How to hire an operating room technician

How to hire an operating room technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step operating room technician hiring guide:

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

What does an operating room technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The operating room 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

   An operating room technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, operating room 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.

   Here's a comparison of operating room technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Operating Room Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Operating Room Technician	Surgical technologists, also called operating room technicians, assist in surgical operations. They prepare operating rooms, arrange equipment, and help doctors during surgeries.	$16-38
   Surgical Scrub Technician	A surgical Scrub Technician can be referred to as a doctor because he/she is a committed technician who does multiple tasks like providing the surgeon with nice instruments for surgery. They provide sterile instruments to the surgeon, prepare the operating table, sterilize the instruments, and make the room neat and clean.	$16-37
   Anesthesia Technician	Anesthesia technicians are healthcare professionals who oversee activities related to anesthetics. They administer anesthesia to patients and assist doctors in related activities... Show more	$14-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Surgical Technologist
   • Aseptic Technique
   • Sponges
   • Patient Safety
   • CPR
   • Surgical Instruments
   • Room Environment
   • Sterile Processing
   • Sterile Technique
   • Surgical Cases
   • Infection Control

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Work collaboratively with surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nursing staff in patients elective surgical procedures to achieve optimum patient outcomes.
   • Maintain cleanliness and orderliness of the operating rooms according to proper protocols to ensure a sterile environment in preparation for surgery.
   • Develop mathematics and language arts skills.
   • Clean stretchers and beds and replace sheets.
   • Assist with stating iv's on baby's.
   • Clean and prepare stretchers, wheelchairs, and patient rooms.

   More operating room technician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, operating room technicians' average salary in iowa is 38% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level operating room technicians earn 57% less than senior-level operating room technicians.
   • Certifications. An operating room 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 an operating room technician's salary.

   Average operating room technician salary

   $53,636yearly

   $25.79 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level operating room technician salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average operating room technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$71,087	$34
   2	New York	$67,381	$32
   3	Washington	$65,986	$32
   4	Alaska	$63,511	$31
   5	Illinois	$63,259	$30
   6	Minnesota	$61,885	$30
   7	District of Columbia	$61,847	$30
   8	California	$61,442	$30
   9	New Jersey	$60,581	$29
   10	Arizona	$60,024	$29
   11	Michigan	$58,309	$28
   12	Georgia	$56,961	$27
   13	Maryland	$56,901	$27
   14	Kansas	$56,247	$27
   15	Missouri	$56,181	$27
   16	Colorado	$55,667	$27
   17	Massachusetts	$54,817	$26
   18	Texas	$54,024	$26
   19	Tennessee	$52,849	$25
   20	Maine	$50,975	$25

   Average operating room technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Maxim Healthcare Group	$87,518	$42.08
   2	Dignity Health	$75,346	$36.22	159
   3	Soliant	$71,968	$34.60
   4	Planned Systems International	$71,571	$34.41	2
   5	Ventura County Community Foundation	$70,711	$34.00
   6	MAS Medical Staffing	$69,564	$33.44	35
   7	Regional Medical Center- Orangeburg	$68,867	$33.11	5
   8	Self Regional Healthcare	$67,970	$32.68	20
   9	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$67,545	$32.47	1
   10	Halifax Health	$67,535	$32.47	12
   11	Aspen Valley Hospital	$67,442	$32.42	4
   12	UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital	$67,140	$32.28
   13	Lake Charles Memorial Health System	$66,486	$31.96	4
   14	NETA	$65,757	$31.61
   15	Virginia Hospital Center	$64,307	$30.92	18
   16	Green Janet Lynne	$64,209	$30.87
   17	West Suburban Medical Center	$64,178	$30.85	1
   18	Integrated Resources	$64,085	$30.81	3
   19	South Central Regional Medical Center	$64,075	$30.81	2
   20	Sigma	$63,855	$30.70

4. Writing an operating room technician job description

   A job description for an operating room 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 an operating room technician job description:

   Operating room technician job description example

   “Long Island Community Hospital has served this richly diverse region as a patient-first community hospital for more than 65 years. We are 100% focused on the community and committed to providing quality care with our greatly enhanced services reflected through the Knapp Cardiac Care Center - our highly advanced heart disease diagnosis and treatment facility, our new modern surgical pavilion, our level III trauma center, and our high-touch services including women's imaging, sleep laboratory, wound care and more. These services are delivered with the highest level of compassion by our LI Community Hospital staff - Long Islanders with an unmistakable mix of courage and heart who care about the people right here in our community and whose sole purpose is to provide personalized comfort.
   
   Long Island Community Hospital is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.”
   Responsibilities The ORT is an integral team member in the safe, efficient care of the intraoperative client. The individual ORT is able to efficiently, quickly and accurately set up, maintain and monitor the sterile and or aseptic field. The ORT assists surgeons, by assembling and passing instrumentation and supplies, holding retractors and anticipating surgical needs. Cleans, stocks and maintains all instrumentation and supplies. The ORT is knowledgeable in infection control principals for patient, self and staff safety and well being. Qualifications High School Diploma or equivalency
   
   Successful completion of a nationally accredited educational program for surgical technologists and holds and maintains a certified surgical technologist credential administered by a nationally accredited surgical technologist credentialing organization, required. Exemptions are provided for those currently practicing as surgical technologists. The individual must provide evidence for a cumulative period of one (1) year, occurring within the four (4) years immediately prior to the effective date, January 1, 2015. Surgical technologists are required to annually complete fifteen (15) hours of continuing education to remain qualified to practice. New graduates must successfully complete a nationally accredited educational program for surgical technologists and must obtain certification within 12-months from the successful completion date of the surgical technology program.
   Able to lift equipment/supplies up to 30# on a daily basis
   
   Can stand for 70% to 90% per day
   
   Dexterous with fine or intricate instruments
   
   Able to prioritize, anticipate and alter activities throughout the day
   
   Possesses mature interpersonal skills
   
   Able to cope with the frequent risk of exposure to blood/body fluids during normal duties
   
   Able to cope with the environmental risks related to chemicals and steam
   
   Current BLS required.
   Adaptable - able to handle a change in procedures quickly and efficiently
   And/or change in assignments. Not ready to apply? Connect with us for general consideration.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find operating room 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 operating room technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level operating room 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 operating room technician job on Zippia to find and attract quality operating room technician candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with operating room 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.

   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 operating room technician

   Once you've found the operating room technician 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 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 operating room 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 an operating room technician?