Operations Manager — Installation & Manufacturing $35–$65/hr

Shadeboys; Murrieta (CA); Hybrid; USD 48,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Shadeboys is seeking a hands-on operations leader to take day-to-day duties off the owner. You will manage installation scheduling, crew assignment, shop throughput, and the handoff between shop and field.

This is a dual role at start: installation and manufacturing, with growth as volume increases. You will train field crews, set install standards, and feed real build times back into quoting. Travel nationally may be required.

Qualifications

• Hands-on installation experience with outdoor shade, awnings, screens, sunrooms or similar exterior trade.
• Fabrication experience; experience in a shop setting.
• Ability to read an opening, identify issues early, and make on-site decisions.
• Comfort scheduling and directing crews across multiple states and time zones.
• Willingness to travel nationally, occasionally on short notice.
• Valid driver’s license and right to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Plan and sequence installations nationally including crew, materials, and access.
• Run the shop floor: build order, station layout, and changes to maximize throughput without compromising quality.
• Own the handoff from shop to installation so on-site needs are met.
• Diagnose and fix field problems on-site.
• Train dealer crews on ZIP-track installation and document training for future trainers.
• Set install standards and define rejection and reinstall criteria.
• Provide real build times and failure modes to improve quoting accuracy.

Skills

Installation experience

Fabrication experience

Read openings / spot problems

Scheduling across states/time zones

Travel readiness

Driver's license

Job description

This is the role that takes day-to-day operations off the owner. Right now installation scheduling, crew assignment, shop throughput and the handoff between the two all run through one person, and that ceiling is the reason this posting exists.

It is deliberately two jobs at first: installation and manufacturing. They are the same job at our size — a build decision made badly on Tuesday is a return trip on Friday — and splitting them before the volume justifies it would just add a handoff. As volume grows, the installation side is what you hand to the field technicians you will be training.

Pay

$35–$65/hr. Hourly, or a fixed fee per installation or project — whichever suits the job, agreed in writing before it starts.

What you will own

• Plan and sequence installations nationally — crew, materials, freight and access all landing on the same day
• Run the shop floor: build order, station layout, fixtures, and the changes that take minutes out of a unit without taking quality out of it
• Own the build-to-install handoff, so what leaves the shop is what the opening actually needs
• Diagnose and fix field problems — you will be on a roof or a patio, not only on a schedule
• Train dealer crews on site on zip-track installation, and write down what you teach so the next trainer is not you
• Set and hold the install standard: what a finished job looks like, what gets rejected, and what the reinstall rule is
• Feed real build times and failure modes back into quoting, so estimates match what the shop can actually do

What we need

• Hands-on installation experience with outdoor shade, awnings, screens, sunrooms or a comparable exterior trade
• Fabrication experience — you have run or worked a shop, not only read about one
• Able to read an opening, spot the problem before the crew does, and make the call on site
• Comfortable scheduling and directing crews across multiple states and time zones
• Willing to travel nationally on occasion, sometimes on short notice
• Valid driver's licence and the right to work in the United States

Engagement

• 1099 independent contractor engagement, not employment
• Bill hourly or per job — hourly for planning, shop and training work, a fixed fee for an installation you can scope. Both are fine and you can mix them
• No daily hour cap. Invoice the time the work actually takes
• Weekly invoice, paid bi-weekly
• Travel and job-related expenses covered against receipts

90-day onboarding

• Days 1–30: On site with current installs and in the shop. Watch before changing anything, then take over installation scheduling by the end of the month.
• Days 31–60: Run installation scheduling end to end — crew, materials, freight and access — and start logging real build times by product.
• Days 61–90: Pick the two shop bottlenecks costing the most hours and fix them. Bring the before and after numbers to the 90-day review.

60-month plan

Every hire, in every role, starts with a written 60-month plan built with you in your first weeks. It has three lines — personal, professional and financial — and it is what the regular PPF meetings review. As volume grows, installation passes to field technicians you trained, and your scope becomes operations as a whole.