Live surgical tech openings across the Twin Cities, from Level I trauma ORs to outpatient surgery centers. New postings from Minneapolis and St. Paul hospital systems land below, updated as employers post them.
Openings and market notes here are curated by Matthew Sorensen, an executive recruiter with 15+ years and 500+ healthcare and skilled-trades placements, including OR and perioperative roles.
Who's Hiring in the Twin Cities
The Minneapolis–St. Paul metro runs one of the deepest healthcare markets in the Midwest, which means scrub techs here can move between large academic systems and high-volume specialty centers without leaving the region. That optionality is real leverage at offer time. The major OR employers:
Hennepin Healthcare
Downtown Minneapolis safety-net system with a Level I trauma center, so expect broad case mix and unscheduled volume.
M Health Fairview
Includes University of Minnesota Medical Center; academic setting that staffs ORs across the metro and tends to be built to onboard new grads out of clinicals.
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Large Allina Health hospital with heavy cardiac and specialty surgical volume in south Minneapolis.
North Memorial Health
Level I trauma hospital in Robbinsdale staffing ORs across a range of specialties.
Regions Hospital
HealthPartners' St. Paul trauma hospital, plus its ambulatory surgery centers that hire for daytime, scheduled-case work.
A recruiter read worth having: large trauma and academic centers hire more first-year techs and train to their own workflow, while ambulatory surgery centers screen harder for people who can run scheduled cases fast with a lean team. Decide which environment you want before you apply, because the interviews test for different things. If you're weighing the two, the ASC vs. hospital OR breakdown lays out the tradeoffs.
Surgical Tech Pay in Minnesota
Statewide figures below are the best public benchmark; the Minneapolis metro sits at the higher end of the state given its concentration of large systems. Setting and specialty move the number more than anything else.
10th to 90th percentile. Experience, certification, and specialty drive where you land in it.
03
Above the national median
Minnesota's median runs ahead of the national figure for the role. Run your own number with the salary estimator, and see how specialty changes pay.
Certification for Minneapolis Roles
Minnesota does not require state licensure or certification for surgical techs, but most Twin Cities hospital systems prefer or require the CST credential and graduation from a CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited program. Details on both: the CST certification guide and state-by-state requirements.
Minneapolis Surgical Tech FAQ
Do I need to be certified to work as a scrub tech in Minneapolis?
Not by state law, Minnesota has no licensure or certification mandate. But the large metro systems generally prefer or require the CST credential and an accredited program, so treat certification as a practical hiring bar even though it isn't a legal one.
Which Minneapolis employers are best for a new-grad surgical tech?
Academic and Level I trauma centers like the University of Minnesota Medical Center and Hennepin Healthcare hire more first-year techs and are set up to train to their own workflow. See the new-grad hiring guide for how to position with no OR experience.
Does a hospital OR or a surgery center pay more here?
Neither wins automatically. Hospitals often pay shift and call differentials that ASCs don't, while ASCs trade that for predictable daytime hours. Compare total comp and schedule, not just base rate.
