Operations Manager - Power Plant

360X Staffing; Colbert (GA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

360X Staffing is seeking an Operations Manager for the Madison Biomass Facility in Colbert, GA. The role provides strategic and daily leadership to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective power generation at a 55 MW biomass plant.

The candidate will oversee shift personnel, fuel yard operations, regulatory compliance, budgets, and continuous performance improvements in coordination with Maintenance, Engineering, and Environmental teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in supervisory roles in thermal power or heavy industrial plants.
• Direct experience with solid-fuel boilers (biomass, wood waste).
• Working knowledge of steam turbines, boilers, and BOP systems.
• Hands-on SCR/ESP/CEMS environmental controls.
• Proven safety program experience (LOTO, Confined Space).
• Experience with CMMS such as Maximo or SAP.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily plant operations and supervise shift teams.
• Develop and manage operating budgets (OPEX).
• Establish shift rotations and on-call coverage for 24/7 operations.
• Coordinate biomass fuel yard, deliveries and inventory.
• Monitor boiler ops, STG output, and emissions controls.
• Coordinate outages and maintenance with Engineering.
• Oversee water treatment and chemical sampling.
• Interface with grid operators for dispatch and ramping.
• Lead training and performance evaluations.
• Maintain SOPs, logs, and regulatory reporting.
• Develop emergency action plans and drills.
• Coordinate contractor work and capital projects.

Skills

Power Plant Leadership

Solid Fuel Boiler

Steam Turbine/Boiler Ops

Regulatory Compliance

Budget & Cost Control

Staffing & Scheduling

Safety Programs (LOTO)

Maximo

SAP

Education

Bachelor's or Associate degree in Engineering or Power Generation

Tools

Maximo

SAP

Job description

Operations Manager – Biomass Power Generation

Facility: 55 MW Biomass Facility

Employment Type: Full-Time, Direct-Hire

Facility Overview

Located in Colbert, Georgia, the Madison Biomass Facility generates 55 net megawatts of reliable, renewable baseload electricity by converting responsibly harvested wood biomass. The plant incorporates advanced steam generation and environmental control technologies, including a Foster Wheeler boiler, hot electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, delivering efficient operations and strict environmental compliance in support of Georgia’s energy infrastructure.

Position Summary

The Operations Manager provides strategic and daily operational leadership at the Madison Biomass Facility, taking direct ownership of plant performance, shift personnel, staffing schedules, wood fuel handling, and regulatory compliance to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective power generation.

Working in close alignment with Maintenance, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance teams, this role manages operational budgets, oversees high-pressure steam boiler operations and auxiliary systems, drives continuous performance improvements, and ensures grid dispatch reliability.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Direct daily plant operations and supervise operations shift teams to ensure safe, reliable, efficient, and environmentally compliant electricity generation.
• Budget & Cost Control: Develop and manage operational budgets (OPEX), controlling expenditures while meeting production targets, heat-rate efficiency, and plant availability goals.
• Staffing & Scheduling: Establish operator shift rotations, overtime controls, vacation coverage, and on-call arrangements to ensure continuous 24/7/365 coverage and emergency response readiness.
• Fuel Yard & Feed Systems: Coordinate biomass fuel deliveries, scalehouse operations, receiving, yard storage, pile management, quality sampling/testing, and live inventory to maintain combustion efficiency and fuel reliability.
• Thermodynamic & Equipment Monitoring: Continually evaluate boiler combustion, steam turbine-generator (STG) output, emissions control systems, ash handling, cooling towers, and balance-of-plant (BOP) systems to identify performance trends and drive optimization.
• Outage & Maintenance Integration: Partner with Maintenance and Engineering leadership to prioritize corrective work orders, manage plant turnarounds, coordinate scheduled boiler/turbine outages, and support preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Water Chemistry Oversight: Supervise plant water treatment programs, demineralizer operations, boiler feed chemistry sampling/testing, and chemical inventory to protect steam generation assets.
• EHS & Environmental Compliance: Enforce OSHA safety guidelines, plant Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) protocols, and Title V air permit compliance, including direct operational oversight of SCR ammonia injection, hot electrostatic precipitators, and Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS).
• Workforce Development: Lead operator training, qualification boards, progression programs, and performance evaluations to advance technical competency and plant safety culture.
• Compliance Documentation & Reporting: Maintain accurate operating logs, shift handovers, standard operating procedures (SOPs), environmental logs, and production reports required for regulatory agencies and executive leadership.
• Emergency Management: Develop, drill, and execute emergency action plans for operational upset conditions, equipment failures, biomass fuel yard fires, environmental events, and severe weather.
• Grid & Utility Dispatch Coordination: Act as the plant operations interface for grid operators, balancing authorities, and utility dispatchers to ensure adherence to generation schedules, ramp rates, and delivery commitments.
• Project & Contractor Oversight: Manage specialty operations contractors and capital improvement projects aimed at equipment reliability, inspections, and long-term asset life extension.

Candidate Qualifications

Required Experience & Technical Background

• Power Plant Leadership: 5+ years of operational supervisory or management experience (e.g., Operations Manager, Operations Supervisor, Shift Supervisor, or Lead Control Room Operator) within thermal power generation or heavy industrial steam plants.
• Solid Fuel / Boiler Exposure: Direct operational experience with solid-fuel boilers (biomass, wood waste, coal-to-biomass conversions, or pulp & paper power/recovery boilers). Familiarity with Foster Wheeler or fluidized bed/stoker boiler technologies is highly preferred.
• Steam Turbine & Balance of Plant: Working knowledge of high-pressure utility boilers, steam turbine-generators, condenser systems, water treatment/demineralization, and high-voltage switchyards.
• Environmental Systems: Hands-on operational knowledge of air quality control systems (Selective Catalytic Reduction / SCR, hot electrostatic precipitators / ESP, and CEMS).
• Regulations & Safety: Proven track record managing plant safety programs (LOTO, Confined Space Entry) and ensuring compliance with Title V air, NPDES water, and local environmental permits.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Associate degree in an Engineering discipline, Power Generation Technology, or equivalent military/naval technical power experience (e.g., US Navy Nuclear/Machinist Mate).
• Direct experience handling wood biomass, fuel yard storage, and bulk material handling systems.
• Experience managing collective shift teams and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) such as Maximo or SAP.