How to hire an optical technician

How to hire an optical technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step optical 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 optical technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new optical technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an optical technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an optical technician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   This list shows salaries for various types of optical technicians.

   Type of Optical Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Optical Technician	Dispensing opticians help fit eyeglasses and contact lenses, following prescriptions from ophthalmologists and optometrists. They also help customers decide which eyeglass frames or contact lenses to buy.	$12-25
   Optician Apprentice	An optician apprentice is an assistant to a certified optician whose responsibilities include designing, measuring, and fitting lenses and frames for clients. Optician apprentices assist clients with picking out frames of their choice and within their budgets, measuring customer size for fitting, and ensuring a good face- eyeglass match... Show more	$13-23
   Licensed Optician	A licensed optician is responsible for attending to clients with eye care needs and recommends eyewear selection according to the optometrist's advice. Licensed opticians order the frames and lenses and ensure that the measurement would fit according to the instructions... Show more	$15-30

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Chrome
   • Dexterity
   • CNC
   • Math
   • Optical Components
   • Customer Service
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Troubleshoot
   • Optical Lenses
   • Coats
   • Optical Systems
   • R
   • VSP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage high-end optical for private optometry office.
   • Manage payroll to correspond with allot labor allowance.
   • Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
   • Develop and dispense RX eyewear.
   • Train associates to acquire and retain ABO certificate.
   • Generate (cut) prescription RX into lens blanks.

   More optical technician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, optical technicians' average salary in oklahoma is 43% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level optical technicians earn 54% less than senior-level optical technicians.
   • Certifications. An optical 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 optical technician's salary.

   Average optical technician salary

   $36,908yearly

   $17.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level optical technician salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average optical technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$43,056	$21
   2	New York	$40,750	$20
   3	Arizona	$39,954	$19
   4	Massachusetts	$38,558	$19
   5	New Jersey	$37,625	$18
   6	Colorado	$36,424	$18
   7	Maryland	$36,197	$17
   8	Minnesota	$35,664	$17
   9	Florida	$35,479	$17
   10	Ohio	$34,851	$17
   11	North Carolina	$33,798	$16
   12	Texas	$30,472	$15
   13	Georgia	$29,086	$14
   14	Oklahoma	$24,744	$12

   Average optical technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AMETEK	$67,206	$32.31	5
   2	United Health Centers Of The San Joaquin Valley	$62,434	$30.02	3
   3	Fidelity Holding	$60,307	$28.99
   4	Ball	$58,541	$28.14
   5	Mount Holyoke College	$56,968	$27.39
   6	Corning Incorporated	$56,102	$26.97	8
   7	IDEX	$55,807	$26.83
   8	Coherent	$53,325	$25.64	22
   9	FLIR Systems	$52,675	$25.32	4
   10	Northrop Grumman	$52,146	$25.07	4
   11	Lockheed Martin	$51,497	$24.76	26
   12	IPG Photonics	$50,734	$24.39	4
   13	Luna	$48,176	$23.16
   14	Zayo Group	$47,880	$23.02	1
   15	General Dynamics	$47,769	$22.97	16
   16	Dolby Laboratories	$46,997	$22.59
   17	ASML Holding	$45,383	$21.82	3
   18	Revision	$44,019	$21.16
   19	CTG	$43,029	$20.69	1
   20	Novelis	$42,393	$20.38	4

4. Writing an optical technician job description

   A job description for an optical 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 optical technician job description:

   Optical technician job description example

   Electronic Technician
   
   Location: Atlanta, GA
   
   Luna Innovations is an American developer and manufacturer of fiber-optics- and terahertz-based technology products for the aerospace, automotive, communications, defense, energy, infrastructure, security, and silicon photonics industries. It is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. Luna's products are used to test, measure, analyze, monitor, protect and improve products and processes to enhance the safety, security, and connectivity of people.
   
   Luna Innovations holds more than 450 U.S. and international patents in fiber optics and specializes in products for fiber-optic testing of components, modules and networks, as well as integrated optics and distributed fiber-optic sensor solutions. Their fiber-optic test and measurement devices include optical analyzers, reflectometers, tunable lasers, optical switches and customized systems for strain, temperature, shape and position sensing.
   
   Luna is looking to add to its diverse team of scientists, engineers, and business professionals to aid in the development and manufacture of new generations of technologies and products.
   
   Roles and Responsibilities:
   
   * Produce mechanical, electrical, and fiber optic assemblies on a manufacturing line
   * Conduct testing of fiber optic assemblies
   * Closely follow documented assembly and test processes
   * Conduct basic troubleshooting of manufacturing issues
   * Support experiments lead by manufacturing/test engineer
   * Perform preventive maintenance and calibration per provided procedures
   * Document test results using paper and electronic means (Word, Excel)
   * Work with engineering to improve assembly and manufacturing methods
   * Follows all enterprise, safety and production procedures and regulations
   
   Skill/Job Requirements:
   
   * High school diploma or equivalent required
   * AA or equivalent from a two-year college or technical school a plus
   * Previous manufacturing experience and/or document control systems a plus
   * Proficiency with computers, including Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
   * Previous experience with ISO 9001, ISO 13485, or similar QMS preferred
   * Hands-on technician with the proven ability to work well in a team environment
   * Communication and documentation skills
   * Attention to detail with focus on quality
   * Soldering experience a plus
   * Fiber optic experience preferred

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting optical technicians 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.

   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.

   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 optical technician

   Once you've found the optical 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.

   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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How much does it cost to hire an optical technician?