How to hire a food service technician

How to hire a food service technician, step by step

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

What does a food service technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the food service technician you need to hire. Certain food service 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 food service technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, food service 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 food service technicians.

   Type of Food Service Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Service Technician	Food and beverage serving and related workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation, and cleaning duties in restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating and drinking establishments.	$12-21
   Cooking Chef	A cooking chef oversees all people performing kitchen duties under their mandate. These professionals oversee timeliness, sanitary issues, ingredient preparation, meal preparation, and final presentations... Show more	$11-23
   Employee Service Officer	An employee services officer processes salary calculations, position management, payroll, appointment letters, and general human resource inquiries. Employee services officers recruit, train, and develop staff for an organization... Show more	$12-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Tray Line
   • Food Handling
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Meal Service
   • Food Carts
   • Safety Procedures
   • Customer Service
   • Food Service Equipment
   • Cleanliness
   • HVAC
   • Food Quality
   • Food Service
   • Meal Trays

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Operate institutional slicers, shredders, food processors, and sealer machines.
   • Follow and maintain high sanitation standards and guidelines as per NFS, and HACCP.
   • Ensure proper hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and ServSave protocols are adhered to.
   • Maintain facility cleanliness and security.
   • Maintain the professional and cleanliness outlook of the facility
   • Assist patients one-on-one in making menu selections according to their therapeutic diets.

   More food service technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the food service technician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A food service technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a food service technician in Georgia may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level food service technician. Additionally, a food service technician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average food service technician salary

   $16.25hourly

   $33,791 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food service technician salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average food service technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$44,338	$21
   2	Massachusetts	$37,593	$18
   3	Wisconsin	$36,036	$17
   4	Arizona	$35,403	$17
   5	Maryland	$33,137	$16
   6	Missouri	$32,414	$16
   7	Texas	$30,753	$15
   8	Alaska	$30,305	$15
   9	Arkansas	$29,841	$14
   10	Virginia	$29,620	$14
   11	Colorado	$28,266	$14
   12	South Carolina	$27,620	$13
   13	North Carolina	$26,138	$13
   14	Florida	$25,266	$12

   Average food service technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Gillette	$43,137	$20.74
   2	P&G	$38,813	$18.66
   3	Dignity Health	$37,132	$17.85
   4	Mercy Corps	$36,813	$17.70
   5	Children International	$36,406	$17.50	1
   6	PAM Health	$36,063	$17.34	16
   7	Aspen School District	$35,828	$17.23
   8	Vidant Health	$35,630	$17.13	2
   9	Youth Villages	$35,194	$16.92	1
   10	Pro Health Care Services	$34,744	$16.70
   11	Duke University Health System	$34,227	$16.46	8
   12	UCHealth	$33,955	$16.32	2
   13	Grand Canyon University	$33,615	$16.16	13
   14	Cedars-Sinai	$33,493	$16.10	3
   15	Sheetz	$33,481	$16.10	16
   16	University of Maine	$33,473	$16.09	1
   17	Children's Health Corporation	$33,449	$16.08	3
   18	Memorial Health Systems Corporation	$33,449	$16.08	2
   19	Smart Care Equipment Solutions	$33,436	$16.07	27
   20	General Parts International	$33,407	$16.06

4. Writing a food service technician job description

   A food service 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. Below, you can find an example of a food service technician job description:

   Food service technician job description example

   Job DescriptionHealthcare Staffing Professionals has an immediate need for Food Service Technicians in West Los Angeles, CA. The Food Service Technician shall provide services as permitted within the scope of practice in accordance with policies and procedures.
   Pay Rate-
   $18/hr working 40hrs a week
   Healthcare Benefits:
   Healthcare, Dental and Vision, Life Insurance
   Work Location : West Los Angeles, CA
   Job Duties
   a. Provide food preparation and waited meal services three (3) times a day, in accordance with Departmental Policies and Procedures related to food handling and
   sanitation regulations.
   b. Provide meals for employees, guests, and catered events; sanitation and cleaning, food and supply purchasing, and nutrition care support.
   c. Assist in food service and related work in the kitchen, dining room and the facility; read menus for regular and modified therapeutic diets.
   d. Assist in preparing and dispensing food in the proper portions for tray line and in the dining room; load, transport, store and deliver food, supplies and equipment.
   e. Set up assigned stations and salad bars with required serving equipment and utensils; replenish stations as needed; relieve and serve food from kitchen, including the preparation of beverages, desserts and salads.
   f. Review and assist in putting away supplies.
   g. Assist members at meal time.
   h. Maintain proper sanitation and temperatures.
   i. Perform simple cooking tasks (i.e. toasting bread, mixing batters, operating the grill).
   j. Deliver and pick up meal carts.
   k. Provide and replenish snacks and condiments.
   l. Wash dishes, pots, pans, meal carts, dishwasher and disposal, and clean floors in related areas; operate dish washing machines and other culinary equipment.
   m. Clean and maintain utensils, equipment and work area; clean and wipe interior and exterior of all equipment; properly dispose of items in appropriate bins.
   n. Participate in regular monthly staff meetings; assist co-workers with any special clean up or extra jobs as related. May be required to participate in special events as they pertain to the Dietetics Department; may act in the absence of Food Service Technician II as required.
   Requirements:
   a. Experience: six (6) months of experience in an institution, hotel, or restaurant, serving, cleaning food service areas, or assisting with the preparation and service of foods and beverages.
   b. Knowledge of: methods of cleaning and preparing foods for cooking and storing food; proper methods of arranging dining room furniture, setting tables, and serving meals; various types of food service utensils and equipment and their uses; methods of cleaning and maintaining food service areas, utensils, and equipment; sanitation and safety measures in food service areas; general pantry work.
   c. Ability to: portion servings; follow directions and keep simple records; communicate at a level appropriate to the classification.
   d. Sympathetic understanding of and willingness to work with the resident population of a State institution; personal cleanliness, good sense of smell and taste; and freedom from communicable disease.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find food service technicians 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 food service technician job on Zippia to find and recruit food service technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit food service technicians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up 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 food service technician

   Once you've found the food service technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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 food service technician. 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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