Operations Manager

* We manufacture windproof zip-track shades, awnings and pergola systems, each built to one opening after it is sold, and ship them nationwide to homeowners, contractors and dealers. Licensed installers in our network put them in. This role runs everything between the order and a system that works on the customer's wall: the installs, the shop, the custom-fabrication site walks, and every repair and warranty claim after delivery. **Pay range: $48 to $56 per hour, 1099.** At 40 hours a week that is about $99,800 to $116,500 a year. Hours aren't capped, so actual pay follows the work. **What you will own** * **Installations.** Coordinate and lead installs: schedule installers and dealer crews, run the job on site, and sign off the finished work. * **Our Temecula fabrication shop.** Production schedule, build order, station layout and fixtures. Take minutes out of every unit without taking quality out, and get outdoor lead times down to four to six weeks. * **Custom-fabrication site walks.** Every Southern California deal that needs custom fabrication gets walked by you before we build it. You confirm the opening, the mounting and the spec, and you are our representative on site. * **Field service.** Schedule the field service technician's visits and video calls, and review their visit reports. * **Repairs and warranty.** Own every past-customer concern, repair and warranty claim, and decide repair, replace or claim. * **Installer and dealer training.** Train dealer and installer crews on site, sometimes out of state, and be the person they call when a job goes sideways. * **Freight and suppliers.** Keep material and freight landing when production and installs need it. * **Feedback into quoting.** Log real build times, install times and failure causes by product, so quotes match what we can do. * **Written procedures.** Write down what you teach, so the next trainer isn't you. **Qualifications** * Installation experience, ideally window coverings: blinds, shades or shutters * Led installs on site: you have run the day and the crew, not only worked it * Fabrication: you have run or worked in a shop, not only managed one from a desk * Read an opening, spot the problem before the crew does, and make the call on site * Scheduled work and people across multiple jobs at once * A California contractor's license covering window covering installation, held in your own name (required for this 1099 engagement) * Valid driver's licence; able to travel nationally a few times a year, sometimes on short notice **Preferred qualifications:** outdoor shade, awning or patio cover installation; tubular motor programming (Somfy, Dooya or similar); aluminium extrusion, welding or CNC; zip-track systems; a procedure you wrote that other people actually followed; Spanish. **The engagement** * 1099 independent contractor engagement, not employment: no tax withholding, health insurance, PTO or retirement plan * $48 to $56 per hour, set on experience. You can also bill a fixed fee per job where the scope is clear, agreed in writing before the job starts * No daily hour cap. Invoice weekly, paid bi-weekly * Travel and job expenses covered at cost against receipts **What you are measured on** Installs completed on the scheduled day, return trips per month, orders shipped by the promised date, shop hours per unit by product, quoted versus actual build time, warranty claims closed and time to close them, and repeat service visits for the same problem. Reviewed with the owner every 30 days. **Your first 90 days, and the next five years** * **Days 1 to 30: learn it as it runs.** In the shop and on site walks and service visits. Watch before changing anything. * **Days 31 to 60: own the calendars.** The production schedule and the field service schedule are yours. * **Days 61 to 90: fix two bottlenecks.** Pick the two costing the most hours, fix them, and bring before-and-after numbers to the 90-day review. In your first weeks you write a 60-month plan with the owner, covering personal, professional and financial goals, reviewed in standing meetings. As volume grows, this role becomes operations as a whole, with the people under it. **How we work** Our mission is to build shade that holds, and to be a blessing to every customer, dealer and teammate. We hire on six values: Integrity, Faithfulness, Ownership, Excellence, Generosity and Stewardship. **Customized pre-screening questions** You'll answer these when you apply: * How many years have you installed window coverings (blinds, shades or shutters)? *(Number, required)* * Have you installed outdoor shades, awnings or patio covers? *(Yes/No, optional)* * Have you run or worked in a fabrication shop (cutting, welding, extrusion or assembly)? *(Yes/No, required)* * Can you travel nationally a few times a year, sometimes on short notice? *(Yes/No, required)* * Describe one change you made to a shop or install process and what it saved. *(Free text, optional)* **How hiring works** * Apply here on Indeed. Job photos are worth more to us than a cover letter. * A 20-minute phone screen. * A 10 to 15 minute live, unpaid skill check: audit a cut sheet or work an out-of-square opening. * A 50-minute values conversation. You open with five minutes on how you live our six values, with real examples. * References, then written terms with your 90-day plan. About 7 to 10 days end to end. We reply to every applicant, and if we say no, we tell you at which step. Pay: $65,600.00 - $127,850.00 per year Application Question(s): * Describe one change you made to a shop or install process and what it saved. (Free text, optional) Experience: * window coverings (blinds, shades or shutters) installation: 2 years (Preferred) * patio cover (zip-screens, awnings, pergolas) installation: 3 years (Required) * metal fabrication (cutting, welding, extrusion or assembly): 1 year (Preferred) * zip-track screen manufacturing: 1 year (Required) License/Certification: * CSLB D-3 – Awnings Contractor (Preferred) * CSLB D-52 – Window Coverings Contractor (Preferred) Willingness to travel: * 50% (Required) Work Location: Hybrid remote in Murrieta, CA 92562