Heavy Equipment Operator

Veteran Hiring Solutions is running a search for a Heavy Equipment Operator on behalf of an established commercial general contractor operating in the Atlanta market. The client is a self-perform builder with a developed operator training program and a real career ladder, the kind of company a candidate stays at for 20 years if they want to. The client name is shared with qualified applicants during the screening conversation.

The role description below uses the hiring manager's own voice, captured during a recorded conversation with our team.

The Honest Pitch (From the Hiring Manager)

You have spent time around equipment. Maybe in the military. Maybe on a farm. Maybe driving heavy vehicles for the last few years. Or maybe you spent time fixing equipment and learning how the machines work from the inside out, even if you have not yet been the one running them. And you have watched the construction job postings ask for five years on the exact piece they need filled, certifications you do not have, and a credential list that filters out people who could run the work if someone gave them the time to learn it the right way.

This is that chance.

We self-perform site work and grading on a meaningful share of our Atlanta jobs. We operate our own equipment with our own people. That means real seats, real progression, and foreman trainers assigned to teach you the work. We are currently building a structured operator development program that takes someone with limited equipment time and walks them through the full ladder. Roller, skid steer, dump truck, backhoe, excavator, dozer, motor grader.

Our standard is direct: if you are capable of calling an Uber or driving to work, you are capable of starting on a roller. From there, the ladder is yours to climb at the speed of your own readiness.

What You Will Do (and What Success Looks Like)

We frame this role in outcomes, not tasks. In the first 12 to 24 months, a successful Heavy Equipment Operator will:

• Become trusted on foundational equipment within 90 days. Demonstrate competency on rollers, skid steers, and dump trucks. Complete daily greasing and pre-operation inspections without being asked.
  
• Operate with constant situational awareness. Zero pedestrian incidents. Zero struck-by incidents. Look behind every time you back. Confirm visual handshake before crossing personnel through the work zone.
  
• Progress to mid-tier equipment in 12 months. Move into backhoe and basic excavator operations under foreman trainer oversight. Pass internal capability checks on at least one mid-tier piece by month 12.
  
• Master at least two major pieces within 24 months. Independent capability on excavator and at least one additional major piece (dozer, motor grader, or backhoe at full scope), validated by foreman sign-off.
  
• Become a crew anchor. A foreman or superintendent requests you by name on the next project mobilization. That is the internal signal that you have arrived.
  

About the Client (Shared in Screening)

The client is a regional commercial general contractor with multiple offices across the Southeast. The Georgia operation runs roughly 250 active job sites at any given time. The self-perform model means the company owns its craft workforce and its progression paths. The VP of Field Operations who oversees this hire started as a carpenter on a wall crew in 2008 and has been with the company for 19 years. That is the trajectory available to people who want it.

The full company profile, benefits package, and culture are reviewed with you during the screening conversation. You will know exactly who you are interviewing with before any interview is scheduled.

Requirements

• Must have served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Reserves, or U.S. National Guard.
  

What We Are Looking For

We hire for trajectory, not for the credential list. Specifically:

• Intelligence and willingness to learn at speed
  
• Reflexive care about safety, especially around personnel
  
• Capacity to receive correction from a foreman with more reps than you
  
• Reliable presence and discipline (the people who show up 15 to 30 minutes early are the ones who progress fastest here)
  
• Some hands-on experience with machinery, equipment, vehicles, or tools (military equipment operation, mechanical or maintenance work, agricultural equipment, fleet driving, comparable)
  
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation to job sites within 40 miles of Atlanta
  
• Ability to pass standard pre-employment screening; this is a drug-free workplace
  

Five years of industrial construction equipment experience is preferred but not required. A candidate with two years of relevant experience and the right operational character will outperform a five-year operator with poor habits. We hire the operator, not the resume.

A Note for Veterans

If you are transitioning out of the military or recently transitioned, this role was built with you in mind. The qualities the service produces, early arrival, situational awareness around personnel, deference to people with more reps regardless of rank, daily inspection discipline, comfort in heat and rain and mud, small-unit cohesion, are the qualities that produce a successful operator on these crews. The client has hired veterans for two decades and will be hiring them for the next two. Apply, and tell us about the equipment you ran or maintained in service.

Military backgrounds that translate well to this role include heavy equipment operator MOS work (12N Army, Seabee EO, USMC heavy equipment operator, Air Force pavement and construction equipment, Coast Guard heavy equipment), engineer and horizontal construction work, mechanic and maintenance ratings, transportation and motor pool work, and combat arms with sustained vehicle operations exposure. If your service is not on this list and you still believe the role fits, apply.

Benefits

Base pay.  $28.00–$32.00 per hour.

Overtime.  Paid for field personnel.

Health coverage.  Medical, dental, and vision — effective day one.

Life insurance.  Company-provided — effective day one.

Retirement.  401(k), eligible day one.

Career economics.  Operator → crew lead → superintendent, at six-figure compensation. “It is an industry that pays very well if you are good at your job.”