How to hire a maintenance supervisor

How to hire a maintenance supervisor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step maintenance supervisor hiring guide:

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

What does a maintenance supervisor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

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

   Type of Maintenance Supervisor	Description	Hourly rate
   Maintenance Supervisor	A Maintenance Supervisor maintains systems and equipment through completing preventive maintenance schedules. They restore and repair faulty or inoperative components and parts.	$19-37
   Equipment Maintenance Technician	An equipment maintenance technician is responsible for ensuring the stability and efficiency of all production tools and equipment to support smooth business functions and operations. Equipment maintenance technicians conduct regular maintenance for optimization, repair defective components, and inspect equipment parts to identify possible upgrades and replacements... Show more	$16-28
   Engineering/Maintenance Manager	Engineering and maintenance managers are skilled executive professionals who manage the daily activities of the engineering department while directing the maintenance of all types of machinery in a manufacturing plant. These managers are required to develop preventive maintenance procedures and inspections for all manufacturing equipment so that they can reduce machine downtime... Show more	$36-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Plumbing
   • HVAC
   • Customer Service
   • OSHA
   • Ladders
   • General Maintenance
   • Hand Tools
   • Maintenance Procedures
   • Safety Standards
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Electrical Systems
   • Cleanliness
   • Industrial Maintenance
   • Maintenance Tasks

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain OEE on all equipment to achieve run performance goals and to produce 500MM pounds of finish product a year.
   • Complete plumbing, electrical, general maintenance and re-key requirements.
   • Complete preventative maintenance and repair of electrical and plumbing systems.
   • Control all maintenance relate documentation including work orders and preventative maintenance, utilizing MP2 CMMS software.
   • Develop employee relations programs and enforce OSHA safety regulations; continually advance the effectiveness of safety programs and promote safety operations.
   • Replace motors, ball screws, pumps, drives, and encoders.

   More maintenance supervisor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your maintenance supervisor job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A maintenance supervisor can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, maintenance supervisors' average salary in arkansas is 45% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level maintenance supervisors 48% less than senior-level maintenance supervisors.
   • Certifications. A maintenance supervisor with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a maintenance supervisor's salary.

   Average maintenance supervisor salary

   $57,674yearly

   $27.73 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level maintenance supervisor salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 30, 2025

   Average maintenance supervisor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$77,485	$37
   2	Washington	$72,291	$35
   3	Oregon	$70,525	$34
   4	Massachusetts	$68,870	$33
   5	Illinois	$64,160	$31
   6	Wisconsin	$63,242	$30
   7	New York	$62,494	$30
   8	Maryland	$61,982	$30
   9	Ohio	$59,662	$29
   10	Minnesota	$59,346	$29
   11	Kentucky	$59,160	$28
   12	Colorado	$58,947	$28
   13	Kansas	$57,545	$28
   14	Pennsylvania	$56,231	$27
   15	Georgia	$56,178	$27
   16	Nevada	$55,862	$27
   17	Utah	$55,411	$27
   18	Alabama	$54,852	$26
   19	Virginia	$54,015	$26
   20	North Carolina	$52,737	$25

   Average maintenance supervisor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	CVR Energy	$121,584	$58.45	1
   2	Apple	$112,217	$53.95	2
   3	Texas Instruments	$108,291	$52.06	5
   4	Tesoro	$103,391	$49.71	6
   5	Edwards Lifesciences	$101,673	$48.88	6
   6	BlackRock	$99,115	$47.65	9
   7	Essex Property Trust	$97,517	$46.88	19
   8	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$96,078	$46.19	4
   9	City of Detroit	$95,069	$45.71
   10	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$94,558	$45.46	6
   11	Orange County Sanitation District	$93,342	$44.88
   12	Newpark	$91,059	$43.78
   13	PVH	$90,838	$43.67	5
   14	City of Seattle	$88,871	$42.73	1
   15	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz	$86,488	$41.58
   16	SoCalGas	$85,963	$41.33
   17	Ormat Technologies	$85,932	$41.31	11
   18	Pacifi	$85,738	$41.22
   19	Ford Motor	$85,340	$41.03	9
   20	Allison Transmission	$85,211	$40.97	2

4. Writing a maintenance supervisor job description

   A maintenance supervisor 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 maintenance supervisor job description:

   Maintenance supervisor job description example

   Maintenance Supervisor FULL-TIME
   $34/hr This position is responsible for managing four basic goals: safety, downtime, budget and overtime. Duties include:
   - Completing work orders and preventative maintenance;
   - Supervising designated maintenance/production crew;
   - Ensuring tracking of budgets and product quality;
   - Scheduling maintenance crews and production orders;
   - Being responsible for logs and record keeping of safety for maintenance department. The position will involve trouble shooting and preventive maintenance of frozen block grinders, final grinders, blenders, augers and conveyors. This position will all need a working knowledge of Vemag portion control equipment, Tray Denesting equipment, Omori over wrap equipment, Delford weight price labelers, Ulma Bag sealers, Pearson tapers, Bizzerba labelers, and various other industrial equipment. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT POSITION OMA-04 WS-04
   Schedule
   Shift start: 1:30PM
   Shift length: 9 hours
   This position involves working on Sat & Sun., there is one day off during weekday.
   Benefits
   Health, dental, vision insurance - available after 59 days Paid time off 401(k) plan
   Qualifications
   Must pass drug screen (cannabis included) Can lift 50 lbs Must be at least 18+ years old At least 3 years of general maintenance experience Strong electrical and mechanical skills required Experience in Industrial maintenance and supervision is a plus.
   
   About Tyson Foods
   Tyson Foods is one of the world's largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson , Jimmy Dean , Hillshire Farm , Ball Park , Wright , Aidells , ibp , and State Fair . Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it's available and raise the world's expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company had 121,000 team members at September 29, 2018. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land, and environment entrusted to it.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find maintenance supervisors 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 maintenance supervisors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level maintenance supervisors 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 maintenance supervisor job on Zippia to find and recruit maintenance supervisor candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting maintenance supervisors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 maintenance supervisor

   Once you've found the maintenance supervisor 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.

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 maintenance supervisor?