How to hire a finishing technician

How to hire a finishing technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finishing 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 finishing technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new finishing technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a finishing technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the finishing technician you need to hire. Certain finishing technician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A finishing technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, finishing 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of finishing technicians.

   Type of Finishing Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Finishing Technician	Dental and ophthalmic laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians construct, fit, or repair appliances and devices, including dentures, eyeglasses, and prosthetics.	$12-20
   Dental Laboratory Technician	A dental laboratory technician replaces total or partial natural teeth loss by constructing partial and complete dentures. They restore the natural teeth by fabricating bridges and crowns... Show more	$16-41
   Assembly Technician	Assembly technicians are responsible for constructing small parts and components to create a new product according to the specifications of a client or a supervisor. An assembly technician performs diagnostic tests on the assembled product to ensure efficiency and conduct adjustments as needed... Show more	$13-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Hand Tools
   • Grinders
   • Pallets
   • Dexterity
   • Safety Procedures
   • ISO
   • Production Equipment
   • Safety Guidelines
   • Clean Rooms
   • Quality Checks
   • Troubleshoot
   • Quality Standards
   • Safety Rules
   • FDA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the receipt and tracking of control substances as well as the DEA biennial inspection.
   • Know methods and types of chemical evaporation: reactive sputtering, e-beam coating, coating for longer wavelengths.
   • De-Package lenses using proper usage of manual dexterity and safety precautions.
   • Touch up the pcb after tape and mask are removed from the pcb.
   • Operate and maintain RF/DC MRC sputtering equipment.
   • Label all parts for tracking per ISO requirements.

   More finishing technician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, finishing technicians' average salary in alabama is 38% less than in montana.
   • Seniority. Entry-level finishing technicians 37% less than senior-level finishing technicians.
   • Certifications. A finishing technician 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 finishing technician's salary.

   Average finishing technician salary

   $35,050yearly

   $16.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finishing technician salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average finishing technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Louisiana	$42,560	$20
   2	Kentucky	$41,415	$20
   3	Wisconsin	$39,207	$19
   4	Ohio	$37,293	$18
   5	Illinois	$36,666	$18
   6	North Carolina	$36,429	$18
   7	Kansas	$36,011	$17
   8	Washington	$35,995	$17
   9	Minnesota	$35,751	$17
   10	Texas	$35,615	$17
   11	Michigan	$35,442	$17
   12	Oregon	$35,348	$17
   13	Colorado	$34,240	$16
   14	California	$34,052	$16
   15	North Dakota	$32,907	$16
   16	Florida	$32,737	$16
   17	Tennessee	$30,718	$15

   Average finishing technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Promega	$44,344	$21.32
   2	Elanco	$43,441	$20.89	1
   3	General Electric	$42,604	$20.48	9
   4	Stryker	$41,989	$20.19	5
   5	Colgate-Palmolive	$41,946	$20.17	4
   6	Thermo Fisher Scientific	$41,812	$20.10	4
   7	NBCUniversal	$41,230	$19.82
   8	Sonoco	$40,943	$19.68	22
   9	Volvo Trucks	$40,017	$19.24	1
   10	Textron	$39,878	$19.17	7
   11	Zebra Technologies	$39,339	$18.91
   12	Smithfield Foods	$39,058	$18.78	5
   13	Koch Industries	$38,978	$18.74	4
   14	NOV	$38,041	$18.29	6
   15	Pacific Architects and Engineers	$37,655	$18.10
   16	L.& J.G. Stickley	$37,336	$17.95
   17	Durcon	$37,080	$17.83
   18	Oshkosh	$36,868	$17.73	2
   19	Cenergy International Services	$36,755	$17.67
   20	American Axle & Manufacturing	$36,651	$17.62	1

4. Writing a finishing technician job description

   A finishing technician 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a finishing technician job description:

   Finishing technician job description example

   • Starting pay at $20- $21 per hour
   • 2nd Shift Hours
   • 2:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m., Monday - Thursday
   • 2nd shift differential is $1.00
   • DOUBLE time pay for ALL overtime hours!

   What will I do in this role?

   • Responsible for pulling and putting away dies.
   • Working with the shift supervisors and leads in staging work by the correct machines.
   • May be asked to get UV, over laminate, or other supplies that are needed.
   • Pulling and putting away cores for operators as well as refilling bins when needed.
   • May cross train on the machines to fill in if or when needed.
   • Making sure supply cabinet and UV shelf/drum is stocked as well as replacing waste drum when needed.
   • May perform other duties as assigned by supervisors/manager.

   Great Benefits for the entire family!

   • Health, Dental plan with Wellness discount
   • FREE On-site Health Clinic
   • Flexible Spending Account
   • Life Insurance
   • 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plan with 6% match
   • Paid vacation AND personal time
   • Paid holidays beginning day one
   • Employee Assistance Program
   • FREE On-site Fitness Center

   What are the qualifications?

   • Knowledge of and the ability to effectively utilize the English language.
   • Requires high school education or education equivalent.
   • Ability to read, comprehend and follow simple written and oral instructions.
   • Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, decimals and fraction as well as utilize standard and metric numbers.
   • Ability to meet deadlines. May be required to work some overtime.
   • Requires nearly constant concentration ad attention to detail.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right finishing 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 finishing technician job on Zippia to find and recruit finishing technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting finishing technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 finishing technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect finishing technician 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.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new finishing technician. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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How much does it cost to hire a finishing technician?