Master Plumber / Plumbing Operations Director
Seawards Home Improvement is building a modern residential plumbing operation supported by proven construction experience, structured operating systems, strong customer relationships, automation, and digital property records.
This is a full-time, W-2 leadership position for an experienced Master Plumber who wants to help build and lead a plumbing division—not simply perform service calls. The selected candidate will serve as the company’s senior technical plumbing authority and will be genuinely involved in field operations, compliance, training, estimating, quality control, and technician development.
This is not a license-rental arrangement.
Role and authority
The Master Plumber will have final internal authority over plumbing-code compliance, technical plumbing methods, safe-work decisions, required supervision levels, testing and inspection standards, technical training, and whether completed plumbing work meets company standards.
The Owner/CEO will retain authority over company finances, marketing, technology, sales systems, customer acquisition, branding, pricing strategy, hiring budgets, and long-term business development. Business decisions cannot override code, licensing, permitting, safety, or applicable law.
Key responsibilities
- Maintain an active Master Plumber credential in the required jurisdiction and help confirm the company’s legally compliant qualifying-individual structure.
- Ensure plumbing work complies with licensing, supervision, permitting, inspection, OSHA, and plumbing-code requirements.
- Prevent unlicensed or improperly supervised plumbing work.
- Lead technical standards for diagnostics, repairs, installations, remodels, replacements, materials, testing, documentation, and closeout.
- Supervise and develop journeymen, technicians, apprentices, and plumbers in training.
- Review technician skill levels and determine which work may be completed independently.
- Support complex service calls, estimates, project scopes, concealed-condition risks, and change-order planning.
- Review callbacks, leaks, failed inspections, warranty claims, and customer complaints; identify root causes and corrective actions.
- Conduct job-site reviews and selected workmanship audits.
- Build practical SOPs, field checklists, truck-stock standards, skills assessments, and training programs.
- Coordinate with dispatch, project management, sales, and administrative staff to improve scheduling, material readiness, and job completion.
- Help standardize pricing and production assumptions for common plumbing services while protecting technical quality and compliance.
- Communicate clearly with customers, employees, inspectors, vendors, and contractors.
- Ensure field staff use the company CRM, digital forms, photographs, and structured job notes.
- Help build a permanent Digital Property Record containing equipment data, pipe materials, shutoff locations, pressure readings, photographs, work performed, warranties, and future recommendations.
- Provide professional judgment on automation and AI-supported workflows; licensed technical decisions remain the responsibility of qualified people.
Required qualifications
- Active Master Plumber certification in West Virginia or the primary operating jurisdiction.
- Credentials in good standing and willingness to verify license status and disciplinary history.
- Eligibility and willingness to serve as the company’s qualifying individual if the proposed structure is confirmed as legally compliant.
- Strong residential service-plumbing, diagnostic, repair, replacement, and remodeling experience.
- Eight or more years of plumbing experience preferred.
- Three or more years in a supervisory, foreman, lead technician, service manager, or operations role preferred.
- Ability to read plans, specifications, manufacturer instructions, and applicable plumbing codes.
- Experience working with inspectors and permit authorities.
- Ability to estimate labor, materials, job complexity, and technical risk.
- Valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.
- Ability to pass applicable background, employment, and drug-screening requirements.
- Comfort using smartphones, tablets, CRM systems, field-service software, photographs, and digital documentation.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Willingness to train and supervise developing plumbers.
Technical scope
The candidate should be capable of overseeing residential work involving water-supply systems; drain, waste, and vent systems; fixtures; water heaters and tankless systems; pressure-reducing valves; expansion tanks; shutoffs; sump and sewage-ejector pumps; filtration and conditioning; sewer and drain diagnostics; camera inspections; repiping; remodel rough-ins and trim-outs; leak detection; freeze damage; pressure testing; backflow requirements; and gas piping where properly licensed and authorized.
Leadership expectations
The strongest candidate takes ownership of technical outcomes, refuses unsafe or unlicensed work, trains others, documents decisions, communicates respectfully, understands job costing, and can disagree professionally when a code or safety issue exists. Technical authority requires accountability and does not mean control of the entire business.
First 90 days
The initial priorities will include reviewing licensing and supervision requirements, evaluating field capabilities, identifying immediate compliance and quality risks, implementing field documentation and quality-control checklists, establishing escalation and callback procedures, building initial truck-stock and training standards, and presenting a practical 12-month plumbing operations plan.
Compensation
$30–$45 per hour, based on verified licensing, technical experience, leadership capability, and role fit. The total package may also include a company vehicle or allowance, fuel card, paid time off, continuing-education and license-renewal support, and performance or retention incentives. Final terms will be documented in the employment offer. Equity is not automatic and will not be granted solely for providing a license.
To apply
Please submit:
- Resume
- Current license information
- Summary of leadership experience
- Number of technicians previously supervised
- Description of residential service experience
- Compensation expectations
- Availability
- Professional references
Final candidates will complete a structured technical and leadership assessment. The assessment will evaluate judgment, compliance, estimating, troubleshooting, supervision, documentation, and team-building ability—not memorization alone.
Pay: $30.00 - $45.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- What Master Plumber licenses or certifications do you currently hold? Include jurisdiction, license number, expiration date, and current standing.
- Have you previously served as a qualifying individual for a plumbing contractor? If yes, describe the jurisdiction, responsibilities, and level of daily involvement. Are you willing to serve in that role here only if the structure is confirmed as legally compliant?
- Describe your plumbing experience by years and approximate percentage in residential service, remodeling, new construction, commercial, and industrial work.
- Describe your leadership experience. How many journeymen, technicians, apprentices, or plumbers in training have you directly supervised, and how did you determine who could work independently?
- Describe a time you disagreed with an owner or manager about a plumbing-code, licensing, permit, or safety issue. What did you do and what was the outcome?
- How do you reduce callbacks and failed inspections? Include the documentation, testing, coaching, and quality-control steps you expect on every service call.
- Which dispatching, estimating, invoicing, CRM, photo-documentation, or field-service systems have you used? Are you comfortable using structured digital job notes and helping develop repeatable software workflows?
Experience:
- professional plumbing: 8 years (Required)
License/Certification:
- West Virginia Master Plumber certification (Required)
Work Location: In person
