How to hire a utility technician

How to hire a utility technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step utility technician hiring guide:

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

What does a utility technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your utility technician 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 utility technician 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 utility technician 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 utility technician that fits the bill.

   This list presents utility technician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Utility Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Utility Technician	General maintenance and repair workers fix and maintain machines, mechanical equipment, and buildings. They paint, repair flooring, and work on plumbing, electrical, and air-conditioning and heating systems.	$12-23
   Maintenance Lead Technician	A maintenance lead technician oversees the daily maintenance operations of a department or establishment. Their duties revolve around conducting inspections and regular maintenance checks on facilities and equipment, performing repairs as necessary... Show more	$17-32
   Operations And Maintenance Technician	Operations and maintenance technicians are skilled professionals who are responsible for conducting preventive maintenance of all equipment used in the operation of an organization. These technicians are required to ensure that their facilities are always operational by performing inspections and documenting the operating conditions of their equipment... Show more	$18-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Ladders
   • Safety Procedures
   • HVAC
   • Cranes
   • Preventive Maintenance
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Plumbing
   • Cleanliness
   • OSHA
   • Safety Regulations
   • CDL
   • Water Distribution
   • Ammonia

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain numerous automate scripts to assist in managing Linux systems.
   • Assist engineers in daily duties such as lighting and HVAC.
   • Process includes both mechanical and electronic integration-programming of settings, PLC linking power settings, etc.
   • Collect, compact and bail cardboard, transport cardboard pallets to pickup area with a pallet jack.
   • Experience in/with electric motors, diesel motors, gasoline engines, pumps, plumbing systems, isolation valves.
   • General landscape maintenance including mowing lawns, blowing walkway surfaces, as well as tree and branch removal.

   More utility technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the utility technician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A utility technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a utility technician in New Mexico may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level utility technician. Additionally, a utility technician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average utility technician salary

   $37,073yearly

   $17.82 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level utility technician salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average utility technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Wisconsin	$45,786	$22
   2	Minnesota	$43,976	$21
   3	Massachusetts	$41,853	$20
   4	Illinois	$41,710	$20
   5	Nebraska	$40,934	$20
   6	Iowa	$40,524	$19
   7	Colorado	$40,268	$19
   8	California	$39,174	$19
   9	Pennsylvania	$38,036	$18
   10	Michigan	$37,964	$18
   11	Ohio	$35,676	$17
   12	Arizona	$34,509	$17
   13	Tennessee	$33,528	$16
   14	Virginia	$33,461	$16
   15	North Carolina	$33,163	$16
   16	Texas	$31,028	$15
   17	Indiana	$29,775	$14
   18	Oklahoma	$29,394	$14
   19	Kansas	$28,466	$14
   20	Florida	$28,424	$14

   Average utility technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Anheuser-Busch	$52,439	$25.21	27
   2	Aqua	$50,416	$24.24	6
   3	DTE Energy	$48,967	$23.54	16
   4	Land O'Lakes	$48,849	$23.49	17
   5	Nestlé	$48,351	$23.25	64
   6	Loudoun Water	$48,197	$23.17
   7	BASF	$47,874	$23.02	5
   8	National Fuel Gas	$46,694	$22.45	2
   9	ADM	$46,352	$22.28	109
   10	United States Steel	$46,320	$22.27	50
   11	Wells Enterprises	$45,942	$22.09	3
   12	WestRock	$45,793	$22.02	62
   13	Santa Margarita Water District	$45,545	$21.90
   14	Hormel Foods	$45,512	$21.88	26
   15	Clean Harbors	$45,144	$21.70	145
   16	Merck	$45,097	$21.68	24
   17	Cargill	$44,723	$21.50	126
   18	Zoetis	$44,134	$21.22	13
   19	Praxair	$44,064	$21.18
   20	Accenture	$43,961	$21.14	79

4. Writing a utility technician job description

   A good utility technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a utility technician job description:

   Utility technician job description example

   Maintains, inspects, and operates utility systems including but not limited to compressed air, process water, product water, and electrical distribution.
   
   Responsible for maintaining a clean and safe work environment in all areas of the building related to utility rooms, pump rooms, electrical areas, and water farm areas.
   
   Essential FunctionsMaintain compressed air systems and equipment including preventative maintenance tasks, preventive maintenance schedules, and operational data.
   
   Maintain electrical distribution and equipment including preventative maintenance tasks, preventive maintenance schedules, and operational data.
   
   Maintain process water and equipment including preventative maintenance tasks, preventive maintenance schedules, and operational data
   
   Maintain product water and equipment including preventative maintenance tasks, preventative maintenance schedules and operational data.
   
   Maintain filtration systems and perform filters changes as needed per equipment requirements.Perform CIP’s on storage silos, filtering equipment and supply lines.
   Maintain pumps and piping to ensure water supply to production lines. Maintain pumps and piping to ensure water supply to support equipment. Maintain and calibrate Ozone production and monitoring equipment. (Plant Specific) Maintain and calibrate mineral injection systems. (Plant Specific) Maintain and operate process water, chemical injection systems, and chemical transfer equipment.Assist with filler sanitizations. Maintain and operate reverse osmosis equipment to include CIP’s on membranes, monitoring instruments, and review of operational data and reports. Maintain air compressors and air dryers.Maintain cooling towers, chillers, heat exchangers, and pumps.Key contributor to ensuring overall plant safety, being an active advocate for team member safety, and key participant in safety investigations and improvement efforts. Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice. Qualifications: 4 Years Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment 4 Years Experience managing people/projects, experience may include a combination of work experience and education Mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical experience Preferred Qualifications : 6 Years– Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment 6 Years – Experience working in Position 6 Years – Experience managing people/projectsexperience may include a combination of work experience and education

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find utility technicians 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.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your utility technician job on Zippia to find and recruit utility technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting utility 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.

   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 utility technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect utility technician 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new utility technician. 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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How much does it cost to hire a utility technician?