Pool Technician Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A pool technician keeps pools and spas clean, balanced and running: testing and correcting the water, cleaning, checking pumps and filters, and telling the customer what needs fixing. This page has a pool technician job description template you can copy, the duties list, what the closest federal occupation pays, and the one line most postings leave out.
What a pool technician does
A pool technician keeps swimming pools and spas clean, safe and running. On a residential route that means a set number of stops a day: test the water, balance it, clean the pool, check the equipment and leave a note. On a commercial account (an apartment complex, hotel, HOA or fitness club) it means the same work with more bathers, more equipment and a health department that can close the pool if the chemistry is wrong.
There is no separate federal occupation code for pool technicians. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish pay or employment for the title, and O*NET’s closest match is general maintenance and repair workers (SOC 49-9071), the group that covers facilities and maintenance technicians who work across several trades. The pay and employment figures on this page describe that wider occupation, and we say so wherever they appear. The duties below come from how the job is actually run, not from the federal task list.
O*NET’s description of 49-9071 fits the equipment half of the job well: routine preventive maintenance such as “inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters,” diagnosing malfunctions, and assembling or repairing “pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.” What it does not describe is the chemistry, which is the part of a pool job that carries the most risk and the part most postings undersell.
Pool technician duties
Water testing and chemistry
- Test water at every visit for free and combined chlorine (or bromine), pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid, using a test kit or photometer
- Calculate and add chemicals to bring each reading back into range, and record what was added
- Recover green or cloudy pools and shock after heavy use or storms
- Store, transport and handle pool chemicals safely, keeping incompatible products apart
Cleaning
- Skim the surface, brush walls, steps and tile line, and vacuum the floor
- Empty skimmer and pump baskets
- Clean or backwash sand, cartridge and DE filters on schedule and when pressure rises
Equipment
- Inspect pumps, motors, heaters, chlorinators, salt cells and automation controls
- Replace gaskets, O-rings, baskets and other wear parts, and diagnose common pump and filter faults
- Quote or escalate larger repairs to a service or repair technician
- Open pools in spring and close or winterize them in fall
Customers and records
- Log readings, chemicals and notes in the route or service software at each stop
- Tell customers what was found, what was done and what needs a repair
- Keep the service vehicle stocked, clean and safe for chemical transport
The chemical side has a legal anchor. Under OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), employers must give employees “effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment.” Pool chemicals fall under that rule, so say in the posting that you train on chemical handling. It tells a new candidate they will not be left to guess, and it tells an experienced one you run a careful shop.
Pool technician job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields and delete what does not apply. It is written for a residential and light-commercial service route; the customization notes below cover commercial, seasonal and repair roles.
Job title
Pool Technician [/ Pool Service Technician / Pool Route Technician], [Full-time / Seasonal], [Company name], [City, ST]
Summary
[Company name] is hiring a pool technician to run a service route of about [number] pools a day across [area]. You will test and balance water, clean pools and spas, check pumps, filters and heaters, and keep customers informed about what you found. You drive a company truck [take-home / from the shop], and we train you on water chemistry and chemical safety before you run a route alone.
[Days and hours]. [Pay range, and whether pay is hourly, per stop or per route]. [Season: year-round / March to October, and what happens in winter].
What you will do
• Test and balance water at every stop: chlorine, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness and stabilizer
• Skim, brush and vacuum pools and spas, and empty skimmer and pump baskets
• Clean and backwash [sand / cartridge / DE] filters on schedule
• Inspect pumps, motors, heaters, salt cells and automation, and report anything that needs repair
• Replace small parts such as gaskets, O-rings and baskets
• Handle, store and transport pool chemicals safely, following our training and the safety data sheets
• Log readings, chemicals used and notes in [software] at each stop
• Open and close pools at the start and end of the season
• Talk to customers and property managers about the condition of their pool
What you need
• Valid driver’s license and a driving record that meets our insurer’s standard
• Comfortable working outdoors in heat and sun for most of the day
• Able to lift and carry [weight, for example 50 lb chemical buckets] several times a day
• Careful with measurements; water chemistry is simple math done carefully every time
• A smartphone you can use for route and service software
Nice to have
• Certified Pool & Spa Operator (CPO) certification [or we pay for it]
• Experience with pumps, filters or basic plumbing
• Experience with [salt systems / variable-speed pumps / automation brand]
What we offer
• [Pay range], [route bonus or per-stop rate]
• [Company truck, fuel card, phone, uniforms]
• [Paid CPO certification and training]
• [Benefits and the date they start]
• [Winter work: repair, openings, equipment installs, or seasonal layoff dates stated plainly]
• [The next job: repair technician, route lead, service manager]
How to apply
[One step. Name, phone number and whether you have a valid license is enough to start.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Experience | Usually drop it. Chemistry and cleaning are trainable in a few weeks of ride-alongs. Asking for “2+ years pool service” screens out the landscapers, maintenance workers and lifeguards who make good techs. |
| CPO certification | Offer it rather than require it for route techs. The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance’s CPO course is a 16-hour program and the certification is valid for five years. Some state and local health codes require a certified operator for public and commercial pools, so check yours if you service them. |
| Driver’s license | A real requirement on almost every route. Say whether the truck is take-home, and name the driving-record standard up front so nobody is surprised at the MVR check. |
| Physical demand | State the weight and frequency: chemical buckets, bags of salt, pump motors. Name the heat, because it is the thing that makes people quit in July. |
| Contractor license | Some states license pool contractors for construction or certain repair work. If the role includes equipment installs or plumbing, check your state’s licensing board and say in the posting who holds the license. |
| Education | High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry level for the wider general maintenance occupation. It is rarely what separates a good pool tech from a bad one. |
Customizing it by setting
Residential route
Stops per day, the area covered and whether the truck is take-home are the three facts experienced techs look for. Mention the software, since a good app makes a route faster.
Commercial and multifamily
Apartment complexes, hotels, HOAs and clubs mean heavier bather loads, larger equipment and inspections. Real estate and rental and leasing employs 20 percent of general maintenance and repair workers, and accommodation and food services 8 percent, so you are competing with the property’s own maintenance staff for the same people. Require or pay for CPO here, and say which accounts the tech will own.
Repair and equipment technician
A different job. Diagnosing pumps, heaters and automation, plumbing and electrical connections, and installs. Pay more, ask for demonstrated repair experience, and state any license the work needs in your state.
Seasonal roles
If the job ends in October, say so and give the date. A stated end date and a return offer for next spring recruit better than silence. If you keep techs through winter on repairs and installs, lead with that; year-round work is a real advantage in this trade.
What pool technicians earn
BLS does not publish a wage for pool technicians. The closest federal figure is for general maintenance and repair workers, who had a median wage of $49,590 a year, or $23.84 an hour, in May 2025. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,350 and the highest 10 percent more than $77,180. Treat it as the market your posting competes in, not as the rate for a pool route.
| Industry | Median annual wage (May 2025) | Share of general maintenance and repair workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | $61,500 | 13% |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $51,160 | 12% |
| Educational services | $50,270 | 8% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | $48,360 | 20% |
| Accommodation and food services | $39,590 | 8% |
There were 1,621,800 general maintenance and repair workers in 2025. BLS projects employment to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, an increase of 68,600 jobs, with about 148,700 openings a year once replacement of workers who leave is counted.
What it costs to reach a pool technician
Pool technicians sit in the technician and mechanic role family of our benchmark, the closest match for route-based service work. Across our managed Meta campaigns that family ran a median cost per applicant of $13.41, with the middle half of campaigns between $7.40 and $23.58, a blended figure of $8.35 and a 16 percent apply rate. The all-role median is $13.88, so this family sits close to average.
Across the whole benchmark, applicant conversion explains 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant between campaigns. For pool routes, timing matters too: the people you want are easiest to reach before the season starts, not in the first heat wave when every company is hiring at once. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire; see the full benchmark for method.
Hiring for the rest of the service side? See the maintenance technician, HVAC technician, pest control technician, groundskeeper and lifeguard job descriptions, and skilled trades recruiting for the hiring side.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document for your ATS and your onboarding. The ad has a different job: stopping someone who is not looking for a new job in the few seconds they spend on a post.
- Lead with pay and the truck. “$22–$26/hr, take-home truck, Monday to Friday” beats any company history.
- Say the season honestly: year-round, or the dates.
- Say you train on chemistry and pay for CPO. That opens the job to people who have never serviced a pool.
- Keep the application to one step. Every extra field costs applicants.
More on writing the ad itself is on job ad copywriting, and peak season staffing covers hiring ahead of a seasonal rush.
Frequently asked questions
What does a pool technician do?
A pool technician services swimming pools and spas on a route or at commercial properties. At each stop they test and balance the water chemistry, skim, brush and vacuum the pool, empty baskets, clean or backwash filters, and inspect pumps, heaters and other equipment. They record readings and chemicals in service software, replace small parts, and report larger repairs to the customer or a repair technician.
What are the main pool technician duties?
The core duties are water testing and chemical balancing, cleaning (skimming, brushing, vacuuming and filter maintenance), equipment checks on pumps, motors, heaters, salt cells and automation, minor parts replacement, safe handling and transport of pool chemicals, seasonal openings and closings, and keeping accurate service records and customer notes at every stop.
Do pool technicians need a certification?
Not always. The Certified Pool & Spa Operator (CPO) certification from the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is a widely recognized credential; PHTA calls it the world’s leading pool operator education and certification program. It comes from a 16-hour course and is valid for five years. Some state and local health codes require a certified operator for public and commercial pools, so check local rules if you service them. For residential route techs, paying for CPO is usually a better offer than requiring it.
How much do pool technicians make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for pool technicians. The closest federal occupation, general maintenance and repair workers, had a median of $23.84 an hour, or $49,590 a year, in May 2025. Pay in pool service is often per stop or per route rather than hourly, so a posting should give an expected weekly range for a normal route and say what happens to pay in winter.
What SOC code covers pool technicians?
There is no dedicated SOC code. O*NET’s closest match for the title is general maintenance and repair workers, 49-9071, which is the occupation whose pay, employment and outlook figures appear on this page. Pool techs share the equipment and maintenance side of that occupation; the water chemistry side is specific to the trade and is not described in the federal task list.
Is a driver’s license required for a pool technician?
On almost every route job, yes. Techs drive between stops, usually in a company truck carrying chemicals and equipment, so employers typically need a valid license and a driving record that meets their insurer’s standard. Say in the posting whether the truck is take-home and what the record standard is, so candidates can screen themselves before they apply.
Is pool technician a seasonal job?
It depends on the climate and the company. In warm states many routes run all year. In colder regions work peaks between spring openings and fall closings, and some companies keep techs through winter on repairs and installs. Whichever applies, state it in the posting with dates; an honest season length recruits better than one candidates have to guess.
What should I look for when hiring a pool technician?
Reliability, care with measurements and comfort working alone outdoors matter more than prior pool experience. Good candidates often come from landscaping, general maintenance, lifeguarding or other route-based work. Ask how they would handle a reading that is far out of range, and how they keep chemicals separated in a truck. Offer chemistry training and CPO certification rather than making them entry requirements.
How much does it cost to recruit a pool technician?
In our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, the technician and mechanic role family, the closest match for pool service, ran a median cost per applicant of $13.41 on Meta, with the middle half of campaigns between $7.40 and $23.58 and a 16 percent apply rate. That is close to the $13.88 median across all role families. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Related job descriptions
Hiring pool technicians?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of route techs before the season starts is the part we do.
Pay, employment, projection and industry data for general maintenance and repair workers (SOC 49-9071), the closest federal occupation to pool technician: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, general maintenance and repair workers, last modified 27 August 2026; O*NET OnLine 49-9071.00. Wage figures are May 2025 OEWS. CPO details: Pool & Hot Tub Alliance. Chemical training: 29 CFR 1910.1200(h). Read at source 24 September 2026. Cost-per-applicant and apply-rate figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months.