer candidates.

What are the types of mechanical engineers?

While many positions are simply called mechanical engineers, the field also has specialties based on the specific industry or job duties of the engineer. Some types of mechanical engineers include:

• Acoustical engineer: This type of engineer creates solutions for noise and vibration control. Examples include creating sound barriers and using ultrasonic frequencies.
• Aerospace engineer: These mechanical engineers work on an interdisciplinary team with experts in related fields, such as propulsion, aerodynamics and avionics, to create aircraft and spacecraft.
• Heating and cooling engineer: This specialty focuses on environmental control systems for airplanes, cars, schools, computer rooms and other environments that need temperature and humidity control.
• Robotics engineer: A robotics engineer designs robotic systems often used to make jobs easier or safer.
• Automotive engineer: Some mechanical engineers help with the production and development of vehicles. They might work on vehicle safety, fuel economy or electronics systems.

Writing a mechanical engineer job description

A thoughtful description can help you find qualified mechanical engineer candidates. A mechanical engineer job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your mechanical engineer job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on mechanical engineer jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Mechanical engineer
• Engineer
• Mechanical engineering
• Mechanical design engineer
• Engineering
• Mechanical engineering internship
• Manufacturing engineer
• Mechanical engineering intern
• Engineering internship

Interviewing mechanical engineer candidates

To hire a suitable mechanical engineer, take the time to vet candidates and ask detailed interview questions to understand their knowledge and skills. Strong candidates for mechanical engineer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Proficiency in product development for mechanical components
• Interactions with customers to understand their needs and design mechanical components
• How they’ve contributed to other company’s sales and profit goals by streamlining mechanical operations and product design and development

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of mechanical engineer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).