Regional Irrigation Operations Leader

Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping Inc.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping Inc. is seeking a Regional Irrigation Service Manager to lead irrigation operations across multiple branches. This role involves managing technician scheduling, ensuring service quality, and consulting clients on irrigation system improvements.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience and expert knowledge of cloud-based irrigation systems. Responsibilities include tracking labor hours, conducting training, and improving operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in irrigation service leadership.
• Expert-level knowledge of cloud-based controller systems.
• Proven experience managing technician schedules effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead regional scheduling of irrigation technicians.
• Oversee service quality and inspections.
• Track and report irrigation labor hours and profitability.
• Develop structured technical training for technicians.
• Consult with clients on irrigation system improvements.

Skills

Irrigation service leadership

Cloud-based controller systems

Technician scheduling

Water auditing

Effective communication

Job costing principles

Bilingual in English/Spanish

Tools

SmartLink

Aspire

Weathermatic

Rain Bird

Job description

Brief Description

Regional Irrigation Service Manager

The Regional Irrigation Service Manager is responsible for leading irrigation operations across multiple branches, with direct accountability for technician scheduling, field quality, training, hiring, and profitability. This position does not own estimating yet works closely with the Estimating Department to align field operations with proposed scopes. The manager reports directly to the VP and collaborates with Branch Managers as internal clients—building trust through proactive communication, quality assurance, and operational consistency. The role also includes consulting clients on irrigation system improvements and managing cloud-based irrigation controller software to optimize water use and reporting.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the regional scheduling of irrigation technicians, ensuring full labor utilization and proactive adjustments based on service demand.
• Oversee service quality and follow-up inspections, ensuring work meets client expectations and internal standards.
• Lead the resolution of technical challenges in the field, coordinating with account managers and technicians as needed.
• Track and report on irrigation labor hours, callback rates, margin erosion, and unbilled time.
• Monitor job profitability and coach technicians and field managers to drive efficiency and reduce rework.
• Partner with branch managers to align technician deployment with weekly workload and earned hour targets.
• Hire, onboard, and retain high-performing irrigation technicians regionally.
• Develop and deliver structured technical training on diagnostics, troubleshooting, SmartLink/Weathermatic/ET-based platforms, and best practices.
• Create career progression paths for irrigation technicians and identify future leads.
• Manage and optimize use of cloud-based irrigation controller platforms (SmartLink, IQ4, Rain Bird, etc.).
• Generate system-level reports on runtime, water usage, and system alerts to support client value and internal insights.
• Identify inefficiencies in water management and recommend programming or hardware upgrades.
• Act as a consultative partner to clients through Account Managers—providing insight on irrigation system improvements, ROI of upgrades, and long-term water management strategies.
• Collaborate with estimating to ensure accurate job scoping, material planning, and execution feasibility.
• Treat Branch Managers as clients—proactively communicating capacity, labor constraints, and technician performance.
• Standardize and continuously improve technician dispatch, controller onboarding, water audits, and reporting practices.
• Pilot and evaluate new controller technologies or water-saving systems, including site-level ROI analysis.
• Ensure consistent use of Aspire (or equivalent) to document work, log labor, and manage job records.
  
  

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in irrigation service leadership, ideally across multiple sites or branches.
• Expert-level knowledge of cloud-based controller systems (e.g., Weathermatic, Rain Bird, Baseline, Hunter).
• Proven experience managing technician schedules, routing, and labor efficiency.
• Strong understanding of water auditing, evapotranspiration models, and irrigation hydraulics.
• Track record of mentoring field staff and building high-performance teams.
• Effective communicator with ability to bridge gaps between estimating, operations, and sales.
• Highly proficient in job costing principles, labor forecasting, and reporting tools.
• Experience using service platforms such as Aspire, LMN, or similar.
• Bilingual in English/Spanish preferred but not required.