How to hire a laminating operator

Laminating operator hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring laminating operators in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire a laminating operator is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new laminating operator to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a laminating operator, step by step

To hire a laminating operator, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a laminating operator, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step laminating operator hiring guide:

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

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you post your laminating operator job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a laminating operator for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

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

Hiring the perfect laminating operator 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.

The following list breaks down different types of laminating operators and their corresponding salaries.

Type of Laminating Operator	Description	Hourly rate
Laminating Operator		$13-19
Shop Worker	A shop worker may work in a wholesale or retail shop to provide customer service. They welcome guests, maintain their store's cleanliness, and ensure stock levels are maintained... Show more	$11-19
Production Employee	In a manufacturing setting, a production employee is in charge of assembling and processing products, ensuring efficiency and timelines. Their responsibilities include adhering to guidelines and blueprints, monitoring the products for any defects or inconsistencies, operating machines and equipment, keeping an eye on the assembly line, and maintaining the cleanliness of work areas... Show more	$12-20

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Quality Checks
- Quality Standards
- Quality Products
- Production Schedules
- Quality Issues
- Machine Adjustments
- PCB
- Machine Operation
- Lamination Machine
- Quality Specifications
- Detect Defects
- Laminators
- Computer Database
- Necessary Maintenance
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Experience following procedures and managing GMP documentation.
- Adhere to all GMP and ISO practices.
- Run, troubleshoot, and operate film and foil laminator machine.
- Execute daily operations of furnaces and etching equipment.
- Set up Bobst flat die and run machine with no asistance.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in your laminating operator job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A laminating operator salary can vary based on several factors:
- Location. For example, laminating operators' average salary in alabama is 42% less than in washington.
- Seniority. Entry-level laminating operators earn 30% less than senior-level laminating operators.
- Certifications. A laminating operator 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 laminating operator's salary.
Average laminating operator salary
$16.38hourly
$34,070 yearly
Entry-level laminating operator salary
$28,000 yearly salary
Updated December 14, 2025
Writing a laminating operator job description
A laminating operator 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 laminating operator job description:
Laminating operator job description example
Join our team and earn a $500 sign-on bonus upon completion of the 90-day introductory period!

We provide full training and offer regular overtime opportunities.

Brief Summary:

The Lamination Operator will report directly to the Production Manager and will be trained on the following:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Must fully learn the lamination process from lay-up to lam press
- Loading a recipe or monitoring an established process profile for OEM and PHI press machines
- And other duties as assigned
Physical:
- Bending and lifting (rolling or sliding of up to 100 pounds with assistance)
- Walking and standing during most of the shift
- Manual dexterity
Skills/ Education:
- High school diploma preferred but not required
- Read, write, and speak English
- Good communication skills.
Company DescriptionThis employer does not participate in providing visa sponsorship for employment.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status.

Harbor Electronics began fabricating highly specialized printed circuit boards for the ATE industry in 1995. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Harbor Electronics is world renowned for being a leader in advanced printed circuit boards for the semiconductor test market. In 2015, Harbor joined forces with Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit Tech to form the largest printed circuit supplier in the world dedicated to this market segment. Our customers are the world's leading semiconductor companies and their mission critical supply chain. Our core capabilities and quality enable our customer base to meet the ever-advancing pace of technology and innovation in semiconductor manufacturing. Our boards are used to test and evaluate the chips that power today’s most exciting technology, including the phones, tablets and connected devices you use every day.

Harbor provides an industry leading benefit package for full-time regular employees, including health, dental, vision, life, disability and 401k plans. We offer competitive wages and paid time off to all regular employees. We invest in our employees and it shows, the average service length of a Harbor employee is over 10 years.
Post your job
To find the right laminating operator 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 laminating operators they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit laminating operators 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 laminating operator job on Zippia to find and recruit laminating operator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit laminating operators, 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new laminating operator
Once you've found the laminating operator 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.
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.
To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.
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 laminating operator?

Before you start to hire laminating operators, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire laminating operators pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $34,070 per year for a laminating operator, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for laminating operators in the US typically range between $13 and $19 an hour.

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Updated December 14, 2025

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How to hire a laminating operator