Director, Hazardous Waste Operations

Sharps Medical Waste Services; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharps Medical Waste Services seeks a Director of Hazardous Waste Operations to lead nationwide hazardous waste programs, including on-site hospital services, regional routes, and third-party partnerships. You will develop scalable operating models and drive profitability while ensuring compliance across multiple markets.

The role requires 10+ years in operations leadership with direct hazardous waste experience, strong regulatory knowledge, and the ability to travel up to 50%.

Qualifications

• Direct hazardous waste experience with RCRA and DOT regulations.
• 10+ years in operations leadership with 5+ years in hazardous waste operations.
• Deep knowledge of RCRA, DOT, and EPA hazardous waste regulations.
• Experience leading remote, multi-site field operations across regions.
• Strong financial acumen with budgeting and cost control.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% for business needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead hazardous waste operations across the organization and programs.
• Develop scalable national operating models and standardized procedures.
• Improve safety, service delivery, labor productivity, and profitability.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and readiness for inspections and audits.
• Staff, train, schedule, and evaluate field operations teams.
• Optimize routing, fleet utilization, and scheduling with Supply Chain leadership.
• Build high-performing teams and plan for organizational scalability.

Skills

Executive leadership

Operational leadership

Regulatory compliance

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Description

Come join the largest independent Medical Waste Service Provider in the country for an exciting leadership opportunity! We provide essential services to healthcare facilities nationwide and operate within one of the most stable and highly regulated industries in the country. Join a growing organization that offers long-term career development across 35+ locations.

Description

Come join the largest independent Medical Waste Service Provider in the country for an exciting leadership opportunity! We provide essential services to healthcare facilities nationwide and operate within one of the most stable and highly regulated industries in the country. Join a growing organization that offers long-term career development across 35+ locations. As we continue to grow, we are expanding our hazardous waste business and are seeking an experienced operational leader to help build the future of our national hazardous waste platform. As the Director, Hazardous Waste Operations, you will lead and grow hazardous waste operations across multiple markets nationwide, supporting Large Quantity Generator (LQG) healthcare systems, on-site hospital hazardous waste programs, and regional route-based services for Small Quantity Generators (SQGs). This role is responsible for developing scalable operating strategies, driving operational performance, ensuring regulatory compliance, improving profitability, and building high-performing teams that deliver safe, efficient, and compliant hazardous waste services. You will partner closely with Operations, Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), Transportation, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Finance leadership to support business growth, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence across the hazardous waste platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all hazardous waste operations across the organization, including on-site hospital programs, regional route-based services, third-party transportation coordination, and hazardous waste disposal partnerships.
• Develop and implement scalable national operating models, standardized operating procedures, staffing strategies, performance metrics, and best practices that support growth, consistency, and service excellence.
• Develop operating plans and resource strategies that support business growth while maintaining operational efficiency, service quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Drive operational performance by improving safety, service execution, labor productivity, route efficiency, customer retention, vendor performance, operating margin, and overall profitability.
• Lead hazardous waste service delivery within healthcare systems while ensuring operational readiness for new customer implementations, expansions, and operational transitions.
• Ensure proper staffing, training, scheduling, and performance management of field operations teams supporting healthcare customers.
• Partner with Transportation and Supply Chain leadership to optimize routing strategies, fleet utilization, scheduling efficiency, equipment utilization, and overall operational effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational leverage through process improvements, standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage transportation, treatment, recycling, and disposal vendor relationships while supporting enterprise vendor negotiations, strategic vendor consolidation initiatives, and accountability for service levels, compliance, responsiveness, and pricing.
• Partner closely with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) leadership to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local hazardous waste regulations.
• Support regulatory inspections, audits, corrective actions, incident investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen safety, compliance, and operational excellence.
• Promote a strong safety culture focused on accountability, operational discipline, and risk reduction.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing hazardous waste operations organization by establishing clear goals, accountability, and performance expectations.
• Recruit, coach, develop, and retain operational leaders while supporting succession planning and organizational scalability.
• Serve as the company's operational subject matter expert for hazardous waste operations and provide strategic leadership that supports long-term business growth and operational excellence.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Required — Direct hazardous waste experience (non-negotiable): Candidates must have direct, hands-on operational experience with RCRA- and DOT-regulated hazardous waste, including hazardous waste handling, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD). Applicants without this experience will not be considered.
• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Environmental Sciences, Supply Chain, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, including at least 5 years directly leading RCRA- and DOT-regulated hazardous waste operations (hazardous waste TSD, hazardous waste transportation, or industrial hazardous waste services). Experience in adjacent regulated industries is valued only in addition to—not as a substitute for—this requirement.
• Deep working knowledge of RCRA, DOT, and EPA hazardous waste regulations, with direct experience operating within these regulatory frameworks.
• Experience leading remote, multi-site field operations across multiple geographic regions.
• Strong understanding of hazardous waste transportation, operations, service delivery, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated success driving operational standardization, improving operational performance, implementing process improvements, and scaling business operations.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing operational budgets, performance metrics, profitability, and overall business performance.
• Experience leading and developing large field-based operations teams and operational leadership talent.
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience limited to Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) and sharps operations, solid waste, general environmental services (EVS), or distribution/logistics alone does not satisfy the hazardous waste experience requirement for this position.
• Ability to travel up to 50% nationally as business needs require.

Why Join Sharps

Sharps Medical Waste Services offers a mission-driven, collaborative environment where employees contribute directly to meaningful operational impact. In this role, you will play a central part in maintaining service quality, supporting compliance, and providing safe, reliable waste transport. You will gain exposure to cross-functional operations and opportunities to develop your career in a growing, essential industry.

EEO Statement

Sharps Medical Waste Services is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.