How to Hire Aerospace Engineers in San Jose

Current Environment

Aerospace engineers are employed primarily in the manufacturing, analysis, design, research, and development of aircraft, spacecraft, and defense systems. The federal government is one of the main employers in the industry, mainly due to the demand created by each of the branches of the military. Federal departments, such as the Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Energy also employ aerospace engineers, and the crown jewel employers in aeronautics are NASA and JPL. The air transportation industry for both passengers and cargo also recruit aerospace engineers for design, manufacturing, testing, and maintaining aircraft. Opportunities in the field are expanding with the introduction of private enterprise in space travel, exploration, and research.

History

Historically, opportunities for employment in the field were working with the government directly, or large aerospace manufacturers working for the government or military. The field has evolved and grown with the expansion of the airline industry and the space program. Active employers are NASA, JPL (operated by Caltech under a contract from NASA). SpaceX is one of the newest entrants in the industry, actively developing technologies with the potential for enormous change.

How will Recruiting aerospace engineers Help Your Company?

How will Hiring aerospace engineers Help Your Company?

Recruiting the top aerospace engineers can ensure you have the expertise and know-how needed to plan, manage, and complete projects on time and on budget.

However, hiring the best aerospace engineers in itself won’t distinguish one aerospace company from another. Aligning those engineers and other team members to work toward a central mission or purpose will make the best use of talent and resources. Consider the USA Olympic basketball team, the first-year pro athletes were allowed to compete. They were the best players, but they failed to play well together as a team. Teams with lesser talent beat the U.S. because they played better together.

Fill the Talent Gap

In addition, if there are talent gaps in your current team, you can source candidates that excel with a particular skill. For example, companies that need a boost in innovation can source candidates who have been a part of “innovation jams” or other programs that teach how to incorporate innovation into company culture.

Technology

Technology is another area that is key for engineers. When you are looking for recruits, be prepared with specific questions about a candidate’s expertise with the latest technology systems and software to give your organization critical technology expertise.

aerospace engineer Details

Responsibilities

Before we get to exactly how to recruit the best aerospace engineers in San Jose, here are some of the details of the job.

Positions in aerospace engineering primarily direct the design, manufacture, and testing of aircraft and aerospace products, including aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. A few additional responsibilities include:

Assess proposals for projects to determine if they are technically and financially feasible.
Determine if projects will result in safe operations and meet the goals set.
Evaluate designs for engineering standards, requirements, and environmental regulations.
Develop design methods, quality standards, and completion dates.

Looking for another position? View other positions we place in San Jose, California.

Education

Typically, aerospace engineers must have a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or another field of Engineering or science related to aerospace systems. For those working on projects related to national defense, a security clearance may be required, and sometimes U.S. citizenship is required for certain types and levels of clearances.

US News & World Report ranked the top 3 undergraduate college programs for Aerospace Engineering. These programs train students in the science of flight, both for aircraft and spacecraft. These are the top undergraduate schools where the highest engineering degree offered is a doctorate.

Top Schools

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology

2019 U.S. National Data

Salary Range

aerospace engineers in the U.S.

$72k

Low

$116k

Average

$166k

High

$125k

Average CA
Salary

$60

Average CA
Hourly

134k

Total aerospace engineers Employed in the U.S.

86%

Men

14%

Women

aerospace engineer Salary Comparison

National

Nationally, compensation for aerospace engineers ranges between $72,000 per year and $166,000 per year. The average annual salary in 2019 was $119,220. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 134,000 aerospace engineers employed in 2019, with just under 14% of those employed being women. It is estimated that 78% are white, 6.5% Black or African American, 14.5% Asian, and 7.3% Hispanic or Latino.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2019, the median annual wage for aerospace engineers was $116,500, compared with $94,500, the median annual wage for all engineers.

California

The average annual salary for aerospace engineers in California was 125k in 2019. The hourly wage averaged $60.

For more detailed compensation information for aerospace engineers in San Jose, download our free compensation/salary report below.

Working in San Jose

Do aerospace engineers consider the city of San Jose a good place to live and work? It seems that depends on a person’s professional situation. Without a good-paying and stable job, the high cost of living is a bugger.

San Jose is considered the “capital of Silicone Valley”, and is California’s 3rd largest city. It is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicone Valley and the largest city in Northern California by both population and area.

With an estimated population of 1,021,795 in 2019, the metropolis is located in the center of the Santa Clara Valley on the southern shore of the San Francisco Bay and is the most affluent county in California and one of the most affluent counties in the United States.

Here are a few pros and cons of living and working in the city.

Pros

A plethora of tech opportunities. Between San Jose and its close neighbor San Francisco, there are 350,000 tech jobs, concentrating 11% of the nation’s digital services employment in this location according to Brookings Institution research.
Mega companies are based here, Cisco Systems, Adobe, PayPal, Broadcom, and eBay just to name a few.
Mediterranean climate. The dry summers and mild, (although sometimes wet) winters are a huge draw for those who live in cold climates.
Diversity. The city is a magnet for tech and innovation, thus attracting brilliant minds and visionaries from around the globe. This global workforce has added to the diversity and culture of the town.

On the other hand, there are a few common complaints about living and working in the city.

Cons

The high cost of living, driven by the crazy price of real estate in San Jose and the surrounding areas. According to Zillow, the typical home value of homes in San Jose is $1,104,081. This includes only the middle price tier of homes. San Jose home values have gone up 15.2% over the past year and it’s predicted they will rise 12.1% in 2021.
Culture clash. The extreme wealth of the city can make it feel like a very divided place, especially when contrasted with the number of homeless people in the city.
No centralized downtown. Some people say that although there are a good number of restaurants, bars, and entertainment options, there not really a “Main Street” feel or identity to downtown.
Cross town traffic. Since the city is a giant, sprawling suburb, getting around takes time. However, like the Bay Area in general, there are some good transportation options, and getting into San Francisco and its surrounding areas is pretty simple.

San Jose, California

Current Weather

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

Demand for aerospace engineers in San Jose

Demand for aerospace engineers is growing at an average rate compared to other engineering fields. However, demand has increased for unmanned aircraft due to the commercial potential. The employment of aerospace engineers is projected to grow from 2019 to 2029, about as fast as the average for all occupations according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry is also experiencing growth due to innovation and an expansion in the industry.

Improved Aircraft

Aircraft are being redesigned to cause less noise pollution and have better fuel efficiency. Small Satellites: New developments in small satellites have greater commercial viability, thus increasing the need for skilled Aerospace Engineers.

The growing interest in unmanned aerial systems will also help drive the growth of the occupation.

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 aerospace engineers in San Jose, California below.

How to Hire the Best aerospace engineers

Finding and hiring the best aerospace 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 California. If working in San Jose 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 aerospace engineers

Aerospace Engineering is a field that is evolving as space exploration and the aerospace industry are evolving and expanding. If you need to recruit the sharpest aerospace professionals:

Look for candidates who revel in analyzing and solving problems.
Seek out candidates that are focused, self-motivated, and innovative.
Consider candidates who will best fit your engineering environment.
Partner with a recruiting agency that specializes in Aerospace 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

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Free Interview Guide