How to hire a coater

How to hire a coater, step by step

Here's a step-by-step coater hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a coater job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new coater
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a coater, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A coater's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, coaters from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of coater salaries for various roles:

   Type of Coater	Description	Hourly rate
   Coater	Painting and coating workers paint and coat, often with machines, a wide range of products, including cars, jewelry, and ceramics.	$14-23
   Lens Coating Technician	A Lens Coating Technician is responsible for ensuring that every glasses, contact lenses and other eye care polish and clean before giving it to the customer. They assemble the frames and put on the correct and necessary lens and the grinders, lens mounters, and centered-edger... Show more	$12-20

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Safety Equipment
   • Hazardous Materials
   • Safety Standards
   • Spray Guns
   • Viscometers
   • RAN
   • Coats
   • Airless Spray
   • Circuit Boards
   • Seal Coat
   • General Maintenance
   • Assembly Line
   • Quality Standards
   • Equipment Operation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage requests, asphalt maintenance, hot rubber crack filling, seal coating, patching, repairs, supervision of crews
   • Watch over adhesive and pigment injectors and work with hoists daily.
   • Operate multiple printing and bindery machines UV roll coat machine/cutter/ink jet/stitcher
   • Operate Gema brand auto booth paint systems, as long as Colmet manual paint booth systems.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your coater job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A coater can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, coaters' average salary in louisiana is 21% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level coaters 37% less than senior-level coaters.
   • Certifications. A coater with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a coater's salary.

   Average coater salary

   $39,881yearly

   $19.17 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level coater salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

4. Writing a coater job description

   A coater job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a coater job description:

   Coater job description example

   Job Code: COAT001

   SUMMARY:

   Prepares and coats a variety of parts with various spray coatings to produce product to customer specifications.

   WAGE TYPE: Hourly

   FLSA Exemption: Non-exempt

   ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES : To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

   • Follow established processes to produce desired results to meet the customer‘s requirements.
   • Utilize industry standard HVLP and pressure pot spray equipment to achieve proper coverage and paint mil thickness.
   • Operate and maintain line specific tooling, preparation, sanding, blasting, spraying, and curing equipment to complete daily production.
   • Prepare parts for coating through washing, baking, blasting or other process specification.
   • Apply masking and plugging to specific areas to meet customer specifications.
   • Apply a variety of water and solvent based Nylon, Teflon and Flouropolymer coatings.
   • Handle a variety of solvents used for cleaning and maintaining spray equipment.
   • Perform process checks and record production data on specified forms.
   • Check viscosities of paints/coatings and adjust to produce desired results.
   • Wear job specific PPE to maintain a safe working environment.
   • Maintain production standards.
   • Complete specified housekeeping tasks.
   • Could potentially come in to contact with hazardous chemicals.
   • Any other tasks as required fulfilling Lincoln Industries’ Beliefs and Drivers.

   ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

   • Reports to: Team Leader or Department Manager

   QUALIFICATIONS: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be substituted for the expected levels of education and experience required.

   Education and/or Experience:

   Preferred: One-year experience or related training in production coating

   Communication Skills:

   • Must be able to read, write and comprehend the English language.

   Physical Requirements:

   Job Category B – Medium Labor Intensive Category

   Must be able to perform physical functions equivalent to Category B.

   Rarely

   Occasionally

   Frequently

   Constant

   0-25% of work activity

   26 -50% of work activity

   51 -75% of work activity

   76 - 100% of work activity

   Regular Exposure To Uncomfortable Conditions

   X

   Personal Protective Equipment Required

   X

   Frequent Indoor Work

   X

   Outdoor Work

   X

   Machine Interfacing

   X

   Computer Interfacing

   X

   Hot Weather

   X

   Cold Weather

   X

   High Humidity Indexes

   X

   Electrical Hazards

   X

   Dirty

   X

   Dusty

   X

   Steam

   X

   Fumes-Vapor

   X

   Noisy

   X

   Chemical Exposure

   X

   Toxic Chemicals

   X

   Fire Hazards

   X

   Potential Confined Work Space

   X

   Awkward or Minimized Work Space

   X

   Walking

   Company DescriptionLincoln Industries is the largest and most diverse privately-held metal finishing company in North America. They are a growth-oriented company with powerful resources and a tenacity to push the limits of industry tradition. For over 60 years Lincoln Industries has been solving technically difficult problems for premium brands like Harley Davidson, PACCAR, John Deere, Polaris, Navistar and Mercury Marine. Their wide range of expertise and success in customer relations, quality, supply chain management and innovation allow them to offer an unmatched comprehensive solution to customers. Known for its unique company culture, Lincoln Industries has been named to the Top 25 Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work for in America List, seven times.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find coaters for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your coater job on Zippia to find and recruit coater candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with coater candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new coater

   Once you've decided on a perfect coater candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new coater. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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