How to hire a highway technician

How to hire a highway technician, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The highway 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 highway technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, highway 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 presents highway technician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Highway Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Highway Technician	Civil engineering technicians help civil engineers to plan, design, and build highways, bridges, utilities, and other infrastructure projects. They also help to plan, design, and build commercial, industrial, residential, and land development projects.	$12-22
   Project Engineer Internship	When it comes to a project engineer internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to follow the directives of engineers and managers while earning practical experience. Most of the duties will revolve around processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, participating in various projects, assisting engineers in basic tasks, and organizing inventory and supplies... Show more	$14-24
   Engineering Internship	An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations... Show more	$12-30

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • GRASS
   • Traffic Control
   • CDL
   • Highway Maintenance
   • Dump Truck
   • Pavement Markings
   • Ice Removal
   • Pre-Trip Inspections
   • DOT
   • Bookkeeping Tasks
   • Construction Inspection
   • State Highways
   • Equipment Maintenance
   • Mowing

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Help manage the housing development; keeping it clean, in compliance with OSHA laws, and state safety laws.
   • Operate skagg and batwing mowers.
   • Lead worker on the mowing crew.
   • Have worked with concrete and asphalt, both removal and placement.
   • Overlie projects dealing with asphalt, do ditch work with all kinds of equipment.
   • Operate front-end loaders, mowers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and pole saws as trained.

   More highway technician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, highway technicians' average salary in montana is 41% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level highway technicians earn 41% less than senior-level highway technicians.
   • Certifications. A highway 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 highway technician's salary.

   Average highway technician salary

   $35,400yearly

   $17.02 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level highway technician salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average highway technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Ohio	$36,757	$18
   2	Iowa	$36,256	$17
   3	Hawaii	$35,834	$17
   4	Indiana	$31,232	$15
   5	Kentucky	$29,164	$14

   Average highway technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Iowa Department of Transportation	$38,553	$18.54
   2	Iowa State Association of Counties	$35,976	$17.30
   3	Indiana State Police	$35,244	$16.94	35
   4	State of Ohio	$35,120	$16.88	42

4. Writing a highway technician job description

   A job description for a highway technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a highway technician job description:

   Highway technician job description example

   INTERNAL POSTING - Open to current Permanent ODOT Employees.
   
   Applicants may be asked to participate in a professional skills proficiency test for this position.
   
   Inspects construction projects to ensure contractor compliance with State specifications, plans &/or proposals &/or performs laboratory &/or field tests on materials to ensure quality control of project materials (e.g., roadway, drainage, demolition & clearing, foundations for embankment, sub grades, piles, guardrails &/or median barriers, landscaping slope protection, detours, temporary roads, bridge painting, inspects complex structures, verifies plans quantities & calculations with blueprints, tests concrete for air, slump & yield, operates nuclear gauges or embankment kit to test compaction & density & collects material samples to be forwarded to district or central office, performs specific laboratory or field tests on materials proposed for construction &/or on producers or suppliers stock obtained from field to determine compliance with state specifications & to monitor quality control testing, or monitor sampling & quality control testing or perform job control & quality control sampling of various plants in assigned work area, receives cross training in testing & construction, approves construction in line with environmental documents, designs & approves mix designs, researches & designs new materials to recommend changes, aggregate quality testing including the interpretation of results, rejects or accepts specific aspect of project pending review by engineer), signs inspection reports as a certified inspector (i.e., fully certified inspector). Performs maintenance duties which include serving as a lead worker, emergency response & clean-up, layout & placement of maintenance of traffic devices, snow & ice control & related maintenance duties by operation of snow plow with spreader, brine dispensing equipment, dump truck with attachments (per November 26, 2003 Highway Technician MOU between ODOT & OCSEA/AFSCME).
   
   Prepares & maintains project records & reports (e.g., daily diary, inspection reports, pay item quantities, progress estimates, contractors construction methods, material inspection); utilizes software programs (e.g., SiteManager, Excel) to record information & generate reports.
   
   Maintains records of samples tested; calibrates & maintains laboratory & field test equipment & instruments; operates personal computer to input data & create records. Assists Contractor Compliance Officers (CCOs) in ensuring Commercially Useful Function (CUF) requirements are met (e.g., fills out forms & ensures completed forms are returned to assigned CCO).
   
   Successful completion of all Highway Technician level 3 courses (i.e., construction/field &/or lab track); 520 hrs. of construction exp.as a Highway Technician 3 or other applicable provisions regarding construction experience per the March 11, 2015 Highway Technician MOU between ODOT & OCSEA/AFSCME; Certification in ACI Field Testing Technician Grade I, Aggregate Level 1, & Nuclear Gauge.
   
   In addition to the above, for positions in Construction, applicants must possess the following:
   
   Successful completion of ODOT Internal Certification Tests in Structures & Traffic Control Devices.
   
   Note: Applicant must have valid Commercial Driver's License at the appropriate level pursuant to approved position description on file to operate motorized equipment of size & type regulated by section 4506 of Ohio Revised Code.
   
   * Or equivalent of Minimum Class Qualifications for Employment noted above.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right highway technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with highway technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit highway technicians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with highway 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.

   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 highway technician

   Once you've selected the best highway 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new highway 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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