How to hire a contact lens technician

How to hire a contact lens technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step contact lens technician hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The contact lens technician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A contact lens technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, contact lens technicians 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 contact lens technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Contact Lens Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Contact Lens Technician	Dental and ophthalmic laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians construct, fit, or repair appliances and devices, including dentures, eyeglasses, and prosthetics.	$8-23
   Optical Laboratory Technician	An optical laboratory technician is responsible for filling patients' eyeglass lenses and contact lenses prescriptions as forwarded by an optician. Optical laboratory technicians work with opticians, optometrists, or in an optical equipment laboratory and are also referred to as ophthalmic laboratory technicians... Show more	$12-20
   Technician	Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with... Show more	$11-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • R
   • Front Desk
   • Eye Exams
   • POS
   • Patient Care
   • Patient Orders
   • Visual Fields
   • Patient History
   • Patient Charts
   • Visual Acuity
   • Eye Glasses

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
   • Schedule appointments, insurance filing and pretest patients for exams using various instrumentation.
   • Greet patients and ensure accurate demographic and insurance information into their electronic chart following HiPPA compliance in a paperless practice.
   • Handle accounts receivable for Medicaid and Medicare processing and tracking paperwork.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your contact lens technician job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A contact lens technician salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, contact lens technicians' average salary in florida is 35% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level contact lens technicians earn 63% less than senior-level contact lens technicians.
   • Certifications. A contact lens technician with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a contact lens technician's salary.

   Average contact lens technician salary

   $14.28hourly

   $29,708 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level contact lens technician salary

   $18,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

4. Writing a contact lens technician job description

   A good contact lens technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a contact lens technician job description:

   Contact lens technician job description example

   Job DescriptionCollaborate with team members to best assist patients’ needs for all optical services. Maintain up to date with all aspects of the optical department and do what is necessary to provide the best customer service.
   Responsibilities Responsibilities are not intended to be done in any specific order
   
   Customer Service:
   Lens and Frame Selections, Contact Lens Assistance including trainings as needed
   Adjustments, Repairs and Delivery of Optical glasses
   Troubleshoot with patients having difficulties with orders received
   Answer telephone and assist patients’ needs
   
   Optical Department:
   Order contact lenses orders for patients including trial lenses as directed by doctor
   Match arriving contact lens orders to trays
   Keep up to date with all rebates and pertinent Contact Lens information changes
   Keep organized files for contact lens bags, rebates, contact lens information
   Keep up to date on contact lens computer programs used in office
   Follow up with callbacks for patients trialing contact lenses and maintain good record keeping
   Maintain all contact lens trials in office
   Quality control on jobs received by optical laboratories
   Call optical laboratories to check the status of orders
   Check status for frames on order & defective exchange area
   Get trays ready for the Optical Schedule
   Frame pricing and floor displays
   Price and enter all frames into inventory
   Maintain floor frame displays to keep display shelves organized and clean
   Help maintain optical tray areas up to date: Hold until paid; 1 week hold; etc.
   Help to match arriving frame orders to patient’s trays
   Help with return frames
   Help with re-notifying patients that have already been notified of order arriving
   Archive optical invoices
   Help maintain lab supplies for TKI to re-order
   Help with clearing trays after delivery of glasses and making sure all billing and documentation has been completed
   Trays that have been sitting in “to be delivered” for longer than 6 months should be cleared and put into “un-dispensed optical orders” box
   
   Required Skills ENVIRONMENT:
   Office environment with constant computer use
   Constant interruptions
   
   PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
   Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard and to grasp, move or assemble very small objects.
   Seeing to read a variety of materials, small objects, see differences between colors, shades and brightness.
   Hold the arm and hand in one position or hold the hand steady while moving arm.
   Hearing and speaking to exchange information in person and on the telephone.
   Sitting and standing for extended periods of time.
   Bending at the waist, kneeling or crouching to file materials.
   Lifting boxes of approximately 5 – 15lbs
   
   Responsibilities can change at any time to correspond with office needs

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right contact lens technician for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with contact lens technician 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 contact lens technician

   Once you've selected the best contact lens technician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new contact lens technician first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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