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Appliance Parts Triage & Pre-Diagnosis Specialist

Santa Cruz Appliance Repair • Full-time • Santa Cruz, California, United States • $24 - $32 / hour • 2w ago

Benefits:

401(k)
401(k) matching
Company parties
Competitive salary
Flexible schedule
Free uniforms
Health insurance
Opportunity for advancement
Paid time off
Training & development

Appliance Parts Triage & Pre-Diagnosis Specialist

Remote or In-Person | Experienced Appliance Repair Professional

About the Position

Santa Cruz Appliance is looking for an experienced appliance repair professional to join our team in a Parts Triage & Pre-Diagnosis Specialist role.

This is not an entry-level parts position. We are looking for someone who has spent significant time diagnosing and repairing residential appliances and can use that experience to help our field technicians arrive at jobs better prepared.

The ideal candidate may be a current or former appliance repair technician who has extensive field experience but is looking to transition away from the physical demands of running service calls. If you know appliances and appliance repair inside and out, but no longer want to spend your days driving, moving machines, pulling dryers apart, or working behind refrigerators, this could be an excellent next step.

This position can potentially be performed remotely or in person, depending on experience, location, and qualifications.

What You'll Do

Your primary responsibility will be reviewing upcoming service calls, pre-diagnosing them when appropriate, identifying likely parts needed, and ordering those parts before the technician arrives.

Responsibilities include:

Review customer complaints and service histories for upcoming repair appointments.

Use appliance model numbers, parts diagrams, service information, technical documentation, and your own repair experience to identify likely causes of reported failures.
Determine which parts should reasonably be pre-ordered for an upcoming service call.
Look up and identify correct OEM part numbers using manufacturer and distributor resources.
Order parts from appropriate suppliers and verify availability.
Review prior service history when applicable to help identify repeat failures or relevant previous repairs.
Contact customers by phone, text, or email before their appointment when additional information is needed.
Ask customers targeted diagnostic questions to narrow down the problem before the technician arrives.
Request additional information when useful, such as error codes, photos, videos, symptoms, or details about when the problem occurs.
Distinguish between situations where pre-ordering a part makes sense and situations where the technician should diagnose the appliance first.
Avoid unnecessary \"parts cannon\" ordering by using sound diagnostic judgment.
Communicate useful pre-diagnosis notes and likely failure points to the assigned technician.
Verify part compatibility using complete model and serial information when necessary.
Identify superseded or substituted part numbers.
Help technicians with difficult parts lookups and technical questions.
Work with our office and field technicians to improve first-call completion rates and reduce unnecessary return trips.

Who We're Looking For

We are primarily interested in candidates with real-world appliance repair experience.

An ideal candidate might be someone who has spent many years as an appliance technician and has reached a point where they would prefer to use their knowledge in a less physically demanding position.

You may be an excellent fit if:

You have several years of hands-on residential appliance repair experience.

You have strong diagnostic knowledge of refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ranges, ovens, and other major household appliances.
You can read a customer complaint and quickly develop a short list of likely causes.
You understand common appliance failure patterns and know which parts are appropriate to pre-order—and which aren't.
You are comfortable navigating exploded-view diagrams and manufacturer parts breakdowns.
You can accurately identify parts using model numbers.
You understand that some model numbers require serial-number or engineering-code verification.
You are comfortable calling customers and asking diagnostic questions.
You can communicate technical information clearly to technicians and office staff.
You are organized and capable of managing a large number of upcoming service calls without letting details fall through the cracks.
You are comfortable working with computers, web-based parts distributors, email, messaging, and service software.

Experience We Value

Experience servicing multiple major appliance brands is strongly preferred, including brands such as:

GE, Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Frigidaire, Electrolux, LG, Samsung, Bosch, Speed Queen and other major residential appliance manufacturers.

Experience with premium brands, refrigeration, sealed-system diagnosis, manufacturer technical documentation, or factory-authorized service is a plus.

What This Job Is NOT

This is not simply a data-entry or parts-ordering position.

We need someone who understands why a part is being ordered.

For example, if a customer reports:

\"Washer fills normally but won't drain. OE error appears near the end of the cycle and water remains in the tub.\"

We want someone who understands the possible failure points, knows what additional questions should be asked, can research that specific model, review the parts breakdown and service information, and make an informed decision about whether parts should be pre-ordered.

Your appliance repair knowledge is what makes this position valuable.

Why This Position May Be a Great Fit for an Experienced Technician

Years of appliance repair experience create a tremendous amount of knowledge—but field service can be physically demanding.

This position provides an opportunity to continue using that experience without spending every day driving from house to house, moving appliances, working on floors, carrying tools and parts, or crawling behind machines.

You'll still be solving appliance problems every day. You'll simply be doing it from the diagnostic and technical-support side of the operation.

Remote or In-Person

We are open to both:

In-Person: Work with our Santa Cruz Appliance team locally.

Remote: Experienced candidates may be able to perform the position remotely. Remote candidates must have a reliable computer, internet connection, phone access, strong communication skills, and the ability to work independently.

For remote applicants, significant previous appliance repair experience is especially important.

Qualifications

Required:

Previous professional appliance repair experience

Strong appliance diagnostic knowledge
Experience identifying and looking up appliance parts
Ability to navigate parts diagrams
Good computer skills
Strong attention to detail
Clear written and verbal communication
Ability to communicate professionally with customers
Ability to work independently and make sound diagnostic decisions

Preferred:

5+ years of appliance repair experience

Experience servicing multiple major appliance brands
Factory-authorized service experience
Experience with refrigeration and sealed-system diagnostics
Previous experience ordering appliance parts
Experience using manufacturer technical documentation and service manuals
Experience providing technical support to other appliance technicians

About Santa Cruz Appliance

Santa Cruz Appliance is a locally owned appliance service and sales company serving the Santa Cruz area. We work on a wide range of major residential appliance brands and focus on professional diagnosis, quality repairs, strong customer service, and continually improving the efficiency of our service operation.

We're looking for someone who can bring years of appliance knowledge to our team and help our technicians walk into more jobs with the information—and parts—they need to complete repairs efficiently.

We are particularly interested in hearing from experienced technicians who want to remain in the appliance industry while transitioning away from full-time field service.

What You'll Do

Your primary responsibility will be reviewing upcoming service calls, pre-diagnosing them when appropriate, identifying likely parts needed, determining whether those parts are already available within our company inventory, and ordering parts when necessary before the technician arrives.

Responsibilities include:

Review customer complaints and service histories for upcoming repair appointments.

Use appliance model numbers, parts diagrams, service information, technical documentation, and your own repair experience to identify likely causes of reported failures.
Determine which parts should reasonably be pre-ordered for an upcoming service call.
Look up and identify correct OEM part numbers using manufacturer and distributor resources.
Check and maintain awareness of company parts inventory before ordering new parts.
Review technician van inventories to determine whether the required part is already stocked on the assigned technician's vehicle or another company vehicle.
Review shop and warehouse inventory to determine whether needed parts are already in stock.
Help maintain an accurate, searchable index of parts stocked in technician vans and company inventory.
Determine the most efficient source for a needed part—technician van stock, shop inventory, transfer from another technician, or ordering from a distributor.
Help identify commonly used parts that should be maintained as regular van or shop stock.
Avoid unnecessary duplicate purchases by checking existing inventory before placing new orders.
Order parts from appropriate suppliers when the required parts are not already available internally.
Verify part availability, pricing, supersessions, substitutions, and compatibility when necessary.
Review prior service history when applicable to help identify repeat failures or relevant previous repairs.
Contact customers by phone, text, or email before their appointment when additional information is needed.
Ask customers targeted diagnostic questions to narrow down the problem before the technician arrives.
Request additional information when useful, such as error codes, photos, videos, symptoms, or details about when the problem occurs.
Distinguish between situations where pre-ordering a part makes sense and situations where the technician should diagnose the appliance first.
Avoid unnecessary \"parts cannon\" ordering by using sound diagnostic judgment.
Communicate useful pre-diagnosis notes, likely failure points, and parts availability to the assigned technician.
Verify part compatibility using complete model and serial information when necessary.
Identify superseded or substituted part numbers.
Help technicians with difficult parts lookups and technical questions.
Work with our office and field technicians to improve first-call completion rates, parts utilization, inventory accuracy, and reduce unnecessary return trips and duplicate parts purchases.

Inventory Management & Parts Utilization

An important part of this position is knowing what parts we already own and where they are located.

Our technicians carry parts inventory on their service vehicles, and we also maintain parts inventory at our shop. Before purchasing additional parts for an upcoming service call, you will be expected to determine whether the needed part is already available somewhere within the company.

This includes:

Maintaining and referencing an organized index of company-owned parts.

Knowing which parts are assigned to individual technician vans.
Knowing which parts are available at our shop or warehouse.
Searching inventory by part number, manufacturer, appliance type, and other available information.
Identifying duplicate or excess inventory.
Coordinating movement of parts between technicians when appropriate.
Helping ensure parts removed from inventory are properly accounted for.
Helping identify high-use parts that should be stocked based on our actual repair history.
Reducing unnecessary purchasing by making better use of parts we already own.

The goal is not simply to order parts. The goal is to make sure the correct parts are available to the technician in the fastest and most cost-effective way possible.

A successful person in this position should eventually be able to look at an upcoming service call, determine the most likely failure, identify the correct part, check whether Santa Cruz Appliance already owns that part and where it is located, and only then order it if necessary.

This employment opportunity is available at the organization listed at the top of this page. Your application will go directly to them and all hiring decisions will be made by their management. All inquiries should be made directly with the organization that posted this employment opportunity.

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