For electricians
The best critical-power electricians are rarely applying for anything. They get approached, usually by whoever got their number first rather than by the best job. Poachd flips that: you hold a private capability profile, contractors building data centre, HV, BESS and commissioning teams see the capability and the region, and you see the rate, roster and site before anyone calls. No resume, no job board, no cost to you.
Private by default. Your current employer is never notified.
Switchboards, busway, UPS and static switch fitout, generator and paralleling gear terminations, containment and large-scale cable pulls.
HV terminations and jointing, switching under authority, protection settings support and energisation sequencing on a live campus.
BMS and PLC integration, EPMS points proving, and witnessed level 3 to level 5 commissioning against a client test script.
Modelled base bands for an A-grade or journey-level electrician on data-centre-relevant work, alongside the modelled resident pool and open requirement volume for each hub.
| Hub | Base hourly band | Open requirements | Why it is tight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Virginia | US$48–74/hr | 2,600 | Largest data centre concentration on earth |
| Dallas–Fort Worth | US$34–58/hr | 1,700 | Fastest growing AI campus corridor |
| Phoenix | US$36–60/hr | 1,500 | Semiconductor fabs competing for the same licences |
| Columbus | US$38–62/hr | 980 | Hyperscaler build-out against a thin local pool |
| Atlanta | US$34–56/hr | 1,240 | Douglas and Coweta County campuses with the fastest load growth in the southeast |
| Abilene–West Texas | US$38–68/hr | 1,450 | Gigawatt megacampus demand against almost no resident critical-power pool |
| Salt Lake City | US$35–58/hr | 620 | West Jordan and Eagle Mountain campuses plus grid reinforcement works |
| Reno–Tahoe | US$37–62/hr | 540 | TRIC campuses and battery manufacturing bidding for the same electricians |
| Chicago | US$56–88/hr | 1,120 | Elk Grove and Aurora clusters with deep union HV capability |
| Santa Clara–Bay Area | US$56–92/hr | 840 | Power-constrained retrofits and AI hosting upgrades at the highest rate floor in the US |
Modelled from ABS/BLS and equivalent national electrician employment counts, published data centre construction pipelines and the 3–4 approaches per worker per year observed in the sector. Rate bands are base hourly pay in local currency for a data-centre-grade electrician, benchmarked August 2026 against enterprise agreement and collective-agreement scales (ETU/NECA in AU, CIF-Connect SEO in IE, JIB in UK), IBEW local scale and Davis-Bacon determinations in the US, and published public-works labour unit prices in JP/KR. They exclude on-costs, allowances, per diem and union fringe packages, which can add 25–60% to the total cost of an hour. Estimates, not platform counts.
Sydney
A$62–95/hrWestern Sydney availability zones in staged fitout
Melbourne
A$58–90/hrTruganina / Derrimut campus cluster plus BESS pipeline
Brisbane
A$55–85/hrCompeting with resources sector rosters
Perth
A$62–100/hrFIFO premiums pull teams away from urban builds
Auckland
NZ$48–78/hrSmall pool feeding both local campuses and AU rosters
A-grade / journey-level electrician
1.0xBaseline for every band above.
Electrical supervisor / leading hand
1.1–1.4xConsistent step-up across AU EBA, US IBEW and UK JIB scales.
HV cable jointer
1.2–1.5xLicensed, scarce, risk-loaded.
Controls / BMS technician
1.3–1.7xPLC and integration scarcity.
HV / switchgear technician
1.4–1.8xSwitching authority and safety-critical work.
Commissioning / ITS engineer
1.5–2.2xOften engaged on day rates rather than hourly.
UPS systems & static switch
+22% premiumCritical supply
HV switching (up to 132kV)
+28% premiumCritical supply
Commissioning & IST
+24% premiumCritical supply
Generator synchronisation
+18% premiumTight supply
SCADA / PLC / BMS
+20% premiumTight supply
Battery energy storage
+19% premiumTight supply
Power distribution & busway
+9% premiumAvailable supply
Containment & cable pulling
+0% premiumAvailable supply
Modelled capability mix across the data-centre-relevant electrical workforce, derived from published vendor certification volumes and project workforce plans. Anonymised and indicative - no individual is identifiable.
Critical power work rather than general fitout: switchboard and busway installation, UPS and static switch fitout, generator and paralleling gear termination, containment and cable pulls at scale, HV terminations and jointing where licensed, plus level 3 to level 5 commissioning support under a witnessed test script.
No. Most teams on a first campus come from HV utilities, mining, rail, semiconductor fabs or heavy industrial. Poachd maps that adjacent capability instead of screening on the words in a resume, because the switching, testing and QA discipline transfers.
HV switching authority, HV cable jointing, controls and BMS or PLC competency, test and commissioning credentials, and the site tickets for your corridor. These are the capabilities modelled as scarcest in the pool, and they attract the largest rate uplift.
No. Profiles are private by default. Contractors see capability, licences and region, never your name or employer, and nothing is shared until you choose to open the door on a specific approach.
It is free for tradespeople, permanently. There are no placement fees, subscription fees or success fees charged to a worker. The hiring contractor pays only on a confirmed placement.
A capability passport takes under a minute: scan your licence, set your travel fence and rate, and stay private until you decide to reply.