A design-build warehouse manager runs the building where a firm keeps each family's cabinets, windows and fixtures until their house is ready, along with the ladders, tools and dust-control gear crews move from job to job. They lead the warehouse staff, stage each job's loads by phase, and keep stored orders from getting damaged.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Oversee the efficient management of construction materials, tools, and deliveries to ensure smooth operations for design-build projects. Play a key role in optimizing inventory processes and supporting project teams with timely material availability. Contribute to the overall success of the company by maintaining high standards of safety, organization, and resource allocation.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage daily warehouse operations including receiving, storing, and distributing construction materials and tools.
Supervise a team of warehouse staff ensuring adherence to safety protocols and operational guidelines.
Coordinate deliveries and logistics with construction teams to support ongoing design-build projects.
Monitor and control inventory levels to minimize discrepancies and ensure project requirements are met.
Implement and maintain operational best practices to enhance efficiency and reduce material waste.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Oversee the receipt and inspection of incoming materials and tools ensuring quality and accuracy.
Coordinate scheduled deliveries and communicate updates with field supervisors and project managers.
Organize and maintain a systematic arrangement of inventory for quick retrieval and use.
Prepare and review daily reports on shipment statuses, inventory levels, and logistical challenges.
Facilitate regular meetings with the warehouse team to ensure continuous improvement and address concerns.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Inventory Accuracy: Achieve a 98% accuracy rate in inventory tracking and control.
On-Time Delivery: Maintain a delivery success rate of 95% or above.
Order Fulfillment Efficiency: Ensure an average order processing time of less than 2 hours.
Cost Efficiency: Reduce operational costs by at least 10% annually through process improvements.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, or a related field.
Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in warehouse management, preferably within construction or design-build environments.
Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail.
Proficient with inventory management software and Microsoft Office applications.
Excellent communication and leadership abilities, with a focus on teamwork and safety.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience working in the design-build or construction industry with a clear understanding of material requirements.
Experience managing a team in a fast-paced, high-volume warehouse setting.
Background in logistics coordination and supply chain optimization for construction projects.
Familiarity with lean management practices and continuous improvement initiatives.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and move materials weighing up to 50 pounds regularly.
Frequent standing, bending, and reaching to accomplish daily warehouse tasks.
Exposure to outdoor construction environments and varying temperatures.
Capability to maneuver in confined spaces within the warehouse setting.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, with occasional extended hours to meet project deadlines.
Expect on-site work in a busy warehouse along with periodic visits to construction sites.
On-call responsibilities may be required during critical project phases.
A fast-paced environment focused on maintaining operational efficiency and meeting construction deadlines.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range of $65,000 - $80,000 per year based on experience and performance.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses tied to key operational KPIs.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage.
401k plan with company match and opportunities for professional development.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off, employee discounts, and wellness programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous growth. Our team is passionate about delivering exceptional service in the design-build industry, and we provide our employees with the support and resources needed to excel and develop professionally. We are committed to creating an inclusive work environment where every team member is empowered to contribute to our shared success.
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].
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A design-build warehouse is part storage room, part tool crib. Much of what sits on its racks already belongs to a family's project and has to leave the building in the same shape it arrived.
Every open job gets its own bay
A kitchen's cabinets, the window order for an addition and a family's light fixtures may wait here for weeks. The warehouse manager gives each job a marked bay or rack, tagged with the client and job number, and sorts it by phase: rough-in items up front, finish items behind. When a crew loads out, it takes the next phase for that house, not whatever happens to sit closest to the door.
Cabinets wait in a dry, heated room
Cabinets often arrive before a kitchen is ready for them. MasterBrand, one large cabinet maker, recommends storing and installing its cabinets in a temperate room with its humidity and temperature kept in check. It also says work that adds moisture, such as taping drywall or pouring concrete, must be finished before installation. So the warehouse keeps cabinet orders in conditioned space and off the slab, and holds them back from a house where the drywall mud is still wet. Source: MasterBrand Cabinets: humidification education (storing and installing cabinets).
Ladders and scaffold get checked on return
Scaffold frames, planks and stepladders come back from additions bent, cracked or caked in mud. OSHA's ladder rule says a damaged portable ladder is marked or tagged the moment the defect is found, then withdrawn until repaired. The scaffold rule treats damaged parts the same way: repair, replace, brace or remove them. The warehouse checks every piece before it's racked, and tagged pieces wait in a repair corner. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.1053, ladders (defective ladders withdrawn from service).
Dust-control kits go out complete
Crews in lived-in homes seal off rooms with plastic walls and spring poles, cover floors and stairs, and run air scrubbers and vacuums. The warehouse builds kits sized for a bathroom, a kitchen or a whole floor, counts each one back in, and replaces worn plastic, zipper doors and filters before it goes out again. A kit a few poles short means dust in rooms the family is still using.
Tools spread out over long jobs
A custom home can keep a crew, plus the firm's laser, table saw and compressor, on one lot from foundation to final. The warehouse manager signs each firm-owned tool out to the lead carpenter who will answer for it, not to a truck, and swaps broken tools quickly so crews don't buy their own. Without that, the firm buys a second laser while the first sits in a finished basement across town.
How much design-build warehouse managers make
The closest BLS group for design-build warehouse managers is transportation, storage, and distribution managers. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers who work for building contractors earned a median of $102,550 a year ($49.30 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $107,230 median for transportation, storage, and distribution managers in all industries. About 650 of the 221,180 transportation, storage, and distribution managers in that survey work for building contractors.
A salary plus bonuses tied to the template's KPIs. Few managers in this BLS group work at building contractors. On their chart, the template's range starts about where the lowest-paid tenth tops out and ends a little past the lowest-paid quarter, which fits a warehouse with a small staff. Raise it if the manager also buys for every job or runs the delivery trucks.
Building contractors
$102,550$102,550 median Middle half $77,290–$165,200 10th–90th $65,090–$191,350
All industries
$107,230$107,230 median Middle half $82,440–$146,770 10th–90th $65,120–$194,900
$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
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 contractors
$65,090
$77,290
$102,550
$165,200
$191,350
All industries
$65,120
$82,440
$107,230
$146,770
$194,900
BLS doesn’t publish pay for design-build firms on their own. These figures cover construction of buildings, 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 managed a warehouse or materials yard for a builder, remodeler or building supply company
Stages each job's materials by phase so crews load only what they need
Keeps stored finished goods, such as cabinets and windows, free of damage
Inspects returned ladders, scaffold and tools and pulls the bad ones
Leads a small warehouse team and trains new hires
Teach these on the job
Your job numbers and how each job is labeled
Which lead carpenters hold which firm tools
Your dust-control kit lists
The schedule views in your project management software
Storage instructions for the cabinet and window lines you buy
The manager works from job schedules in the project management app, a scan-in, scan-out tool tracker, and the racks, carts and pallet jack on the floor. Some firms add a box truck to the role, while others leave every drive to the crews.
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 · Catching spec mismatches
A client's custom vanity arrives and doesn't match the designer's spec sheet. What do you do?
A strong answer: Holds it from the site, documents it, contacts the vendor and designer, checks the schedule impact, and tells the project manager.
Behavioral · Using the team's ideas
Tell me about a time you used your warehouse team's ideas to fix a recurring problem.
A strong answer: Explains the problem, how they asked for input, the fix the team chose, and how well it worked.
Look at each job's numbers, not only the monthly totals. A whole-home remodel can pull more loads in a week than three bathrooms do in a month, so set targets after a busy season.
Inventory Accuracy
Requests that found nothing where the records said, counted monthly across job bays, shared stock and the tool fleet. A family's item found weeks later still counts against the month it went missing.
On-Time Delivery
Phase loads ready when the field supervisor booked them. A load that left on time but short, such as trim without its hardware, counts as late, since the crew loses the same morning either way.
Order Fulfillment Efficiency
Time from a PM's or lead carpenter's pull request to the items tagged and staged, from the app's time stamps. A request for something the job's bay should already have held counts as a miss, however fast it's filled.
Cost Efficiency
The yearly cost to run the warehouse, counting staff, rent, trucks and items written off as damaged or lost, set against the construction revenue it supports.
Career path
Laborer / helperLoads trucks, hauls debris and learns what each phase of a job needs.
Inventory specialistChecks family selections and shared stock in and keeps the records.
Warehouse managerRuns the building, the job bays, the tool fleet and the warehouse team.
Operations managerDirects every crew and sub, with the warehouse as one part of the work.
Not always. A firm with only three or four jobs open can have suppliers hold orders until a release date and deliver straight to the house. A warehouse earns its cost when many jobs run at once, family orders land weeks early, and tools and dust-control kits need a home between jobs. Count how often crews wait on material or hunt for a tool before you decide.
How much does a design-build warehouse manager make?
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers who work for building contractors earned a median of $102,550 a year ($49.30 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $77,290 and $165,200 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a design-build warehouse building have?
A heated, dry room for cabinets and millwork, a dock or an overhead door wide enough for a box truck, and racks that hold doors and long trim flat. Add a locked cage for appliances and costly fixtures, and floor space to stage each job by phase. Being close to most of your jobs matters more than cheap rent, since every load and return crosses that distance.
What happens to stored orders when a job goes on hold?
Tell the project manager each month what's waiting for paused jobs, with the dates it arrived. A stalled permit or a family's financing delay can leave cabinets and windows on the racks for months. Move long-held orders to a rack where they won't be bumped, and ask the project manager whether the contract lets the firm bill for storage.
What does the template's confined space line mean in this warehouse?
Keep the line. Here it describes squeezing between cabinet boxes stored close together, reaching to the back of a job's bay, and working inside a box truck while loading. The posting should list those tasks and the lifting up to fifty pounds, and tell applicants they can ask for reasonable accommodation.
