How to hire a maintainer

How to hire a maintainer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step maintainer hiring guide:

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

What does a maintainer do?

Post a maintainer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The maintainer 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

   Hiring the perfect maintainer 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 shows salaries for various types of maintainers.

   Type of Maintainer	Description	Hourly rate
   Maintainer	General maintenance and repair workers fix and maintain machines, mechanical equipment, and buildings. They paint, repair flooring, and work on plumbing, electrical, and air-conditioning and heating systems.	$14-39
   Facilities Technician	Facilities Technicians are employees who manage the upkeep of the company's facilities. They are in charge of maintaining the different equipment, fixtures, and furniture in the office... Show more	$12-28
   Utility Worker	A utility worker is an entry-level position who is responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance of company premises and equipment. Utility workers take verbal and written instructions from managers and maintenance officers about the assigned work areas inside and outside of the property... Show more	$11-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Hydraulic Systems
   • Suspension Systems
   • Test Equipment
   • Electrical Systems
   • Windows
   • Weapons Systems
   • Technical Guidance
   • Hand Tools
   • M1
   • Fire Control Systems
   • Linux
   • Combat
   • Organizational Maintenance
   • Safety Procedures

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage LAN network and provide support for users.
   • Manage all contract work including snow removal, mowing, asphalt work, and signage.
   • Ignite torches and start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being weld completing electrical circuits.
   • Perform preventive maintenance checks and services on radio receivers, transmitters, communications security equipment and other relate technologies.
   • Modify components using jigs or templates.
   • Rework of SMT components on circuit board.

   More maintainer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, maintainers' average salary in montana is 49% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level maintainers earn 62% less than senior-level maintainers.
   • Certifications. A maintainer 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 maintainer's salary.

   Average maintainer salary

   $51,259yearly

   $24.64 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level maintainer salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average maintainer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$66,900	$32
   2	California	$65,568	$32
   3	Minnesota	$59,472	$29
   4	Connecticut	$59,386	$29
   5	Illinois	$59,064	$28
   6	Massachusetts	$56,262	$27
   7	Pennsylvania	$52,908	$25
   8	Colorado	$52,206	$25
   9	Washington	$52,204	$25
   10	Oregon	$52,154	$25
   11	North Carolina	$51,425	$25
   12	Texas	$49,964	$24
   13	Ohio	$49,918	$24
   14	South Carolina	$44,878	$22
   15	Wisconsin	$43,879	$21
   16	Florida	$42,918	$21

   Average maintainer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Parsons	$104,157	$50.08
   2	Massasoit Community College	$93,946	$45.17	2
   3	Jacobs Engineering Group	$78,151	$37.57
   4	BNSF Railway	$74,012	$35.58	1
   5	Canadian Pacific Railway	$71,092	$34.18	3
   6	ENSCO	$70,090	$33.70
   7	Ball	$70,062	$33.68	3
   8	Army National Guard	$69,657	$33.49	301
   9	CAN Capital	$67,687	$32.54
   10	PMI Inc.	$66,215	$31.83	2
   11	Westfield State University	$64,766	$31.14
   12	Jacobs Enterprises	$64,169	$30.85	4
   13	Lockheed Martin	$63,897	$30.72	5
   14	Anheuser-Busch	$63,855	$30.70	4
   15	Salem State University	$62,268	$29.94
   16	Crown Holdings	$61,731	$29.68	6
   17	University of Massachusetts Boston	$61,674	$29.65
   18	Mta	$61,670	$29.65
   19	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority	$60,942	$29.30	3
   20	TriMet	$60,864	$29.26

4. Writing a maintainer job description

   A job description for a maintainer 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 maintainer job description:

   Maintainer job description example

   Carpenter’s Latrobe Specialty Metals operations, based in Latrobe, Pa., manufacture high-performance specialty alloys serving aerospace, energy and other demanding markets. Carpenter acquired Latrobe in 2012 to increase capacity to meet strong customer demand and to broaden the company’s product mix. Latrobe continues a century-long legacy of leadership in metals technology.

   Electrical Maintainer
   

   PRIMARY DUTIES

   • Inspects electrical equipment, checking motor bearings, lubrication, commutation, excessive vibration and obvious signs of wear or need for adjustment. Uses testing equipment to diagnose electrical troubles. Determines the best way of making repairs to minimize interruption of production. Advises when immediate shut-down of equipment is necessary to minimize damage or when temporarily continued operation will have no harmful electrical circuits, to determine material and replacement needs and to select a logical approach to repair problems.
   • Analyzes all types of circuits, wiring diagrams, and drawings as required to install, repair, adjust, calibrate, construct, modify or service all types of electronic devices and systems, including communication systems, various mill and production equipment, electronic computing and control systems, power and distribution control equipment, measuring, recording, processing and control devices, indicating devices and gauges, etc.
   • Plans details of working procedure to determine material or replacement needs and selects a logical approach to “trouble shooting” and repair problems. Answers trouble calls.
   • Dismantles, cleans, repairs, replaces, installs, maintains, assembles and lubricates electrical equipment. Adjusts equipment to obtain proper operating characteristics. Make either temporary or permanent repairs. Make mechanical and electrical repairs on cranes. Make mechanical repairs as required in connection with servicing of electrical equipment. Erects scaffolds and performs simple rigging as required. Operates simple machine tools such as drill press, power saw, portable drill and grinder, etc.
   • Occasionally performs arc welding and uses cutting torch in connection with repair and maintenance work on electrical equipment.
   • Operates high lift or pickup truck, as required in conjunction with electrical repair and maintenance work. Checks fluid and L.P. gas levels and adds, as required. Reports any condition requiring maintenance work.
   • Operates cab operated and radio controlled floor operated cranes, as required, in conjunction with electrical repair and maintenance work.
   • Operates data transmission and receiving equipment to enter, send and receive data.
   • Keeps work area in a clean, orderly and safe condition.

   REQUIREMENTS

   • High School Diploma or equivalent (GED)
   • 3 years industrial maintenance experience
   • Must meet company requirements for fall protection
   • Interpret wiring diagrams and drawings and perform tradesman’s duties to install, repair, design and service electronic and electrical equipment
   • Analyze and plan complex nonrepetitive tasks to install, repair, design and construct electronic and electrical equipment including the necessary phase of development work

   Carpenter Technology Company offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package including life, medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, disability coverage, 401k with company contributions as well as many other options to employees.

   Carpenter Technology Corporation’s policy is to fully and effectively maintain a program of equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination for all employees, to employ affirmative action for all protected classes, and to recruit and develop the best qualified persons available regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by law. The Company also will recruit, develop and provide opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities and protected veterans.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with maintainer 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. 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.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new maintainer

   Once you've found the maintainer 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new maintainer. 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a maintainer?