A lighting crew lead runs one install crew through the day: the morning safety brief, the job plan, the tricky parts of each install and the end-of-day report. They move the crew between roof, yard and retrofit jobs, check the work before leaving, and keep customers posted when weather shifts the plan.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Installation Crew Lead in Lighting Installation is responsible for supervising a team of installers to ensure projects are completed safely, efficiently, and to the highest quality standards. This role directly impacts customer satisfaction and company reputation by delivering exceptional lighting solutions on time and within budget.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and manage installation teams to complete projects on schedule and within specifications.
Ensure adherence to safety protocols and industry standards to minimize risks and accidents.
Conduct quality assurance checks to ensure installations meet company and customer expectations.
Use project management software to track progress and report on project status.
Communicate effectively with clients to address concerns and provide updates.
Train and mentor team members to enhance skills and ensure continuous improvement.
Coordinate with supply chain to ensure timely delivery of materials and equipment.
Resolve on-site issues promptly to maintain project timelines.
Implement cost-effective measures to optimize resource utilization.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily job assignments and plan team deployment for optimal efficiency.
Conduct morning briefings to align team on safety procedures and daily goals.
Perform site visits to monitor progress and provide on-the-spot guidance.
Conduct end-of-day debriefs to assess performance and plan for the next day.
Maintain accurate records of work completed and materials used.
Provide hands-on support during complex installations.
Ensure all tools and equipment are maintained and in working order.
Submit daily reports to the Operations Manager summarizing key activities and outcomes.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project completion rate: 95% on-time delivery.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): ≥ 4.8/5.0.
Callback rate: ≤ 3%.
Installation efficiency: Complete 3-5 installations per day per team.
Safety incidents: ≤ 1 per quarter.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations: Achieve 80% of KPIs by 30 days, 90% by 60 days, and 100% by 90 days.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent; technical certification in electrical or lighting installation preferred.
Minimum 3 years of experience in lighting installation or related field.
Proficiency in project management software and tools.
Strong leadership and team management skills.
Excellent communication and problem-solving abilities.
Valid driver's license and clean driving record.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience as a crew lead or supervisor in the lighting or electrical industry.
Familiarity with energy-efficient lighting technologies.
Experience working with diverse teams and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
OSHA certification or similar safety training.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds regularly.
Comfortable working at heights and on ladders.
Willingness to work in various weather conditions.
Ability to travel to different job sites as needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours are 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required during peak seasons.
On-call availability for urgent issues or emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive hourly wage with opportunities for overtime pay.
Performance bonuses tied to project completion and quality metrics.
Health, dental, and vision insurance.
Paid time off and holiday pay.
Retirement savings plan with company match.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional craftsmanship and customer satisfaction. Our team is committed to safety, innovation, and continuous growth. Join us in creating brighter spaces and brighter futures for our clients and communities.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What a lighting crew lead handles that other foremen don't
A construction foreman may stay on one site for weeks. A lighting crew lead may run three short jobs in a day, each with different power, ladders or lifts, and a customer watching.
Locates come before any trench
Burying wire for yard lighting counts as digging. The national 811 site says to contact 811 a few business days before any digging project, regardless of depth, and the service is free. Your state 811 center lists the exact rules. The crew lead checks that the ticket is in and the marks are on the ground before a trencher or spade starts, and reroutes a run that crosses a marked line. Source: 811: Call before you dig.
New faces every fall
Each fall the lead takes on holiday hires who may never have clipped a light. They teach clip types, cord routing and how to tag each house's strands, and they hold back anyone who hasn't yet done the safety officer's roof and ladder course. In January the same crew runs takedowns, often in cold, short days.
Matching the job to the right hands
One job can mix low-voltage yard runs with a new outdoor outlet or a fixture on a building circuit. The lead sends a licensed electrician to the line-voltage part and keeps unlicensed installers on the work your state allows them to do. When the job in front of them doesn't match the work order, they stop and call the operations manager before anyone improvises.
Retrofits on the customer's clock
Store and office retrofits are often booked after closing. The lead confirms the lift delivery, walks the floor with the night manager, ropes off a work zone, and turns on every new fixture before the doors open. A fixture missed on the count turns into a second night shift and an unhappy store manager.
How much lighting crew leads make
The closest BLS group for lighting crew leads is First-Line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers. First-Line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $38.79 an hour ($80,680 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $79,860 median for First-Line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers in all industries. About 8,980 of the 617,500 First-Line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers in that survey work for electrical contractors.
The template pays hourly, with overtime and a bonus when jobs land on time and pass quality checks. These BLS figures are for supervisors of installers and repairers at electrical contractors, many of whom lead licensed crews. A lead who runs holiday and yard crews without a license is better priced against your own top installer rate than against this median.
Electrical contractors
$80,680$80,680 median Middle half $65,350–$102,320 10th–90th $56,150–$127,290
All industries
$79,860$79,860 median Middle half $62,690–$101,360 10th–90th $49,600–$126,790
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$56,150
$65,350
$80,680
$102,320
$127,290
All industries
$49,600
$62,690
$79,860
$101,360
$126,790
BLS doesn’t publish pay for lighting installers on their own. These figures cover electrical contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has led an install crew and runs a morning brief without reading from a sheet
Plans a day that mixes ladder, lift and trenching work
Finds a dead run or a failed driver faster than the crew can
Stays calm with homeowners and store managers when plans change
Keeps daily reports, material counts and job photos complete
Teach these on the job
Your project app and daily report format
Booking lift deliveries through your fleet and equipment manager
Your holiday install standards and strand tagging system
Your 811 ticket process and who calls it in
Your quality checklist and photo standards
The lead carries the crew's hand tools and meters plus a tablet running your project app for notes, photos and the daily report. On site they sign for rental lifts and trenchers, track holiday clip stock and keep the crew truck loaded, while upkeep of the lifts and trucks belongs to the fleet and equipment manager. Tell candidates in the ad how many people a crew has, who drives, and what holiday season hours look like.
Lighting crew lead interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Judging roof conditions
Your crew arrives at a two-story home for a holiday install. The roof is steep and still damp from the morning. What do you do?
A strong answer: Keeps everyone off the roof until it's dry and the fall protection your rules require is set up, starts ground work meanwhile and calls operations if it isn't safe today.
Behavioral · Training new crew members
Tell me about a time you trained a new crew member who was nervous about working on roofs or ladders.
A strong answer: Talked privately without teasing, started them on ground tasks, taught the fall protection and ladder setup, built up step by step, never pressured them up, and told the office if roof work stayed a problem.
Every number here is really the crew's. Compare leads running the same kind of jobs in the same season, and base targets on how past seasons went.
Project completion rate
Of the jobs given to the crew, the share done by the day promised to the customer. Log delays from weather, lift deliveries or customer changes so they're judged on their own.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Survey scores on the crew's jobs, read with the comments. Holiday customers mention neat clips and on-time takedowns; store managers mention cleanup and how little the work got in the way.
Callback rate
Return visits for the same problem on the crew's jobs, divided by jobs completed. Sort them by cause so coaching goes to the real problem, not the most recent one.
Installation efficiency
Jobs completed per crew day, counted by job type, since one long retrofit and three holiday houses are different days.
Safety incidents
Injuries and property damage on the crew's jobs, read alongside the near misses the crew reports. Treat more near-miss reports as a good sign, so the number never rewards staying quiet.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations
Look at the five numbers again at day 30, 60 and 90, counting only jobs the new lead planned, not ones handed over mid-week.
Career path
Lighting installerLearns the work across yard, holiday and retrofit jobs.
Installation crew leadRuns one crew's day and handles the hard parts of each job.
Project managerTakes larger commercial jobs from schedule to closeout.
How is a lighting crew lead different from a project manager?
The crew lead owns one crew's day on site: who does what, the safety brief, the quality check and the daily report. A project manager owns a larger job from start to finish, with the budget, the schedule, submittals, change orders and the customer's sign-off. On a big retrofit, the lead handles each night's work and the project manager handles everything around it.
How much does a lighting crew lead make?
First-Line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $38.79 an hour ($80,680 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $65,350 and $102,320 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Should my best installer become a crew lead?
Only if they want to teach and can handle customers. Some top installers would rather keep their hands busy, while a lead spends much of the day planning, checking and talking. Try them as acting lead on a few holiday jobs first, and watch how they handle a new hire who keeps getting the clips wrong.
How do I interview a lighting crew lead?
Give them a bad morning and ask for the plan: wind too strong for roof work, a lift arriving two hours late, and a homeowner who wants changes on site. Ask how they'd split the crew, who they'd call first, and what they'd tell each customer. Then ask about a time a crew member got hurt or nearly did, and what changed after.
What should a lighting crew lead job ad include?
Say how big the crews are, which service lines the lead will run, and whether the job includes night retrofits and lift work. Explain holiday season hours and overtime, who drives the crew truck, and which results the bonus pays on. Leads who have worked a holiday rush will look for those details first.
