A closet shop manager runs the space where board comes in, gets cut and edged, and goes out as labeled parts for each job. They keep stock counted, the saws and CNC router running safely, and every order loaded for installers on the right morning.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Oversees warehouse and shop operations for custom closets by organizing materials, managing fabrication supplies, and coordinating timely deliveries to ensure smooth production and high customer satisfaction.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage daily warehouse operations, ensuring efficient organization of materials and fabrication supplies.
Supervise the shop floor and monitor production workflows to maintain quality control.
Coordinate with vendors and logistics teams to schedule and oversee prompt deliveries.
Enforce workplace safety and cleanliness standards throughout the warehouse and shop environment.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily inventory audits and update material storage records accurately.
Oversee the fabrication process, ensuring adherence to schedule and quality standards.
Liaise with suppliers and transportation providers to ensure timely and accurate deliveries.
Collaborate with team members to address operational issues and optimize workflow efficiency.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Inventory accuracy percentage: >98%.
On-time delivery rate: ≥95%.
Material wastage reduction: ≤3%.
Employee performance efficiency: >90% based on regular evaluations.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Logistics, or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years’ management experience in a warehouse or shop setting.
Proficient in inventory management software and basic computer applications.
Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to troubleshoot fabrication issues and coordinate complex supply chains.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the custom closets or home services industry.
Proven track record in lean manufacturing or continuous improvement initiatives.
Background in overseeing fabrication processes and shop floor operations.
Familiarity with ERP systems and advanced inventory management practices.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.
Prolonged periods of standing and walking in a busy warehouse/shop environment.
Frequent movement in areas with varying temperatures.
Capability to work in active production settings with potential exposure to noise and variable conditions.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours Monday through Friday, with potential overtime during peak periods.
Combination of office and shop floor environments.
Minimal travel required for supplier meetings and delivery coordination.
Occasional on-call responsibilities during critical operational hours.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $50,000 - $65,000 USD per year.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Health, dental, and vision insurance.
401k plan with company match.
Additional benefits including paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a collaborative and innovative environment where every team member contributes to our success.
Our company is dedicated to continuous learning and professional growth, empowering employees to achieve their full potential.
We pride ourselves on a customer-first approach, ensuring every project meets the highest standards of quality and service.
Our inclusive culture encourages diverse ideas and promotes open communication, supporting both personal and professional development.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Most service company warehouses store parts and hand them out. A closet shop is a small factory: it turns full sheets of laminated board into labeled parts, and one missing part can stop an install.
Saws need push sticks, sharp blades and safe controls
OSHA has a rule for woodworking machines, and it covers the shop's saws. Push sticks or push blocks must be on hand. Dull or cracked blades come out of service. The operator must be able to cut the power without leaving the machine. If a restart after a power cut could hurt someone, the machine must not start up again on its own. Source: OSHA: 29 CFR 1910.213, woodworking machinery.
Reaching into the CNC router means lockout
Clearing a jam inside a CNC router or beam saw, or taking off a guard to fix it, is servicing under OSHA's lockout rule. Small tool changes are left out only when they're routine and done with other safe steps. Covered work needs written lockout steps and training, and the employer must inspect each procedure in use at least once a year to see that it's followed. Source: OSHA: 29 CFR 1910.147, control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout).
Wood dust is a health and fire hazard
OSHA's wood dust page says NTP and IARC both list wood dust as a cause of cancer in people. It warns that large buildups of fine dust can burn or explode. Keep dust collectors emptied and dust off beams and motors. If you require respirators, OSHA's respirator rule calls for a written program, medical evaluations and fit tests for tight-fitting ones. Source: OSHA: Wood dust hazards.
Loud machines can trigger a hearing program
Panel saws, routers and dust collectors are loud. At an 8-hour average exposure of 85 decibels or more, the employer must run a hearing conservation program under OSHA's noise rule, with hearing tests and hearing protectors at no cost to the worker. Measure the shop's noise instead of guessing. Source: OSHA: 29 CFR 1910.95, occupational noise exposure.
Board arrives with a formaldehyde label
Particleboard, MDF and hardwood plywood sold in the U.S. must be labeled TSCA Title VI certified, with the maker's name, the lot number and the certifier's number, on each panel or bundle. The shop manager checks the label at receiving and keeps the lot details, so a designer can answer a customer who asks about formaldehyde. Source: 40 CFR 770.45: Labeling of composite wood products (Cornell LII).
How much closet shop managers make
The closest BLS group for closet shop managers is First-Line supervisors of production and operating workers. First-Line supervisors of production and operating workers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $35.13 an hour ($73,060 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $74,450 median for First-Line supervisors of production and operating workers in all industries. About 1,210 of the 673,430 First-Line supervisors of production and operating workers in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
The template offers an annual salary with performance bonuses. That salary is below the median BLS reports for production supervisors, shown on this page. Good bonus measures for a closet shop are recuts, count accuracy and orders shipped complete.
Building finishing contractors
$73,060$73,060 median Middle half $61,360–$81,990 10th–90th $49,580–$103,220
All industries
$74,450$74,450 median Middle half $58,630–$91,680 10th–90th $47,130–$108,750
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building finishing contractors
$49,580
$61,360
$73,060
$81,990
$103,220
All industries
$47,130
$58,630
$74,450
$91,680
$108,750
BLS doesn’t publish pay for closet companies on their own. These figures cover building finishing contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run or supervised a panel saw, CNC router or edgebander
Counts stock carefully and traces every miss to its cause
Plans the week's cutting so installs get parts on time
Enforces guards, lockout and dust rules every day
Works well with installers, designers and suppliers
Teach these on the job
Your design-to-CNC software and part labels
Your board, hardware and finish suppliers
Your staging and load-out system by job
Forklift training and operator evaluations
Your ERP or inventory system
The shop runs on a panel or beam saw, a CNC router, an edgebander and a boring machine, plus a forklift and a dust collector. Software turns approved designs into cut lists and part labels, and an inventory or ERP system tracks board, hardware and finishes.
Closet shop manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Delivery problems
A board delivery arrives with water damage on several sheets. What do you do?
A strong answer: Documents and notes it on the delivery paperwork, rejects or sets the sheets aside, contacts the supplier and tells production about any effect on jobs.
Behavioral · Reducing waste
Tell me about a time you cut material waste in a shop.
A strong answer: Names the change, such as better nesting or tracking offcuts, and how much waste dropped.
Set targets once your counts and recut log have run long enough to trust. A shop that has never counted carefully will look worse for a month before it looks better.
Inventory accuracy percentage
Weekly counts of board by color and thickness, hardware and accessories, checked against what the system says. When a count misses, find out whether receiving, cutting or a job pull caused it.
On-time delivery rate
Orders staged complete and on the truck by the install date, out of orders due. A job that leaves missing one drawer front counts as late.
Material wastage reduction
Scrap from offcuts, recuts and damaged sheets, measured against board used. Log the reason for each recut, whether a design error, a machine fault or handling, so you fix the right thing.
Employee performance efficiency
Use one review form for every shop worker: parts cut or edged per shift, recuts caused and safety habits. Base it on records, not on who looks busy.
Career path
CNC or saw operatorCuts and edges parts and learns each machine.
Shop managerRuns stock, the shop floor and load-out.
Production managerOwns manufacturing, quality and safety across shop and field.
General managerRuns the whole business, from first call to finished closet.
The template wants a four-year degree in business, logistics or a related field. Many strong shop managers come up from the saw or the CNC instead. Consider adding "or equivalent experience," as the design consultant template does, so you don't turn away a shop lead who already runs the floor well.
How much does a closet shop manager make?
First-Line supervisors of production and operating workers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $35.13 an hour ($73,060 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $61,360 and $81,990 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Which closet shop workers may run the forklift?
Only workers trained and evaluated on that truck. OSHA requires the training before anyone operates a forklift on their own, a new evaluation at least every three years, and a written certification with the operator's name, the training and evaluation dates, and who did them. The shop manager can keep those records and book the evaluations.
How is a closet shop manager different from the production manager?
The production manager's template covers manufacturing: quality rules, safety in the shop and on site, and lining production up with design and installs. The shop manager runs the floor day to day, with counts, cutting order, vendor deliveries and load-out. Smaller closet companies often fold the two into one job.
What belongs in a closet shop manager job ad?
The machines you run by type, the size of the shop crew, the start time, and whether the job drives a delivery truck. The template lists noise and heavy lifts among its physical demands, so describe them as tasks, such as moving full sheets with a panel cart or forklift and working near running saws.
