How to hire an operations support specialist

How to hire an operations support specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step operations support specialist hiring guide:

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

What does an operations support specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your operations support specialist 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 an operations support specialist 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?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect operations support specialist 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 operations support specialists.

   Type of Operations Support Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Operations Support Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$12-34
   Support Lead	A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members... Show more	$30-56
   Support Analyst	The role of support analysts is to resolve problems with hardware, computer programs, and peripherals. They may focus on a particular aspect of the information technology (IT) department or give technical support to end-users... Show more	$24-54

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Operations Support
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • PowerPoint
   • Technical Support
   • DOD
   • Patients
   • Windows
   • Operational Procedures
   • Salesforce
   • Excellent Organizational
   • Office Equipment
   • HR
   • SME

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage HTML developers to create and maintain FDIC Internet/Intranet.
   • Manage windows active directory, exchange, and file servers for user profiles and access.
   • Lead testing for all new store openings to ensure all POS and systems which support the retail team are fully operational.
   • Design and manage studies for alternative API qualification for commercial products.
   • Cable TV, Ethernet and phone cable runs and outlets
   • Load multiple versions of Linux onto multiple computers from scratch simultaneously.

   More operations support specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your operations support specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An operations support specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an operations support specialist in Montana may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level operations support specialist usually earns less than a senior-level operations support specialist. Additionally, an operations support specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average operations support specialist salary

   $44,233yearly

   $21.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level operations support specialist salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 14, 2026

   Average operations support specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$68,039	$33
   2	District of Columbia	$65,946	$32
   3	Maryland	$59,178	$28
   4	Virginia	$57,616	$28
   5	Indiana	$53,327	$26
   6	Ohio	$53,132	$26
   7	California	$49,803	$24
   8	North Carolina	$49,203	$24
   9	Michigan	$48,479	$23
   10	Oklahoma	$47,268	$23
   11	Illinois	$47,241	$23
   12	Arizona	$46,133	$22
   13	Texas	$45,676	$22
   14	Wisconsin	$45,549	$22
   15	Florida	$45,061	$22
   16	Georgia	$44,139	$21
   17	Minnesota	$43,762	$21
   18	Washington	$42,234	$20
   19	Colorado	$40,146	$19
   20	Missouri	$37,518	$18

   Average operations support specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	KLA	$103,695	$49.85	8
   2	Meta	$97,504	$46.88	160
   3	SAP	$90,141	$43.34	12
   4	Google	$89,468	$43.01	94
   5	Citi	$87,094	$41.87	25
   6	Jacobs Engineering Group	$82,910	$39.86
   7	Forum Energy Technologies	$80,447	$38.68
   8	Noblis	$80,378	$38.64	3
   9	Baird	$78,257	$37.62	3
   10	Spirit AeroSystems	$76,637	$36.84
   11	AECOM	$76,196	$36.63	19
   12	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$75,801	$36.44	11
   13	GPAC	$75,382	$36.24
   14	Parsons	$75,314	$36.21	32
   15	Cummins	$74,587	$35.86	28
   16	Planned Systems International	$74,479	$35.81	3
   17	Univest Financial Corporation	$73,109	$35.15
   18	SS&C Technologies	$71,294	$34.28	16
   19	Altice USA	$69,044	$33.19	4
   20	Stellar Solutions - Stainless Steel Passivation	$64,986	$31.24	3

4. Writing an operations support specialist job description

   An operations support specialist 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. To help get you started, here's an example of an operations support specialist job description:

   Operations support specialist job description example

   The Operations Support Specialist provides administrative, technical, and specialized support for purchasing and inventory management. This includes, but is not limited to, processing invoices, credit card payments, and requisitions; reviewing goods receipt and invoices to assure accuracy; research and problem solving; and backing up plant procurement, scheduling, and supply room as needed. The Operations Support Specialist assists in driving process improvements and other duties as assigned.
   
   Reviews invoices, receiving paperwork, and inventory transactions for accuracy Investigates and corrects discrepancies, reaching out to corporate and plant resources as needed Provides backup and perform duties as needed for procurement, scheduling, inventory control, and supply room associates Reviews daily inventory and exception reports in support of procurement department Writes purchase requisitions and/or purchase orders for goods and services as needed Evaluates purchase requests for accuracy and other information Monitors and expedites the delivery of purchased goods and services in support of procurement and maintenance departments Coordinates with procurement and maintenance departments on purchasing activities to maintain adequate inventory Provides feedback to requesting departments regarding purchase order status Works with requesting departments to confirm the closing and/or cancelling of purchase orders Assures orders are processed against the appropriate chart of accounts Receives and examines incoming stock for discrepancies/damage and works with vendors to resolve Conducts cycle counts of supply room inventory and participates in yearly inventory counts as needed Administers process orders and requisitions in support of scheduling as needed Works with and supports plant and corporate personnel, including, but not limited to, procurement, scheduling, logistics, supply room, inventory control, finance, and operations Maintains compliance with all corporate and plant policies Participates in cost reduction activities and projects Processes required paperwork in an accurate and timely manner Analyzes and evaluates information to choose the best solution to solve problems or address issues Assists with training and development of associates as needed Perform other duties as assigned
   
   High school diploma or GED required, further education preferred1 to 3 years relevant experience Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and time management skills Ability to work independently and be self-directed Strong analytical, problem solving, and decision making skills Demonstrated ability to manage priorities and multiple tasks in a deadline oriented environment Excellent written and verbal communication and customer service skills Capable of working in a fast paced environment Proficient in general computer operations with strong knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SAP preferred Intermediate math skills
   Physical Requirements
   
   While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand and walk. The employee is occasionally required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, and feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; taste and smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The employee will be exposed to a noisy environment that varies from hot to cold in temperature. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   
   Our Benefits:
   
   We care about your total well-being and will support you with the following, subject to your location and role:
   Health: Medical, dental and vision insurance, company-paid life, accident and disability insurance Wealth: great pay, incentive opportunity, matching 401(k) and stock purchase plan Growth: online courses, virtual and classroom development experiences Balance: paid-time off, parental leave, flexible work-schedules (subject to your location and role)
   
   Our Company:
   
   Conagra Brands is one of North America's leading branded food companies. We have a rich heritage of making great food, and a team that's passionate about innovation and growth. Conagra offers choices for every occasion through iconic brands, such as Birds Eye , Marie Callender's , Banquet , Healthy Choice , Slim Jim , Reddi-wip , and Vlasic , and emerging brands, including Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP , Duke's , Earth Balance , Gardein , and Frontera .
   We pride ourselves on having the most impactful, energized and inclusive culture in the food industry. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.
   
   Conagra Brands is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, pregnancy, leave status, disability, veteran status, genetic information and/or any other characteristic or status protected by national, federal, state or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find operations support specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find operations support specialist candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit operations support specialists, 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 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.

   If your interviews with operations support specialist applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 operations support specialist

   Once you've found the operations support specialist 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   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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