UPS Yard Shifter (Terminal Tractor Operator)

Opportunity in Columbus

Key Information

• Employer: United Parcel Service (UPS) (Hiring in Columbus)
• Apply your your professional skills skills at our Columbus location.
• Location: Columbus, IN
• Benefits: A competitive compensation package is offered.
• Flexible Role in Columbus: UPS Yard Shifter
• Flexible contract/gig opportunity in Columbus.
• Pay: $5k-$7.5k/Month (approx. $75k/Year)
• This Columbus-based role is an excellent opportunity for professionals skilled in relevant skills.
• Our United Parcel Service (UPS) team in Columbus, IN is growing.
• Benefit from working in Columbus, a key hub for the Commercial Freight Logistics industry.

Command the Logistics Yard

Behind every massive UPS sorting facility is an intense, perfectly choreographed ballet of semi-trailers. As a UPS Yard Shifter (also known as a Hostler or Yard Jockey), you are the conductor of this chaos. You will pilot a specialized terminal tractor (a "yard goat") to rapidly move 28-foot and 53-foot trailers between the inbound gates, the loading docks, and the staging yard. This role is pure driving execution—no highway traffic, no customers, no unloading freight. If you have incredible backing skills, love operating heavy machinery, and want to earn top-tier union wages while sleeping in your own bed every night, this is your job.

Yard Operations

• High-Speed Trailer Relocation: Operate a highly maneuverable terminal tractor to rapidly shuttle loaded and empty semi-trailers across the massive UPS asphalt yard, ensuring dock doors are never sitting empty.
• Precision Backing: Execute flawless, tight-clearance backing maneuvers. You will routinely slide 53-foot trailers into narrow dock doors with inches of clearance on either side, requiring elite spatial awareness and mirror management.
• Constant Communication: Maintain continuous radio contact with dispatchers and dock supervisors, executing a dynamic, ever-changing list of trailer moves to keep the internal sortation lines fed with freight.
• Safety & Yard Auditing: Hook and unhook air lines and fifth wheels hundreds of times a shift. You must strictly enforce yard speed limits, perform safety checks on trailer landing gear, and ensure the yard remains entirely accident-free.

The Shifter Advantage

Yard Shifters enjoy the best of commercial driving without the headaches. You never deal with highway weigh stations, DOT logbooks (in the closed yard), or aggressive city traffic. You receive phenomenal hourly union pay, elite healthcare benefits, and a robust pension plan. The shifts are incredibly active and fast-paced, making the workday fly by.

Requirements

Must be at least 21 years old. A valid Class A Commercial Driver's License (CDL-A) is required. You must have an absolutely pristine driving record and verifiable experience backing semi-trailers in tight quarters. You must have the physical agility to constantly climb in and out of the tractor cab and connect heavy air hoses. A rigorous federal background check, DOT physical, and drug screen are required.