Diesel Technician Recruiter

Description

The Dobbs Truck Group is a growth company that successfully expands our operations and customer base through a high-quality team of employees.

Dobbs Truck Group operates 25 commercial truck dealerships through two operating companies – Dobbs Peterbilt and Western Truck Center. These dealerships represent some of the best commercial truck brands including Peterbilt, Volvo, Mack, Autocar, and Hino and include locations in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.

We offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, life insurance, and 401(k), as well as paid vacation and sick leave. Our Company is looking for long-term employees that we can invest in and grow with as we pursue our mission of being the premier commercial truck dealer group.

General Job Description

The Diesel Tech Recruiter is responsible for building and sustaining the diesel technician workforce across the organization. This role leads all recruiting and pipeline development efforts for technicians at every level and plays a critical role in the company’s ability to operate, grow, and compete in a highly constrained labor market.

It is a strategic position accountable for shaping the future workforce of the business. The Diesel Tech Recruiter is responsible for building a consistent, long-term pipeline of talent, ensuring the right mix of entry-level, mid-level, and experienced technicians to support productivity, reduce downtime, and drive operational performance.

This role partners directly with Service Managers and General Managers across multiple markets, influences hiring decisions, and builds external partnerships with schools and communities to create sustainable talent pipelines. Success in this role requires urgency, persistence, and the ability to operate independently in a competitive and fast-moving environment.

The duties described below reflect the general nature of the role and are not intended to be exhaustive. Additional responsibilities may be assigned based on business needs.

Responsibilities

Technician Recruiting and Sourcing

• Lead full-cycle recruiting for diesel technician roles across all levels and needs of the business
• Build and maintain active pipelines of qualified candidates across all markets
• Proactively source candidates through job boards, referrals, networking, and direct outreach
• Partner with Service Managers and General Managers to understand hiring needs and drive effective hiring decisions
• Ensure consistent and professional candidate experience throughout the hiring process

Pipeline Development and Workforce Strategy

• Build and manage a sustainable pipeline of entry-level technicians to support long-term workforce needs
• Align recruiting efforts to the organization’s target technician mix by level
• Track and report on hiring activity, pipeline health, and gaps against workforce targets
• Identify market trends and adjust sourcing strategies to remain competitive

School and Community Partnerships

• Establish and maintain relationships with technical colleges, trade schools, and high schools with vocational programs
• Develop internship, apprenticeship, and early-career programs to create a consistent talent pipeline
• Represent the company at career fairs, school events, and industry functions
• Promote diesel technician career paths and opportunities within the organization

Hiring Process Ownership

• Screen and interview candidates to assess technical capability and cultural fit
• Coordinate and support the interview process with hiring manager
• Ensure hiring decisions align with both immediate needs and long-term workforce strategy
• Partner with HR and operations to ensure offers are competitive and aligned with internal equity

Retention and Workforce Support

• Partner with operations to identify trends in technician turnover
• Support onboarding efforts to improve early retention and integration
• Provide feedback to leadership on hiring quality, candidate expectations, and retention risks
• Contribute to initiatives that support technician engagement, development, and career progression

Inventory Strategy & Coordination

• Collaborate with inventory control teams and operational leaders to determine appropriate stock levels and replenishment strategies.
• Ensure sufficient inventory availability to support operations while minimizing excess inventory and obsolescence.
• Assist in the development of inventory forecasting models based on demand trends and market conditions.
• Monitor slow-moving and obsolete inventory and develop strategies for mitigation and recovery.

Key Success Measures

• Technician hires by level aligned to workforce targets
• Growth and quality of candidate pipeline
• Time to fill for diesel technician roles
• Early tenure retention within the first 6 to 12 months
• Expansion and effectiveness of school and community partnerships

Experience and Qualifications

• 3 or more years of recruiting experience, preferably in diesel, automotive, or skilled trades environments
• Experience sourcing and hiring for hard-to-fill roles in competitive labor markets
• Strong relationship-building skills with both candidates and operational leaders
• Experience working with technical schools, trade programs, or workforce development initiatives preferred
• Ability to manage multiple priorities across multiple locations
• Strong communication and organizational skills  
• sourcing strategies, supplier management, inventory planning, and risk mitigation.

Mental Capability Requirements

• Comprehension: Ability to understand opposing points of view on highly complex issues, negotiate, and integrate different viewpoints.
• Organization: Ability to organize and prioritize work schedules of others on long-term basis.
• Reasoning & Decision Making: Ability to make decisions with significant impact on department’s credibility, operations, and services.
• Communication: Ability to formulate complex and comprehensive materials, such as legal documents, authoritative reports, official publications of major scope and impacts, and make formal presentations.
• Mathematics: Ability to compute, analyze, and interpret complex statistical data and develop forecasts and computer models.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands and arms to handle or feel objects, tools or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, talk or hear, and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is not exposed to weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Common Expectations of Performance for all Employees

The following includes common expectations for all employees of the Company. The evaluation of job performance will be based on these common expectations as well as the position-specific responsibilities described above.

Communications, Teamwork, and Feedback to Others

• Contribute to a work environment that is based on trust and respect.
• Have discussions on a regular basis with their manager to discuss opportunities to best achieve individual performance objectives and departmental goals.
• Suggest ways to improve the efficiency of conducting their job duties.
• Promote continuous improvement and change to support company growth.
• Mentor others unselfishly.
• Give credit where it’s due.

Company Loyal Policies and Work Ethic

• Adhere to the policies contained in the Employee Handbook.
• Adhere to the Company’s Employee Conduct Policy.
• Support management decisions toward meeting company goals.
• Be open and receptive to new ideas, regardless of their origin.
• Make prudent decisions, which are based on the best interest of the Company and its long-term future.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer

Dobbs Truck Group operates 25 commercial truck dealerships through two operating companies – Dobbs Peterbilt and Western Truck Center.

Dobbs Peterbilt and Western Truck Center are equal opportunity employers that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience, and expertise. We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve. Dobbs Peterbilt and Western Truck Parts do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, ancestry, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status; or on the basis of age against persons whose age is 40 and over, or on the basis of physical or mental disability; or to disabled veterans or to Vietnam veterans.

We are proud to be an affirmative action employer and encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to join our team.