Photos
Under The Hood
Is the shop heated? Air conditioned?
The great thing about the bay area is the mild climate year-round that maintains a comfortable shop area. All break areas and training rooms are climate-controlled.
What is the size of the team I’d be working with?
14+ with an aim for growth in both the shop and mobile truck service.
What are the shop hours and what are the shift timeframes?
1st shift 7 AM - 4 PM 2nd shift 9 AM - 6 PM
What tools does the shop provide that are available for all technicians to use?
Sonsray adheres to all of our OEM required tools, and provides the necessary shop equipment such as lifts, scaffolds, ladders, jacks, and necessary air supply for pneumatics. Sonsray also offers an apprentice tool program for entry-level techs who may not own their own hand tools or boxes.
What type of break room facility is provided?
A large break area is provided with vending machines, coffee, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a ping pong table.
How many bays does your shop have?
6+ bays indoors as well as ample space in the yard for larger projects that require more space.
How many repair orders do you average per month?
Between 35 and 60 depending on season, with summertime being the busiest.
What is your parts ordering process?
Technicians are trained in the use of the OEM parts catalogs, and all part numbers are uploaded into our computer system weekly. Technicians can add part numbers directly to work orders for the purpose of estimating repairs for customers. Upon approval, those parts are pulled by the parts department and staged for the technician. Special orders are handled by the parts dept and lead times are communicated to the customer by the service writers.
What is your policy on side work?
Sonsray has a strict policy against performing side work for customers.
Are there any other unique features of the work environment worth noting?
The bay area has a unique mix of customer equipment that includes marine, trailer, APU, and truck models that provides a great variety of opportunity for growth and excitement.
Do you offer any skills training or continuing education opportunities?
-Yes. We are a dealership for equipment manufacturers and have multiple avenues for technical career paths. Each OEM has minimum requirements for yearly continuing education for technicians, and Sonsray has its own internal requirements for technician training that go beyond the minimum OEM standards.
Can you describe opportunities for career growth at your business?
-Technicians have an opportunity to advance their careers every 6 months. The requirements to achieve these advancements are based on training certifications as well as a performance metric based on the technical ability that the technician develops while on the job. This growth covers first-time apprentice technicians to Master level field technicians and contains up to 12 achievement levels in between, as well as opportunities for 24-hour emergency service and an option for flat-rate pay programs.
Can you describe your performance review process?
-Each technician has the opportunity every six months to pursue the next level in the career path. This level would be reviewed by the Service Manager, and considered to be achieved if all technical training has been accomplished and the technician has achieved the acceptable level of repair efficiency prescribed by the technician's pursued certification level. There is also an annual review process that goes over the technician's employment through the lens of Sonsray's core values of Integrity, Passion, People, Solutions, and Success.
What type of safety training is required?
-Technicians must complete the fundamental technical training provided by the OEM and will be provided with the necessary safety orientations in regard to shop equipment, forklifts, and company vehicles. Technicians are also expected to attend a monthly safety meeting facilitated by the service manager covering various topics related to the industry.
Can you describe how Techs work with and mentor younger techs?
-Most Sonsray shops have a Foreman, whose duty it is to ensure that all technicians are performing to the best of their ability and provide feedback to the service writers and service managers about the progress of the technicians. This may include assigning Less experienced techs to work with seasoned techs on higher-level tasks. In shops without a foreman, the Service Manager will handle this task. Or equipment manufacturers have done an excellent job facilitating the building of skills by offering hands-on training that may be provided by the service manager of the OEM directly.
How does your shop get involved with the local community?
-Sonsray has developed a program called "Force for Good" that encourages all employees to get active in local charitable events and headlines these activities in the company-wide newsletter as well as Sonsray.com. Examples include beach cleanup days, Toys for Tots drives, Scout leading, and food box packing. Sonsray also provides a paid day off for all employees to utilize to participate in charities or community work.
Do you do anything with local high schools or tech schools to encourage more students to enter the profession?
-Sonsray has attended many local career fairs and educational events to garner youth interest in our industry. All of our manufacturer partners have various agreements with regional junior colleges and some polytechnic high schools.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention about career development and community?
-Sonsray began its journey from humble beginnings. We recognize the essential need for people who exemplify our core values every single day. Whether at work, or at play the Sonsray team is dedicated to Integrity, Passion, People, Solutions, and Success.
Do you phone screen applicants before doing in-person interviews?
We conduct a brief 10-15 minute phone screening prior to in-person interviews.
What do your in-person interviews entail?
Our in person interviews are usually a 30 minute meeting with the Service Manager and a tour of the facility.
Do you perform background checks, drug screening, or personality tests before hiring an applicant?
Once a verbal offer has been accepted, we begin our pre-employment process which includes a background check, drug screening, and personality test.
Do you perform a skill assessment before hiring an applicant? If yes, what does it entail?
No, we do not. The assessment we require all employees to take is not a determining factor for employment.
After an in-person interview, approximately how long should I expect to wait for a rejection or an offer?
Once the interview has been completed you will hear back within 2 business days with an offer or a rejection.
Approximately how long does the full hiring process take from submitting the application to the time of the hiring decision?
Once an application has been received we do our best to contact the applicant within 24 hours. Ideally, we would like to interview within the next 1-2 days. A decision will be reached within 1-2 days after the interview.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention about your hiring process?
We do our best to be thorough, understanding and efficient. We do not want to waste your time or ours. You will have direct lines for all hiring managers and HR who will walk you through the process and make it as simple as possible.
Mobile Reefer / Diesel Technician
Pay Range: $41.00 - $55.00/hour
As a technician at Sonsray, you have the opportunity to become Thermo King certified. You also have the ability to earn a pay increase every six months.
Generator Technician
Pay Range: $29.00 - $49.00/hour
As a technician at Sonsray, you have the opportunity to become Thermo King certified. You also have the ability to earn a pay increase every six months.
Trailer Technician
Pay Range: $22.00 - $40.00/hour
As a technician at Sonsray, you have the opportunity to become Thermo King certified. You also have the ability to earn a pay increase every six months.
Shop Reefer Technician
Pay Range: $25.00 - $52.00/hour
As a technician at Sonsray, you have the opportunity to become Thermo King certified. You also have the ability to earn a pay increase every six months.
- Health Insurance Offered
- Premiums as low as $22 a month depending on the plan selected. We offer a variety of health insurance plans that can meet your individual needs and budget. You can choose from several different options, including traditional HMO, PPO plans, high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with a health savings account (HSA), and exclusive provider organization (EPO) plans.
- Dental Insurance Offered
- Free Dental coverage provided by United Healthcare.
- Vision Insurance Offered
- Free Vision coverage provided by United Healthcare.
- Retirement Plan Offered
- Through Fidelity, Sonsray will match 50% of your base salary you save in the plan, up to 5%. The match will begin after your first year of employment.
- Sick Leave Offered
- Up to 48 hours of accrued sick time annually.
- Vacation Offered
- Up to 80 hours of accrued vacation time annually.
- Paid Holidays Offered
- 8 standard paid holidays annually.
- ST / LT Disability Offered
- Sonsray offers Voluntary Long Term Disability coverage through Mutual of Omaha. This coverage provides financial assistance if you are unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury.
- Life Insurance Offered
- Sonsray provides basic life insurance and AD&D coverage through Mutual of Omaha - $50,000.00.
- Uniforms Offered
- Company uniforms are provided by Sonsray. 5 shirts, pants and 1 hat annually. Annual Boot Allowance up to $125.
- Other Offered
- Company covers dinner on your birthday. One company paid (8hr) volunteer day annually. Sonsray pays for you and a plus one to fly out for our epic annual Christmas party
Shop Talk
The biggest event of the year we can boast about is our Annual Holiday Party, where we fly all of our employees + their dates, from all locations to the party location for a weekend with hotel and airfare covered to celebrate our end-of-year. It’s a huge event with awards, dancing, food, and good times.
The biggest event of the year we can boast about is our Annual Holiday Party, where we fly all of our employees + their dates, from all locations to the party location for a weekend with hotel and airfare covered to celebrate our end-of-year. It’s a huge event filled with awards, dancing, food, and good times.