Yard Jockey Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A yard jockey moves trailers around a yard all shift in a spotter truck, and never leaves the property. This page has a yard jockey job description template you can copy, what the work pays, and why it is the best job in logistics to advertise to drivers who want to stop being away from home.
What a yard jockey does
The role goes by several names — yard jockey, yard hostler, spotter, switcher, yard driver — and they all mean the same thing: moving trailers between dock doors, parking spots and the gate, using a purpose-built spotter truck with a hydraulic fifth wheel that lifts the trailer instead of requiring the driver to crank the landing gear.
Spot and pull. Backing empty trailers into doors, pulling loaded ones out, staging them for pickup, and keeping the doors fed so the dock never waits on a trailer.
Run the yard. Tracking where every trailer is, updating the yard management system, checking seals and trailer numbers, and knowing which door needs what next. On a busy yard this is a dispatch job as much as a driving one.
Gate work. Checking drivers in and out, verifying paperwork and seals, and directing outside drivers who do not know the site.
Inspections. Pre- and post-trip on the spotter, checking trailers for damage, tyres and lights, and tagging out anything unsafe.
Occasionally, the road. Some yards use their jockey for short shuttle runs between nearby facilities, which changes the licensing question entirely.
Yard jockey 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 distribution centre yard; the customization section covers LTL terminals, manufacturing plants, intermodal and shuttle roles.
Job title
Yard Jockey [/ Yard Hostler / Spotter / Switcher] — [Company], [City, ST] — [Shift] — Home every day
Summary
[Company name] is hiring a yard jockey for our [city] [distribution centre], a [00]-door site with [000] trailer spots. You will move trailers between doors, spots and the gate in a [Capacity / Ottawa] spotter truck, keeping the dock fed and the yard accurate in [YMS name]. Shift is [days and exact hours], [00] hours a week. Pay is [$00.00–$00.00] an hour [plus a $0.00 shift differential], with overtime after [40] hours. [No CDL required — this role never leaves our property. We train you on the spotter.] [Home every night, same schedule every week.]
Responsibilities
- Move trailers between dock doors, parking spots and the gate using the spotter truck
- Spot empties and pull loads to keep [00] dock doors continuously supplied
- Maintain trailer location accuracy in [yard management system]
- Check trailer numbers, seals and condition; report damage and seal discrepancies immediately
- Complete pre-trip and post-trip inspections on the spotter and document defects
- Check outside drivers in and out at the gate and verify paperwork
- Connect and disconnect air lines and electrical; raise and lower landing gear as required
- Keep the yard organised, clear of debris and safe in all weather
- [Perform shuttle runs to [facility] — CDL required for this portion]
Requirements
- [18]+ with a valid driver's licence and acceptable MVR
- [No CDL required for yard-only work / Class A CDL required for shuttle runs]
- Able to climb in and out of the spotter [50]+ times a shift and work outdoors in all weather
- Able to work [the exact shift] and [some weekends]
- Able to pass a background check, drug screen [and DOT physical]
Preferred
- Previous yard, hostler, spotter or tractor-trailer experience
- [Class A CDL — [$0.00]/hr differential even if the role stays on property]
- Backing skill — blind-side and dock alley
- [Forklift certification]
- [Experience with [YMS name]]
Pay and benefits
- [$00.00–$00.00] an hour [plus $0.00 night/weekend differential], paid [weekly]
- Overtime after [40] hours
- [Home every night — the same schedule every week, no overnights, no away-from-home time]
- [Health, dental and vision from day [00]], [401(k) with match], [PTO and paid holidays]
- [Heated and air-conditioned spotter cab]
- [We pay for your CDL and can move you to line haul at [$00.00] when you want it]
How to apply
[Apply here / text YARD to 00000]. We reply within [24] hours and can have you in the seat this week.
Requirements: what is required, what is preferred, and what costs you applicants
This role has an unusually strong offer and most postings waste it. A yard jockey is home every night on a fixed schedule, which is the single thing experienced over-the-road drivers most want and most cannot get.
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| CDL | The most consequential line in the posting. Yard-only work on private property generally does not require a CDL. Requiring one anyway — which many postings do out of habit — removes most of the available pool. If you do not need it, say loudly that you do not. |
| Experience | Backing skill is the real requirement and it is testable in fifteen minutes in your own yard. Prefer a practical assessment over a years-of-experience filter; plenty of capable people have never touched a spotter and learn it in days. |
| Home daily | The offer. Put it in the title. An OTR driver reading "home every night, same schedule every week" is reading the reason they would take a pay cut, and many will. |
| The shift | Be exact, and state the differential. Yards run around the clock and night shift is where these roles sit open. |
| Weather and climbing | Climbing in and out of the cab fifty-plus times a shift, in whatever weather. Say it. Also say if the spotter cab is heated and air-conditioned — it is a genuine comfort difference and it costs nothing to mention. |
| The equipment | Name the spotter make. Drivers know the difference between a Capacity and an Ottawa and between a new one and a fifteen-year-old one, and the equipment tells them how the day feels. |
| Yard size | Doors and trailer spots. That is the workload, and an experienced hostler reads it immediately. |
| The CDL path | If you will pay for a CDL and move someone to line haul later, say so with the rate. It turns a $22 job into a route to $28.19. |
Yard jockey duties, written for a posting
Give the yard in numbers. Doors, trailer spots, moves per shift, and how many jockeys are on at once. That is the job, and it is what an experienced spotter wants to know.
Be unambiguous about the property line. On-site only, or shuttle runs on public roads, and what licence each requires. Ambiguity here wastes applications on both sides.
Name the systems. Yard management system, gate process, and whether the jockey also does gate checks. In modern distribution centres this is a significant part of the role and it attracts a more capable candidate.
Lead with the schedule. Fixed shift, home daily, no overnights. Everything else in the posting is secondary to that for the audience most likely to take the job.
How to customize it by setting
Distribution centre
The template above. High move counts, tight door schedules, YMS accuracy and peak-season surges. Say the peak pattern and whether overtime is mandatory during it.
LTL freight terminal
Tied to the inbound and outbound windows, so the shift is unusual — often overnight. Closer coordination with the dock. See the dock worker job description for the role alongside it.
Manufacturing plant
Fewer moves, more waiting, often combined with other duties such as forklift work or yard maintenance. Say what the rest of the job is, because a pure jockey role and a combined one are different offers.
Intermodal and rail
Containers and chassis rather than trailers, higher volume, stricter gate procedures and usually a CDL requirement. State the certification and the pace.
Shuttle and yard combined
Some yard work plus short runs between facilities on public roads. This needs a CDL and should be paid as a driving job. Say the split — “80% yard, 20% shuttle” — because it determines who is qualified.
What it costs to reach yard jockeys and hostlers on social
Warehouse and production is one of our highest-volume families: across 82 campaigns in the 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark the median cost per applicant was $9.83, the middle half $3.15 to $18.72, with a volume-blended figure of $4.44 and a 20% apply rate. The all-campaign median across 891 campaigns was $13.88.
At $4.44 blended, advertising is rarely the constraint. The constraints are the application form and the speed of the callback: campaigns converting over 20% of clicks paid $4.41 an applicant and those under 10% paid $53.77. Because these roles turn over continuously, run the campaign continuously at a modest budget — past three impressions a month the median cost per applicant roughly doubles, and a site's catchment is a fixed drive-time ring. This role converts unusually well when advertised to CDL holders currently running over-the-road — the creative should lead with home-daily rather than with the rate.
Staffing the yard and dock? See the dock worker, material handler, CDL driver and dispatcher job descriptions, plus CDL recruiting.
Writing the ad version
The description is the document. The advertisement is read on a phone by somebody who has other options at a similar rate. It needs home every night, whether a CDL is required, the rate and differential, and the exact shift — in the first three lines. Our campaign data puts the best-converting length at 201–400 words, and for a role like this the shorter end works.
Three or four questions on the form, then call the same day. Every extra field costs completions, and the jockey you want has applied somewhere else this morning.
What yard jockeys earn
Industrial truck and tractor operators — the occupation yard jockeys are generally classified under — had a median of $22.32 an hour, $46,420 a year in 2025, across about 792,500 people with roughly 76,400 openings a year. Yards that require a CDL generally pay above that.
| Comparison role | Median pay (2025) | Openings per year |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | $28.19/hr · $58,640 | ~241,200 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | $22.32/hr · $46,420 | ~76,400 |
| Laborers and material movers | $19.35/hr · $40,240 | ~384,300 |
| Light truck delivery drivers | $18.64/hr · $38,770 | ~103,900 |
| Stockers and order fillers | $17.95/hr · $37,330 | ~472,300 |
This table explains why yard jockey postings should be written for two different audiences at once.
Looking up, an over-the-road driver earns $28.19 against $22.32 here — about six dollars an hour more, paid for by being away from home. A meaningful share of experienced drivers will trade that difference for sleeping at home every night, and they are the most capable candidates available for this job. The posting that reaches them leads with “home every night, same schedule every week” rather than with the rate.
Looking down, a material handler earns $19.35 and a stocker $17.95. For somebody already in your building, the yard is a three-to-four-dollar raise for a skill you can teach in a fortnight. That is an internal promotion worth advertising internally, and most operations never do.
Frequently asked questions
What does a yard jockey do?
A yard jockey moves trailers between dock doors, parking spots and the gate using a spotter truck with a hydraulic fifth wheel, spotting empties and pulling loads so the dock is never waiting. They maintain trailer location accuracy in the yard management system, check trailer numbers, seals and condition, complete pre- and post-trip inspections on the spotter, check outside drivers in and out at the gate, and keep the yard safe and organised.
Do you need a CDL to be a yard jockey?
Usually not, if the role stays on private property, which most yard jockey jobs do. A CDL is generally required only where the job includes shuttle runs on public roads. Many postings require one out of habit and remove most of their applicant pool by doing so, which is why saying plainly that no CDL is needed is one of the most effective lines available for this role.
How much do yard jockeys make?
Industrial truck and tractor operators, the occupation yard jockeys are generally classified under, had a median of $22.32 an hour or $46,420 a year in 2025. That is about three dollars above a material handler and roughly six dollars below over-the-road truck driving — a gap many experienced drivers will accept in exchange for being home every night.
What is the difference between a yard jockey, a hostler and a spotter?
Nothing substantive — they are regional and company-specific names for the same job, along with switcher and yard driver. Because candidates search on all of them, it is worth putting more than one in the job title or the opening paragraph so the posting matches whichever term the candidate uses.
What should a yard jockey job description include?
Whether the role ever leaves the property and what licence that requires, the yard size in doors and trailer spots, moves per shift, the spotter make and whether the cab is heated and air-conditioned, the exact shift and any differential, the hourly rate, the yard management system, and prominently, that the role is home every night on a fixed schedule.
Is yard jockey a good job for an OTR driver?
It is one of the most common landing spots for drivers who want to come off the road. The trade is roughly six dollars an hour against being home every night on a predictable schedule, and the backing and trailer-handling skills transfer completely. Employers who lead their postings with home-daily rather than with the rate reach this audience far more effectively.
Is yard jockey work hard?
It is repetitive rather than heavy, and the demands are specific: climbing in and out of the cab fifty or more times a shift, working outdoors in all weather, precise backing in tight dock alleys, and sustained attention in a yard with people and equipment moving. Whether the spotter cab is heated and air-conditioned makes a real difference to the day and is worth stating.
Can a warehouse worker become a yard jockey?
Routinely, and it is one of the better internal promotions in a distribution centre. A material handler at a $19.35 median moving into a yard role at $22.32 gains three or four dollars an hour for a skill most operations can teach in a fortnight. Backing ability is the real requirement and it is easily assessed in your own yard.
Other job description templates
Hiring yard jockeys?
Every OTR driver in your radius is deciding whether to stay on the road. Home every night is the campaign.
Wage, employment, projection and task descriptions for industrial truck and tractor operators (SOC 53-7051) and the comparison occupations: O*NET OnLine and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wage data and BLS employment projections. CDL requirements for yard operations on private property vary by state and by site; confirm locally before writing licensing into a posting. Cost-per-applicant and apply-rate figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months.