How to hire a perfusionist

How to hire a perfusionist, step by step

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

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

What does a perfusionist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a perfusionist, 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

   Hiring the perfect perfusionist 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of perfusionists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Perfusionist	Description	Hourly rate
   Perfusionist		$32-100
   Critical Care Nurse	A critical care nurse is responsible for providing quality care for patients confined in the intensive care unit of a health care facility. Critical care nurses maintain an organized medical chart to report the patient's condition to an attending physician and other medical professionals... Show more	$21-62
   Sleep Technician	The sleep technician is someone who works with a physician to ensure the optimal sleep experience of people. The sleep technician's goal is to assist the physician in diagnosing the type of sleep problem of a patient... Show more	$17-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Heart-Lung Machine
   • ECMO
   • Life Support
   • Blood Products
   • Intra-aortic
   • CCP
   • Perfusion Services
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Cardiac Surgery
   • IABP
   • VAD
   • Blood Gases

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage floor, ICU and rehab in-patients as well as respond to ER and hospital consultation.
   • Manage patients who suffer respiratory/cardiac arrest per ACLS protocol.
   • Operate centrifugal ventricular assist devices, intra-aortic balloon pump, and cell saver devices.
   • Assist surgical team by passing instruments sutures, sponges, holding retractors and suctioning patient.
   • Monitor and assist during general, gyn, plastic, ortho, and peds cases.
   • Monitor pet's pulse and oxygen rates during surgical procedures for their safety and post surgery supportive care.

   More perfusionist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, perfusionists' average salary in utah is 33% less than in minnesota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level perfusionists 68% less than senior-level perfusionists.
   • Certifications. A perfusionist 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 perfusionist's salary.

   Average perfusionist salary

   $118,459yearly

   $56.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level perfusionist salary

   $67,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average perfusionist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Minnesota	$137,027	$66
   2	Massachusetts	$135,783	$65
   3	Connecticut	$134,961	$65
   4	North Carolina	$134,850	$65
   5	New York	$129,303	$62
   6	Pennsylvania	$129,293	$62
   7	Wisconsin	$127,561	$61
   8	Maryland	$127,335	$61
   9	Indiana	$124,224	$60
   10	New Jersey	$124,166	$60
   11	Illinois	$121,740	$59
   12	Louisiana	$120,428	$58
   13	Florida	$119,658	$58
   14	Iowa	$117,746	$57
   15	Michigan	$115,981	$56
   16	Virginia	$113,564	$55
   17	Oregon	$113,175	$54
   18	Texas	$109,400	$53
   19	Georgia	$108,740	$52
   20	District of Columbia	$108,024	$52

   Average perfusionist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Essentia Health	$342,433	$164.63	354
   2	Sanford Health	$313,314	$150.63	110
   3	UC Health	$268,708	$129.19	3
   4	Trinity Health	$268,205	$128.94	214
   5	BJC HealthCare	$262,802	$126.35	61
   6	Northwestern Medicine	$247,984	$119.22	12
   7	Southern Illinois Healthcare	$243,192	$116.92	6
   8	Piedmont Healthcare	$243,103	$116.88	22
   9	SSM Health	$234,579	$112.78	3
   10	Baylor Scott & White Health	$233,268	$112.15	228
   11	Providence Health & Services	$230,571	$110.85	192
   12	CHRISTUS Health	$229,652	$110.41	79
   13	UnityPoint Health	$227,529	$109.39	53
   14	Atrium Health Floyd	$225,815	$108.56	112
   15	Erlanger Health System	$221,113	$106.30	1
   16	Lehigh Valley Health Network	$218,860	$105.22
   17	Sentara Healthcare	$211,672	$101.77	165
   18	Community Medical Center	$210,390	$101.15
   19	Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Inc	$209,011	$100.49
   20	Kaiser Permanente	$207,487	$99.75	73

4. Writing a perfusionist job description

   A job description for a perfusionist 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 perfusionist job description:

   Perfusionist job description example

   Life Connection of Ohio is an independent, non-profit organ procurement organization that promotes and facilitates organ donation in 25 counties in northwest and west central Ohio. Our staff of dedicated professionals live Life Connection of Ohio’s mission of saving and enhancing lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. Life Connection of Ohio’s values are Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Excellence and Collaboration, and these drive everything we do! If you embody those values and want to witness the power of organ, eye and tissue donation firsthand, Life Connection of Ohio could be the place for you!
   **24hr on call shifts**
   **COVID VACCINE REQUIRED**
   
   
   Benefits: Medical Insurance Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Short-term disability Long-term disability 401 (k) 401 (k) matching Life Insurance Professional development assistance
   
   WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:
   The Organ Preservationist assists in the recovery, preservation, and perfusion of organs and tissues for transplantation or research. The incumbent also ensures a constant state of readiness of supplies, solutions, and machines, maintains the preservation lab, develops and maintains hospital relations, and provides donation-related education to OR staff.
   
   KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
   Essential Duty or Function
   1. Performs aseptic organ preservation by flushing abdominal organs with appropriate solution, packaging and labeling organs, tissue typing material and vessels in accordance with OPTN Policy. Assists hospital staff in preparing the operating room for organ recovery.
   2. Performs hospital development, specific to the recovery of organs in the operating room, by maintaining relationships with OR staff and through in-services, education, presentations, and meetings.
   3. Maintains all preservation supplies and mechanical preservation equipment in accordance Life Connection of Ohio Policy, regulatory standards, and manufacturer guidelines.
   4. Performs aseptic kidney pumping/pulsatile perfusion following kidney separation by a surgeon. Performs aseptic surgical recovery of organs and tissues for research.
   5. Obtains culture and biopsy results; reports positive and final results to transplant centers and recovery partners; performs other duties as required
   JOB SPECIFICATIONS
   
   Education: Completion of a Surgical Technologist, ER Technologist or EMT program required; certification preferred. Experience in the tissue or organ recovery industry or two years of experience in the allied health field required.
   Experience: Two or more years of operating room experience and/or sterile technique required. Organ perfusion and previous on-call experience preferred.
   
   Certifications/Licenses: Certified Surgical Technologist preferred. Certified Transplant Preservationist (CTP) preferred
   Skills and Abilities Arm-Hand Steadiness -- The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. Manual Dexterity -- The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. Finger Dexterity -- The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment. Strong computer and data entry skills, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet. Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills, which demonstrate good judgment. Sensitivity and a high degree of confidentiality required.
   This job description is a general description of essential job functions. It is not intended as an employment contract, nor is it intended to describe all duties someone in this position may perform. All employees of Life Connection of Ohio are expected to perform tasks as assigned by Life Connection of Ohio supervisory personnel, regardless of job title or routine job duties.
   
   Life Connection is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit perfusionists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 perfusionist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the perfusionist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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.

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

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