Operations Manager
REQUIRED: Minimum of 3 years of experience personally building custom routes daily. Experience limited to managing primarily fixed or static routes does not meet this requirement.
Location: Raleigh, NC
Schedule: Monday–Friday | 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM | On-Call Rotation
Pay: $85,000–$100,000/year + Performance Bonus (up to 20% of base pay)
Own the Operation. Make the Call. Keep It Moving.
Greasecycle is looking for an experienced Operations Manager to own our Virginia field operations.
This is a high-ownership role.
You’ll be based in our Raleigh office most days, where you’ll build routes, manage drivers, make decisions, solve problems, and be responsible for the performance of your territory.
About once a week, you’ll travel to Virginia to spend time with your drivers in the field. We currently have drivers stationed in Richmond and Hampton Roads.
We’ve been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies five times. We’re growing quickly, and we need leaders who are energized by that pace—not overwhelmed by it.
There will be a lot coming at you.
A driver calls out.
A truck breaks down.
A customer needs emergency service.
A 30-stop route suddenly needs to change.
Three more customers call in full.
You make the call.
We don't want someone who needs to run every decision up the ladder. We want someone who can gather the facts, make a smart decision, communicate it clearly, and own the result.
This Is NOT a Static Routing Job
Our business changes constantly.
We use dynamic routing. Drivers don't simply run the same route every Tuesday because that's what they've always done.
Routes change based on tank levels, customer call-ins, geography, emergencies, truck availability, driver availability, service needs, and what is happening in the field that day.
You have to enjoy solving that puzzle.
You also need to be highly organized.
Flexible does not mean sloppy.
We expect you to know what is happening across your operation. You'll build the plan, communicate the details, monitor execution, adjust when reality changes, and then debrief the results.
Every driver. Every route. Every day.
If you prefer rigid SOPs, predictable days, and decisions made by committees, this role will probably wear you out.
If you like having room to think, authority to act, people to lead, numbers to improve, and problems to solve, keep reading.
What You'll Own
- Build and manage daily routes for 6 drivers, with roughly 30 stops per route
- Make real-time routing decisions as conditions change
- Communicate directly with drivers throughout the day
- Debrief every driver, every day after their route
- Review stops for bad data, missed service, access problems, container issues, and needed follow-up
- Monitor our customer service log throughout the day and look for opportunities to add call-ins to routes already in progress
- Balance customer service, route efficiency, safety, and driver capacity
- Measure driver performance and give direct feedback
- Hold drivers accountable when expectations aren't met
- Recognize and develop strong performers
- Coach struggling drivers and build Performance Improvement Plans when necessary
- Make tough personnel decisions when someone consistently cannot meet the standard
- Coordinate fleet maintenance and minimize truck downtime
- Keep our equipment looking professional
- Travel to Virginia approximately one day per week to work alongside your drivers
- Participate in our after-hours collections on-call rotation, currently about one week every six weeks
And yes, sometimes leadership gets dirty.
If one of your trucks looks terrible, don't just send the driver an email about cleanliness. Grab the pressure washer and clean it with them.
The Person We're Looking For
You probably won't describe yourself as someone who waits around for instructions.
You naturally take ownership.
You like making decisions.
You communicate directly.
You move quickly but pay attention to details.
You can have a difficult conversation without avoiding it or turning it into unnecessary drama.
You don't freeze when the plan changes.
You can manage several competing priorities without losing track of the little things.
You enjoy measuring performance and figuring out how to improve it.
When you see something inefficient, your natural reaction is:
“There has to be a better way.”
Most importantly, you don't confuse accountability with blame.
When something goes wrong in your territory, your first question isn't, “Whose fault was this?”
It's:
“What happened, what are we doing about it, and how do we keep it from happening again?”
You Will Have Real Authority—and Real Accountability
Our branches are intentionally simple.
There aren't five layers of management between you and the people doing the work.
For each driver, there is an Operations Manager.That means you get significant control over how your operation performs.It also means there isn't much bureaucracy to hide behind.
If customers aren't getting great service, you own fixing it.
If routes aren't efficient, you own improving them.
If a driver is struggling, you own coaching them.
If the data is wrong, you own cleaning it up.
If the plan changes at 2:00 PM, you own building the next plan.
What Success Looks Like
We don't measure success by how many emails you send or meetings you attend. We care about results.Your drivers operate safely. Customers get serviced when they need us. Routes become more efficient. Trucks stay clean and productive. Problems get identified early. Bad data gets corrected. Drivers know exactly what is expected of them.Your best people grow. And when something goes sideways, you get your arms around it quickly and keep the operation moving.
Qualifications
- 3–5 years of transportation, logistics, dispatch, field operations, or fleet management experience
- 3+ years managing CDL drivers
- 3+ years managing routes or route-based operations
- 2+ years of leadership or supervisory experience
- 3+ years working with DOT regulations and transportation compliance
- Experience with dispatch, GPS, or fleet-management systems; Samsara experience is a plus
- Strong organization and attention to detail
- Comfortable making independent decisions in a fast-moving environment
- Strong written and verbal communication
- Experience having direct performance and accountability conversations
- Waste, recycling, grease trap, vacuum truck, environmental services, or similar field-service experience is a plus
Why Greasecycle?
We're building a company for people who want responsibility, autonomy, challenge, and an opportunity to make a measurable impact.
We need our team to act consistently with our core values. As a result we need you to be:
Gritty. Humble. Scrappy. Thoughtfully Decisive.
If you want someone to hand you a playbook and tell you exactly what to do all day, this isn't the job.
If these values speak to you and if you want to own an operation, lead a team, solve problems, and be measured by what you accomplish, please apply.
Compensation
$85,000–$100,000 annual salary
Performance: Up to 20% of base salary
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Health Savings Account
Life insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid Time Off
Paid holidays
Significant responsibility and decision-making authority
Opportunities for advancement as we continue to grow
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $85,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Are you comfortable with traveling to Virginia one day per week?
- What type of routing environment have you worked in, and what responsibility did you personally have for building, adjusting, or managing routes?
- Describe your routing experience. Were routes generally fixed/repetitive, or did they frequently need to be built, changed, or rebuilt?
Experience:
- CDL Driver Management: 3 years (Required)
- Route Management: 3 years (Required)
- Waste/Recycling/Vac Truck Operations: 2 years (Preferred)
- DOT (Department of Transportation) regulations: 2 years (Required)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: In person
