How to hire a support lead

How to hire a support lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step support lead hiring guide:

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

What does a support lead do?

Post a support lead job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your support lead 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 a support lead 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a support lead to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a support lead that fits the bill.

   This list presents support lead salaries for various positions.

   Type of Support Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Support Lead	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	$30-56
   Supervisor, Technical Support	A supervisor of technical support oversees the technical support operations in a company, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction. It is their duty to set guidelines and timelines, monitor the daily operations of staff, coordinate with managers and engineers, delegate tasks among teams, and liaise with potential business partners... Show more	$29-58
   Application Support Analyst	An application support analyst is responsible for responding to and resolving customer issues about smartphone or computer applications. They do a variety of applications ranging from banking software and mobile games, and they usually deal with a great number of clients daily... Show more	$32-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Cash Management
   • POS
   • Sales Floor
   • Payroll
   • Infrastructure
   • Math
   • Java
   • Technical Support
   • Process Improvement
   • Troubleshoot
   • Patients
   • Incident Management
   • Customer Satisfaction

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage chemical and gas specifications, ensuring they are in line with ISO requirements.
   • Lead a team of services professionals to provide store operations and point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software solutions.
   • Develop and manage a unify desktop/notebook PC image.
   • Manage ticket queues and prioritize escalations base on establish SLA's and resource availability.
   • Manage data mapping from legacy CRM systems, including creating data mapping documentation in preparation for migration to Salesforce.com.
   • Develop and maintain UNIX / Linux shell scripts to ensure smooth system operations and to facilitate critical reporting to security teams.

   More support lead duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, support leads' average salary in colorado is 41% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level support leads 47% less than senior-level support leads.
   • Certifications. A support lead 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 support lead's salary.

   Average support lead salary

   $86,816yearly

   $41.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level support lead salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 9, 2026

   Average support lead salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$114,607	$55
   2	Washington	$106,716	$51
   3	New Jersey	$98,914	$48
   4	New York	$98,359	$47
   5	District of Columbia	$97,026	$47
   6	Oregon	$96,696	$46
   7	Massachusetts	$94,405	$45
   8	Connecticut	$93,138	$45
   9	North Carolina	$87,513	$42
   10	Ohio	$85,594	$41
   11	Kentucky	$84,924	$41
   12	Arizona	$83,746	$40
   13	Wisconsin	$82,430	$40
   14	Texas	$82,131	$39
   15	Illinois	$81,198	$39
   16	Georgia	$79,979	$38
   17	Indiana	$79,923	$38
   18	Missouri	$77,948	$37
   19	Florida	$77,484	$37
   20	Utah	$76,988	$37

   Average support lead salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$133,964	$64.41	7
   2	Meta	$120,812	$58.08	53
   3	Sanofi US	$117,255	$56.37	4
   4	Citi	$116,948	$56.23	30
   5	Presbyterian	$113,572	$54.60
   6	Kiewit	$112,655	$54.16	1
   7	Chevron	$112,369	$54.02	2
   8	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$110,742	$53.24	1
   9	Open Systems Technologies	$109,764	$52.77
   10	Pwc	$108,846	$52.33	108
   11	Clear Channel Airport	$108,839	$52.33	2
   12	Morgan Stanley	$106,418	$51.16	26
   13	BioMarin	$106,088	$51.00
   14	Texas Instruments	$105,354	$50.65	3
   15	Google	$105,294	$50.62	156
   16	Cigna	$105,143	$50.55
   17	International Trucks	$103,874	$49.94
   18	Goodman Manufacturing	$102,571	$49.31	10
   19	Microsoft	$101,717	$48.90	22
   20	Mission1st Group	$101,383	$48.74	2

4. Writing a support lead job description

   A job description for a support lead 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 support lead job description:

   Support lead job description example

   The Decision Support Lead - Complex Health assists leadership in making data-driven decisions by leading and/or facilitating the measurement of outcomes and program effectiveness, quality metrics and improvement, and population identification through in-depth analyses and data solutions.
   Essential Functions:
   Facilitate and implement unique and innovative metrics and dashboards that deliver high-impact, actionable information to the business owners in Complex HealthCollaborates with department director and other leadership to evaluate opportunities for process improvement in new or existing projects with focus on measurable benefits Lead and conduct business process and gap analysis to diagnose improvement opportunities and to develop re-usable solutions using principles of process excellence and related tools Using data analytics, assist with the identification of opportunities for improvement through collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams including but not limited to Analytics, IT, Finance, and Clinical OperationsConduct examination and explanation of complex data relationships to answer questions identified either within the department or by other departments Support operational readiness through development or facilitation of key measures and conduct continual monitoring for process improvement opportunities of initiatives Works closely with Complex Health innovation leads, product, and market teams to understand goals, outcomes, and data needs surrounding Complex Health products Assist in the review of reports and data for pattern identification, special cause variation identification, trend analysis, or other techniques that will reveal intelligence for identification of any associative or causal relationships and provide management level summaries that explain key findings across the organization's markets and products Incorporate critical thinking skills and judgment in the analysis process to determine the best course of action for each inquiry/problem Represents the department in project meetings and other meetings that require subject matter knowledge and input Perform any other job duties as requested
   
   Education and Experience:
   Bachelor's Degree in Business, Computer Science, or related field or equivalent years of relevant work experience is required Minimum of seven (7) years of related experience in Analytics, Business Intelligence development, and/or equivalent web/application development experience is required Minimum of five (5) years of experience in managing initiatives, coordinating timelines, and implementing solutions Experience translating business requirements into technical specifications is preferred Healthcare and/or Managed Care experience preferred
   
   Competencies, Knowledge and Skills:
   Experience developing data solutions using tools such as Microsoft Excel, SQL, SSRS, PowerBI, Tableau, SAS. etc.Microsoft Suite skills required Strong analytical, evaluative, problem solving, and decision-making abilities Ability to work with data and identify/implement appropriate data visualizations or presentations to extract high-impact business insights Experience in the management of large data projects including responsibility for meeting deadlines, accuracy requirements and reporting to upper management required Planning, problem identification, and resolution skills Excellent customer service skills Ability to work independently and within a team environment Critical listening, thinking skills, and verbal and written communication skills
   
   Licensure and Certification:
   None
   
   Working Conditions:
   General office environment; may be required to sit or stand for extended periods of time
   
   Organization Level Competencies
   Leveraging FeedbackCustomer OrientationValuing DifferencesManaging WorkEarning TrustQuality OrientationAdaptabilityInfluencingCollaborating
   
   This job description is not all inclusive. CareSource reserves the right to amend this job description at any time. CareSource is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and veteran status. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find support leads 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 support leads they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level support leads 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 support lead job on Zippia to find and recruit support lead candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit support leads, 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.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a support lead applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and 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 support lead

   Once you've decided on a perfect support lead candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new support lead 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a support lead?