How to hire elevator and escalator installers and repairers
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings. • Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters. • Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards. • Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables. • Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring. • Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly. • Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment. • Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent] • Strong critical thinking, active listening, active learning, monitoring, reading comprehension and speaking skills • Working knowledge of mechanical, customer and personal service, building and construction and public safety and security • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $52.84 an hour ($109,910 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for elevator and escalator installers and repairers
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Tell me about something new you had to learn quickly for work. How did you learn it?
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What elevator and escalator installers and repairers do
- Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.
- Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
- Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
- Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
- Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
- Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
- Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
- Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for elevator and escalator installers and repairers
- Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
- Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
- Training on the job: Apprenticeship (BLS)
- Job outlook: +5.7% over ten years, faster than average · about 1,900 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay elevator and escalator installers and repairers
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Nevada | $141,950 |
| California | $141,180 |
| New Jersey | $137,920 |
| Washington | $137,180 |
| New York | $135,720 |
| Michigan | $99,140 |
| South Carolina | $90,860 |
| Georgia | $83,500 |
See elevator and escalator installers and repairers pay in every state
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Post this job on JAI Bot. Free to start: JAI Bot reads every applicant against your must-haves, shows the resume evidence behind each one, and helps you reply to everyone. People make every decision.
Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.