Technical Operations Lead

Connecticut Innovations; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

CREW Carbon, deployed nationwide, seeks a Technical Operations Lead to oversee the team, systems, and processes from contract to steady-state operation at wastewater facilities. You will guide engineers, project managers, and field staff in designing, procuring, building, installing, and maintaining our fleet to ensure deployments meet budget and schedule targets.

The ideal candidate will blend technical judgment with operational leadership, shaping deployment strategy, improving controls, and

Qualifications

• 10+ years leading teams that design, build, and operate physical equipment across multiple sites.
• BS in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering (or equivalent hands-on technical background).
• Track record scaling distributed operations (field service, deployment, or O&M) for physical equipment across many sites.
• Experience managing vendor and consultant relationships for hardware, design, fabrication, or consumables.

Responsibilities

• Lead the cross-functional team (engineers, project managers, field technicians) through design, procurement, build, install, and commissioning to steady-state operation.
• Own cost and schedule discipline across every phase of the deployment pipeline.
• Set operating rhythm, processes, and metrics to keep multiple deployments on track.
• Build and run the systems, processes, and team for a growing, geographically distributed fleet.
• Own preventive maintenance programs, remote monitoring, and field service dispatch.

Skills

Team leadership

Cost management

Project management

Operations leadership

Travel readiness

Strategic thinking

Growth mindset

Ownership

Education

BS in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering

Job description

Are you ready to join Connecticut Innovation’s vibrant community of innovators? Connecticut Innovations (“CI”) is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm, and we are passionate about serving our portfolio of 220+ companies across various industries, with strengths in life sciences, technology, and climate tech.

Come join one of our quickly growing portfolio companies, Home | CREW Carbon!

CREW’s technology and services make wastewater treatment cheaper and more efficient, while permanently sequestering CO₂.

Leveraging advanced chemistry, natural minerals, and AI, we’ve developed and are deploying a category-defining process intensification technology, with decarbonization at its core. Today, we help wastewater treatment facilities and operators:

• Stabilize pH & alkalinity 24/7
• Eliminate hazardous chemicals & cut costs
• Avoid $100M+ infrastructure upgrades
• Capture & Store CO2

We are currently deploying this technology across the US and Europe. In addition, we’ve signed $30M+ in carbon removal offtake agreements with leading corporations looking to meet their climate goals, supercharging geographical CREW’s expansion.

CREW has offices and labs in New Haven, CT and offices in Brooklyn, NY.

We are funded by Counteract, ReGen, Ponderosa, Connecticut Innovations and others. We've secured large contracts with the premier buyers of carbon credits through the Frontier Climate Fund (Stripe, Shopify, Autodesk, McKinsey, among others) and have been selected by the Department of Energy as one of the few potential suppliers of high-quality carbon credits to the federal government.

About The Role

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Technical Operations Lead to oversee the team, systems, and processes that take CREW’s deployments from signed contract to reliable, long-term operation at wastewater treatment plants nationwide. This person leads the engineers, project managers, and field staff responsible for designing, procuring, building, installing, and maintaining our fleet — ensuring every deployment is robust, on budget, and on schedule.

This role blends technical judgment with operational leadership: technical fluency to hold designs and vendors to a high standard, paired with the operating discipline to run a distributed, multi-site deployment pipeline well. As the fleet grows, this person will also help shape the future of our deployments — improving controls, standardizing our approach, and informing strategy.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on operator who has led a distributed field service, deployment, or fleet operation before, is comfortable owning cost and schedule as business outcomes, and is energized by building the operating backbone of a fast-growing water technology company.

This position is a full-time role. Location is onsite at CREW’s Brooklyn, NY office. Remote considered only for exceptional candidates, with regular travel to Brooklyn expected.

• Lead the cross-functional team (engineers, project managers, field technicians) that takes projects from kickoff through design, procurement, build, install, and commissioning to steady-state operation.
• Own cost and schedule discipline across every phase of the deployment pipeline.
• Set the operating rhythm, processes, and metrics that keep multiple simultaneous site deployments on track.

Technical Oversight, Reliability & Design Standards

• Ensure our systems (tanks, silos, controls) are robust and field-proven.
• Manage relationships with design consultants, fabricators, skid builders, and contract manufacturers.
• Own reliability engineering and failure analysis as a program: set targets (MTBF, MTTR, asset life), and ensure field issues (pressure, flow, mechanical failures) are root-caused and converted into updated design standards and next-generation requirements — whether executed personally or through an engineer on the team.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, technical documentation, commissioning procedures, and change-control processes to ensure consistency across all deployed systems.
• Push toward designs and vendor choices that make systems easier to deploy, service, and scale cost-effectively — without over-engineering.

Fleet Management & Distributed Operations & Maintenance

• Build and run the systems, processes, and team that keep a growing, geographically distributed fleet operating reliably.
• Own preventive maintenance programs, remote monitoring and troubleshooting, and field service dispatch.
• Track and report fleet uptime, reliability, and service cost as core operating metrics.

Strategic Growth

• As the operation maturing, take on more of CREW’s strategy and long-term deployment roadmap — standardizing what’s working and identifying where to invest next.
• Partner with commercial, supply chain, and finance to keep delivery targets, unit economics, and field performance aligned.

Background

• 10+ years leading teams (engineers, project managers, and/or field staff) that design, build, and operate physical equipment deployed across many sites — water/wastewater is preferred.
• BS in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering (or equivalent hands-on technical background).
• Track record standing up or scaling a distributed operation — field service, deployment, or O&M — for physical equipment across many sites.
• Experience managing vendor and consultant relationships for hardware, design, fabrication, or consumables.
• Comfortable owning cost and schedule as a business outcome.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to run multiple sites, vendors, and priorities at once.
• Product or strategic thinking a strong plus — this role grows into shaping the future of our deployments.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, early-stage, or evolving company environment.
• Able to travel 20-40%.
• PE license a plus, not required.
• You practice extreme ownership (no task is too small).
• You love being in the trenches with your team and working with high empathy.
• You have a growth mindset.

Compensation

Compensation at the time of offer is unique to each candidate and based on a variety of factors such as skill set, experience, qualifications, and work location. Salary is one part of the total compensation and benefits package. Other benefits for eligible employees may include: equity through the form of option grants, flexible paid time off, 401(k) plan, well equipped office environment, and health benefits offerings.

The expected base salary range for this role is $120,000–$180,000. This range represents the company’s estimate for this position at the time of posting however actual compensation may vary based on skills, experience, location, role scope, and business needs.

• Signed a carbon credit offtake agreement with the Frontier Climate Fund in 2024
• Selected as 1 of 24 companies by the US Department of Energy in 2024 to be a potential supplier of high-quality carbon credits to the federal government
• Highlighted as an “Innovator of the Month” by US Senator Chris Murphy in 2024
• Selected by ImagineH2O, the leading water sector innovation accelerator in 2024
• Highlighted by Business Insider as “One of the Most Promising Climate-Tech Startups of 2023

CREW Carbon is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We have strict wage minimums, generous benefits, and personal leave policies. Our goal is to provide safe, rewarding, and empowering work environments for all who interact with our company.