How to hire riggers

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
• Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
• Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
• Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
• Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.
• Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
• Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
• Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
• Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.

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 active listening, critical thinking, monitoring, reading comprehension and speaking skills
• Working knowledge of mechanical, public safety and security, production and processing and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $30.12 an hour ($62,640 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for riggers

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.

1. Tell me about a time you had to attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to dismantle and store rigging equipment after use. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. 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?
6. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
7. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
8. 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 riggers do

• Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
• Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
• Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
• Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.
• Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
• Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
• Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
• Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingMonitoringReading ComprehensionSpeakingMechanicalPublic Safety and SecurityProduction and ProcessingCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for riggers

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 3 to 6 months (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +3.9% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 1,700 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay riggers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See riggers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Hoist and Winch Operators
• Crane and Tower Operators
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
• Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
• Millwrights
• Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Structural Iron and Steel Workers
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery
• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters

Job 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.