Freed engineers to get hired (8)
I believe the answer is:
released
'freed' is the definition.
('release' can be a synonym of 'free')
'engineers to get hired' is the wordplay.
'engineers' becomes 're' (Royal Engineers).
'to get' says to put letters next to each other.
'hired' becomes 'leased' ('lease' can be a synonym of 'hire').
're'+'leased'='RELEASED'
(Other definitions for released that I've seen before include "Sent from prison" , "Freed from confinement" , "Let out - let out again" , "Set free" , "Liberated" .)