Technical Operations Lead

CREW Carbon•New York, NY

1d•$120,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

CREW Carbon is seeking an experienced Technical Operations Lead to manage the team, systems, and processes involved in operating CREW's technology at wastewater treatment plants nationwide. This role involves leading engineers, project managers, and field staff in the design, procurement, construction, installation, and maintenance of the company's fleet, ensuring each deployment is robust, cost-effective, and on schedule. The position requires a blend of technical expertise and operational leadership, with a focus on technical judgment for designs and vendors, and operational discipline for managing a distributed deployment pipeline. As the fleet expands, the lead will contribute to improving controls, standardizing processes, and informing strategic decisions. The ideal candidate is a hands-on operator with prior experience leading distributed field service, deployment, or fleet operations, comfortable with cost and schedule accountability, and motivated by building the operational foundation of a rapidly growing water technology company.

Requirements

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.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, early-stage, or evolving company environment.
Able to travel 20-40%.
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.

Nice To Haves

Product or strategic thinking a strong plus — this role grows into shaping the future of our deployments.
PE license a plus, not required.

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.
As the operation matures, 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.