Pretreatment Service Manager

HOH Water Technology; Palatine Township (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Compensation

Health benefits

HSA

401k

Profit sharing

Holidays

Culture & growth

Job summary

HOH Water Technology in Palatine Township, IL seeks a results-oriented Operations Leader to guide a team of Equipment Technicians in delivering safe, high-quality pretreatment service and protecting customer relationships.

You will own scheduling, service quality, and account protection, develop people, implement processes, and partner with Account Managers and HR to build a resilient service operation.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in service operations and leadership roles.
• Strong scheduling and dispatch experience with ability to manage urgent callouts.
• Proven coaching and performance management skills.
• Comfort in handling difficult customer conversations and partnering with HR.

Responsibilities

• Lead Equipment Technicians through a disciplined operating rhythm with meetings, coaching, and performance actions.
• Set clear expectations, inspect results, and own patterns rather than incidents.
• Identify training needs and build technician development plans.
• Staffing decisions in partnership with HR and the Business Unit Manager.
• Ensure safety procedures are followed and incidents are properly documented.

Skills

Leadership

Scheduling

Team development

Customer communication

Job description

Description

Who We Are

HOH Water Technology is a third-generation, family-owned water treatment company proudly celebrating over 58 years in business. Our success has always been about more than water treatment - it is about investing in people and creating lasting impact for our clients, coworkers, and community. We believe our people are our greatest competitive advantage, and we have built a culture centered around our Core Values of Accountability, Creativity, Teamwork, and Service.

We are looking for someone who wants more than a job managing a schedule. We are looking for someone who wants to lead a service team our customers can count on and our technicians are proud to be part of.

About the Role

• This is not a hands-off scheduling role - it is a leadership role. Success is measured by the strength, consistency, and accountability of the team you build, not just the jobs that get closed out.
• You will lead and develop a team of Equipment Technicians to deliver safe, profitable, high-quality pretreatment service that protects HOH's customer relationships and revenue.
• You will own scheduling, service quality, and account protection - working to catch and resolve problems before they reach the customer or the Account Manager.
• You will build the accountability, processes, and technician bench strength needed for the service operation to run consistently, without depending on any single individual.
• You will partner closely with Account Managers and the Business Unit Manager to protect customer relationships, flag risk early, and pass along opportunities that grow the business.
• If you love developing people, solving problems at the root instead of the surface, and being the steady hand behind a high-performing field service team, we would love to meet you.

What We Offer

• Competitive Compensation: $80,000-$100,000 annually.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Medical and Dental Insurance with generous employer contributions, HSA contributions ($1,200 family / $800 individual annually), 401(k) with company matching, Life Insurance, and much more.
• Generous Time Off: 15 PTO days, 16 paid holidays including extended holiday pay at the end of the year.
• Profit Sharing Bonus: Company Profit Sharing Bonus (budget projection for 2026: approximately 3-4 weeks of additional pay).
• Engaging Culture: Caring leaders who invest in people, celebrate wins, give back, and create meaningful connections through team and company events.
• Career Growth: Hands-on training, professional development, continuing education reimbursement, and the opportunity to grow your ownership and impact as HOH continues to grow.

You'll Love This Role If...

• You love developing people. You take real pride in coaching, mentoring, and growing technicians into stronger performers.
• You own the pattern, not the incident. When something goes wrong more than once, you look for the process fix instead of putting out the same fire repeatedly.
• You get ahead of the need. You plan PMs, staffing, PTO, and training proactively so problems don't surface as emergencies.
• You take safety seriously. You are willing to stop work when conditions are unsafe and hold your team accountable to it, every time.
• You run a tight operation. Work orders, documentation, and follow-through do not get lost on your watch.
• You are a strong partner. You communicate clearly with Account Managers, the Business Unit Manager, and HR, and you are comfortable in tough conversations.
• You embrace structured leadership. You are comfortable with (or eager to learn) a disciplined operating rhythm - weekly team meetings, clear scorecards, and regular one-on-ones.

What You'll Be Doing

Leadership, Management & Accountability

• Lead and manage Equipment Technicians through a disciplined operating rhythm of weekly team meetings, quarterly conversations, one-on-ones, coaching, recognition, and corrective action when performance falls short.
• Set clear expectations, performance standards, and escalation triggers, then inspect results rather than chasing people; own the pattern, not the incident.
• Identify technician training needs and build technician development plans.
• Own technician staffing and people decisions - hiring, onboarding, promotions, compensation recommendations, succession planning, and terminations - in partnership with the Business Unit Manager and HR.
• Create an environment where coworkers can thrive by knowing your people, providing ongoing feedback and recognition, addressing concerns early, and partnering with leadership and HR to support coworkers in thriving.

Scheduling, Capacity & Service Delivery

• Oversee technician scheduling and workload, ensuring preventive maintenance is planned proactively rather than reactively.
• Answer the callout/emergency hotline and dispatch technicians by urgency according to response standards.
• Monitor technician utilization and identify capacity constraints before they become customer problems; coordinate manpower for larger projects and plan PTO, training, and after-hours/on-call coverage.
• Ensure technicians have the parts, equipment, and information needed to complete their work, proactively removing bottlenecks and cross-training technicians for backup coverage.
• Ensure PMs, callouts, repairs, and projects are completed on time and to standard, with work orders closed accurately and documentation complete before a job is considered done.
• Review completed work for quality; investigate root cause on repeat callbacks and failures, and track rework trends and corrective actions.

Customer & Account Manager Support

• Ensure HOH delivers what was promised to the customer; track at-risk accounts and recurring issues, and maintain proactive customer communication throughout each job.
• Personally participate in difficult or high-value customer conversations that require technical or operational support.
• Alert Account Managers and the Business Unit Manager immediately to unhappy customers or at-risk accounts.
• Provide Account Managers with field intelligence (aging or undersized equipment, recurring failures, high repair spend, capital replacement needs) and pass along qualified service, consumable, and capital equipment opportunities.
• Provide technical input for quotes, including scopes of work and labor/material estimates, and support Account Managers in technical customer meetings when needed.

Safety & Risk Management

• Ensure technicians follow company safety procedures and have appropriate PPE and safety equipment; identify hazardous conditions and stop work when necessary.
• Ensure technicians understand scope boundaries and elevate liability or safety concerns appropriately.
• Ensure proper documentation of incidents and near misses, maintaining compliance with company and customer safety requirements.
• Oversee that company vehicles are maintained in safe working condition, in accordance with fleet management standards.

What Success Looks Like

• Technicians are engaged, developing, and know exactly what's expected of them.
• PMs, callouts, and repairs are completed on time, to standard, and fully documented.
• Recurring issues are diagnosed at the root cause, not repeatedly patched.
• Account Managers trust you as a partner and are never surprised by a customer issue.
• At-risk accounts are identified early and protected before they become losses.
• The service team operates safely, with hazards addressed before they cause harm.
• The operation doesn't depend on any one person - strong bench strength and cross-training keep it resilient.

Requirements

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in service operations, field service, water treatment, industrial services, or a related technical environment, including at least 2 years in a people leadership role.
• Strong scheduling and dispatch experience, with the ability to manage competing priorities and urgent callouts.
• A track record of coaching performance, holding people accountable, and addressing problems before they escape into repeat issues.
• Strong customer-facing skills and comfort handling difficult conversations directly and professionally.
• Working knowledge of safety procedures and the willingness to stop work when conditions are unsafe.
• Technical aptitude to understand equipment issues, quotes, and scopes of work.
• Experience supporting hiring, onboarding, and performance management, ideally in partnership with HR.
• Comfort using data, work order history, and performance trends to drive decisions and continuous improvement.
• Experience in a growing, multi-location, or family-owned business is a plus.

Why HOH?

At HOH, you will have the opportunity to build and lead a team that directly protects our customer relationships and revenue, while working alongside a leadership team that genuinely cares about people. This role offers true ownership, meaningful influence, and the ability to make a lasting impact on the organization.

You'll join a growing, privately held Certified Evergreen company with a strong culture, long-term stability, and a commitment to investing in people, innovation, and sustainable growth for generations to come.

If you are looking for a role where your ability to develop people, run a disciplined operation, and protect the customer experience will directly influence the future of a growing company, we would love to meet you.

HOH Water Technology is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.