Grooming Manager

Sugarloaf Mountain Corporation; Snoqualmie (WA); On-site; USD 53,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Paid time off

401(k) with employer match

Job summary

The Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington state is seeking a Grooming Manager to lead the Alpine and Nordic grooming teams year-round. You will set daily snow surface production standards and supervise winter graveyard-shift operations while supporting summer slope maintenance.

Responsibilities include budgeting, staffing forecasts, and coordinating with departments to ensure terrain is grooming- and snowmaking-ready, using SnowSat data to optimize plans and control costs.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years' experience operating grooming machines with prior senior supervisory experience.
• Ability and commitment to work graveyard shifts.
• Strong financial acumen including budgeting and labor/fuel cost control.
• Demonstrated experience with recruitment, hiring and team training.
• Good computer skills (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Working knowledge of SnowSat (or equivalent snow depth measurement and fleet management).

Responsibilities

• Direct and coordinate the Alpine and Nordic grooming team, communicating with departments to support a first-class product.
• Develop and manage the departmental budget, seasonal staffing forecasts, and work planning for winter grooming operations.
• Plan and prioritize summer maintenance projects to ensure terrain is grooming- and snowmaking-ready by winter.
• Use SnowSat data to inform nightly grooming plans and control costs in low-snow years.

Skills

Grooming machine operation

Senior supervisory experience

Budgeting & cost control

Recruitment & training

SnowSat knowledge

Microsoft Office

Graveyard shift readiness

Tools

SnowSat

Job description

Overview

The Summit at Snoqualmie is the Pacific Northwest's premier multi mountain ski resort, located 47 miles east of Seattle at Snoqualmie Pass. The property spans five base areas and 20 chairlifts across Summit West, Summit Central, Summit East, and Alpental within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. A four-season operating model includes a mountain bike park and one of the most accessible ski destinations in North America.

The Grooming Manager provides year-round leadership of The Summit at Snoqualmie's Alpine and Nordic grooming program and assists with the summer property maintenance program. In winter, this role leads the grooming team in a predominantly graveyard-shift grooming operation, establishing strong benchmarks and setting expectations for daily snow surface production to the highest standard. In summer, the position assists with slope and culvert maintenance within the Slopes & Surfaces department to enable continuous improvement of winter slopes and surfaces for great guest experiences, also contributing to increasingly successful snowmaking production.

Posting will close Wednesday, 9/30/2026

Responsibilities

The following statements are intended as general illustrations of the work in this classification and are not all-inclusive of the specific position.

Long Term Thinking

• Maintain official department records, including training records, payroll, safety documentation, machine log books, and scheduling
• Develop new patterns of efficiency targeting the reduction of fuel consumption and machine wear
• Plan and help prioritize itemization of summer clearing and property-maintenance projects — including debris removal, drainage and erosion control, and trail-base repair — so terrain is grooming- and snowmaking-ready by the start of winter operations
• Develop and manage the departmental budget, seasonal staffing forecasts, and work planning/scheduling for winter grooming operations, and provide budget and staffing input to support summer slope crew operations
• Partner with the Director of Slopes & Surfaces on capital projects for terrain expansion opportunities, slope improvements, and property-maintenance projects, providing input to help sequence work toward winter-readiness deadlines
• Use SnowSat snow depth and fleet data to inform nightly grooming plans, seasonal snow farming strategy, and machine routing — identifying thin-cover and vulnerable areas early and adjusting operations to conserve snowpack and control cost, particularly in low-snowpack years

Excellence in Execution

• Assess snow surface conditions and the grooming product with the Director of Slopes & Surfaces, reviewing areas of success and improvement
• Ensure compliance with all safety rules, regulations, and Summit safety policies and procedures and attend all operations meetings prepared and ready to engage productively
• Sequence summer maintenance work around weather windows and IFPL hazard compliance in conjunction with the slopes and surfaces team.

Attitude is Everything

• Direct and coordinate the Alpine and Nordic grooming team, communicating effectively with other departments, including but not limited to Vehicle Maintenance, Lift Operations, Snowmaking, Patrol, Terrain Park, Snow Removal, and Guest Relations to enable decisions that support a first-class product

Develop Great People

• Provide grooming team with ongoing training, assessment, encouragement, and constructive corrective action to execute the nightly operational plan
• Manage full-cycle recruitment, hiring, training, and supervision of the winter grooming team, and support the Director of Slopes & Surfaces with recruitment, hiring, and training for the summer slope crew
• Provide ongoing one-on-one ride time with grooming staff, and assist with hands‑on field training for the summer slope crew to help ensure methodology, safety, and equipment operation are consistent with Summit policy and expectations
• Maintain training records and certifications year-round to ensure compliance with all applicable safety training requirements

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years' experience operating various grooming machines, with prior senior supervisory experience required

• Ability & commitment to work graveyard-shifts

• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting and labor/fuel cost control experience

• Demonstrated experience with recruitment, hiring, and team training and development

• Good computer skills required — Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)

• Working knowledge of SnowSat (or equivalent snow depth measurement and fleet management

Join our team and enjoy The Summit Experience!

Wage and Benefit Info:

The wage range for this positions is: from $38.50 - $42.50/hr, DOE

Benefits include: health, dental, vision

Team member will accrue PTO and will earn 2 weeks or more in a 12 month period.

All individuals may contribute to the 401(k). An employee must work 1,000 hours in a calendar year to qualify for the discretionary match (there is a 2 year vesting cliff).

All individuals accrue sick time at 1 hour per 40 hours worked to a maximum of 64 hours per year.

It is the policy of Boyne Resorts to recruit, hire and promote in all job classifications and shall not discriminate with regard to race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other non-merit factor. Boyne Resorts is committed to valuing individual diversity in the workplace by reaching beyond stereotypical views and using the strengths and different perspectives and unique backgrounds that each person offers. Even more importantly, Boyne Resorts embraces and derives value from the diverse views that each individual brings.