How to hire a health and safety technician

How to hire a health and safety technician, step by step

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

What does a health and safety technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a health and safety technician, 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

   Hiring the perfect health and safety technician also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents health and safety technician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Health And Safety Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Health And Safety Technician	Occupational health and safety specialists analyze many types of work environments and work procedures. Specialists inspect workplaces for adherence to regulations on safety, health, and the environment... Show more	$16-34
   Safety Instructor	The duties and responsibilities include coordinating classes on safety procedures, advising management on problems and possible solutions, and meeting safety compliance requirements.	$9-20
   Safety Engineer	The duties of a safety engineer depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the implementation of the safety policies and regulations in a company by conducting regular inspections and maintenance checks, coordinating with department personnel to gather data, assessing risks, and arranging precautionary measures... Show more	$23-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • OSHA
   • Environmental Health
   • EHS
   • Hazardous Waste
   • EPA
   • Safety Procedures
   • Safety Program
   • Safety Audits
   • Occupational Safety
   • Safety Policies
   • PowerPoint
   • CPR
   • Corrective Action
   • Occupational Health

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve the highest score for compliance out of multiple Rohm and Haas facilities audit by the EPA.
   • Develop and manage MSDS online account and respiratory protection program for employees that meet the respiratory requirements for specific job tasks.
   • Coordinate deployment of environmental procedures, such as HazMat response.
   • Coordinate with outside auditors to maintain OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 certificates.
   • Perform 6 system audits (ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001) and monitor corrective and preventive actions.
   • Translate trend analysis data into PowerPoint presentations for board meetings.

   More health and safety technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the health and safety technician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A health and safety 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 health and safety technician in Arkansas may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level health and safety technician. Additionally, a health and safety technician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average health and safety technician salary

   $49,470yearly

   $23.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level health and safety technician salary

   $34,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average health and safety technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Pennsylvania	$64,176	$31
   2	Massachusetts	$63,153	$30
   3	Washington	$62,687	$30
   4	California	$62,014	$30
   5	New York	$58,815	$28
   6	Connecticut	$58,092	$28
   7	Virginia	$55,888	$27
   8	Michigan	$53,613	$26
   9	Utah	$51,849	$25
   10	Maryland	$51,100	$25
   11	Colorado	$49,787	$24
   12	Indiana	$49,311	$24
   13	Texas	$48,930	$24
   14	Ohio	$47,799	$23
   15	Wyoming	$46,344	$22
   16	New Mexico	$42,064	$20
   17	Missouri	$41,943	$20
   18	Louisiana	$39,810	$19
   19	Alabama	$39,750	$19
   20	Arkansas	$39,719	$19

   Average health and safety technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Arkema	$81,211	$39.04
   2	Novo Nordisk	$73,927	$35.54	3
   3	Bayer	$72,346	$34.78
   4	Meridian Technology Group	$72,242	$34.73
   5	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$71,870	$34.55	8
   6	Cummins	$65,326	$31.41	14
   7	Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute	$64,453	$30.99
   8	Lucid Motors	$62,925	$30.25	2
   9	Home Market Foods	$62,144	$29.88
   10	The Dow Chemical Company	$61,010	$29.33
   11	Freeport-McMoRan	$60,798	$29.23
   12	Mars	$58,653	$28.20
   13	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$57,561	$27.67	1
   14	CITGO Petroleum	$56,391	$27.11
   15	ERM	$56,030	$26.94	62
   16	Kellogg	$55,943	$26.90
   17	Iovance Biotherapeutics	$55,016	$26.45	2
   18	Veolia Water Tech	$54,804	$26.35	12
   19	Kennesaw State University	$53,749	$25.84	1
   20	University of Colorado Boulder	$53,405	$25.68

4. Writing a health and safety technician job description

   A good health and safety 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 health and safety technician job description:

   Health and safety technician job description example

   About You
   You're an objective thinker who understands the risks involving working with around Heavy Equipment and other industrial work. You have a keen eye for identifying potential hazards, and you like to work as part of a team to create solutions. You're looking for a position where you can work both inside and outdoors and develop into a safety specialist. You're not afraid to research solutions when you don't know the answer, including interpreting health and safety regulations. Training comes naturally to you, and you enjoy learning and sharing your knowledge and know-how with others.
   
   Day in the Life
   After grabbing your favorite morning beverage, you:
   Start up your computer and formulate a plan for the day.Develop training items programs or material for the site with the assistance of the health and safety specialist Ensure proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is available for our team Communicate well with operators and technicians to ensure safe practices are followed Identify hazards and formulate effective solutions with the team Track training and identify trends Become an active member of the site Emergency Response Team and Safety CommitteeProvide sound recommendations to keep our site safe Assist in incident investigations and help in determining cause and prevention Conduct site inspections to aide in identifying risks and/or hazards to eliminate those identified Assist in site developed training programs when necessary
   
   What you need to apply
   Moderate computer skills (experience with Microsoft Office Suite)1-3 years of related experience preferred Willing to wear a respirator and/or PPE as needed Ability to pass pre-employment background checks and drug screening
   
   For your hard work
   Opportunity for professional growth Employer paid certifications and training100% employer paid medical for you Paid Time OffCash Recognition Programs
   
   Find out more at www.usecology.com
   
   US Ecology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status, among other factors.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find health and safety technicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any health and safety technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level health and safety technicians with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your health and safety technician job on Zippia to find and recruit health and safety technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit health and safety technicians, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 health and safety technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect health and safety 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new health and safety 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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How much does it cost to hire a health and safety technician?