How to hire aerospace engineers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
• Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
• Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
• Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
• Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
• Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
• Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
• Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong critical thinking, reading comprehension, mathematics, science, writing and active learning skills
• Working knowledge of engineering and technology, design, mechanical and mathematics
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $64.89 an hour ($134,960 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for aerospace engineers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
7. Walk me through a calculation you do regularly at work and how you check it.
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What aerospace engineers do

• Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
• Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
• Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
• Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
• Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
• Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
• Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
• Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionMathematicsScienceWritingActive LearningEngineering and TechnologyDesignMechanicalMathematics

Education, experience and outlook for aerospace engineers

• Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
• Job outlook: +8.3% over ten years, much faster than average · about 3,800 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay aerospace engineers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See aerospace engineers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

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• Chemical Engineers
• Civil Engineers
• Computer Hardware Engineers
• Electrical Engineers
• Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
• Environmental Engineers
• Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
• Industrial Engineers

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.