An excavation operations manager builds tomorrow's plan for every crew, machine and dump truck, from one-day basement digs to weeks of grading on a new subdivision. They keep locate tickets, soil tests and erosion control repairs on time, so builders get their lots when promised.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
Oversee day-to-day excavation and site work operations to ensure efficient allocation of crews and timely completion of earthmoving tasks. Enhance resource and logistics management while upholding safety and quality standards. Play a critical role in driving productivity and supporting the company’s operational goals.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Allocate work crews effectively and assign tasks based on project priorities and skill sets.
Schedule and coordinate earthmoving tasks to maximize productivity and meet project deadlines.
Oversee resource allocation and logistical planning for excavation and site work operations.
Ensure compliance with safety standards and environmental regulations during all field operations.
Collaborate with project managers and field supervisors to optimize workflow and resolve operational challenges.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update daily and weekly schedules for excavation crews.
Monitor on-site operations to ensure adherence to project plans and safety protocols.
Communicate regularly with project managers, suppliers, and customers to coordinate logistics.
Analyze operational data to identify inefficiencies and implement process improvements.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Crew Allocation Efficiency: Achieve 90% or higher effective crew utilization.
On-Time Task Completion: Maintain a 95% rate of on-time earthmoving task execution.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Secure a customer satisfaction score of greater than 4.8 out of 5.
Resource Optimization: Attain a minimum of 5% cost savings through improved logistics.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in operations management within the construction or excavation industry.
Strong leadership and team management skills with excellent communication abilities.
Proficiency in project scheduling software and resource management tools.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience managing operations in excavation, site work, or a similar external construction environment.
Demonstrated success in coordinating large-scale earthmoving projects.
Familiarity with local and state regulations impacting excavation and site work operations.
Experience in process optimization and cost management within a field service setting.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to conduct on-site inspections and supervise activities in various weather conditions.
Occasional lifting of up to 25 pounds may be required during field visits.
Comfortable working primarily outdoors and in active construction environments.
Must be able to stand, walk, and work on uneven terrain for extended periods.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional early mornings, evenings, or weekend site visits may be required based on project demands.
Minimal travel between project sites within the region.
May be required to act as an on-call operations lead during critical project phases.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $75,000 to $95,000 USD per year, based on experience and qualifications.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
401(k) plan with company match options.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a dynamic, growth-oriented work environment that values innovation, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
Our company is dedicated to supporting employee development and providing opportunities to advance within the organization.
We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional service and maintaining high safety standards in every project.
Join our team and become a part of a collaborative culture that rewards initiative, creativity, and a commitment to excellence.
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
What an excavation operations manager keeps lined up
Site work runs as many short jobs at once: a basement dig on one lot, a sewer tie-in on another, a pad to grade across town. Each needs the right crew, a live locate ticket and dirt dry enough to work.
Locate tickets run on a clock
Dig laws vary by state. For most digs, New Hampshire law has the excavator outline the area in white paint or stakes first. Notice has to reach the center 72 hours or more before digging, with weekends and holidays left off the count, and within 30 days of the start. The ticket lasts 30 calendar days. Utilities don't have to mark lines they don't own, such as a feed from a house to a garage. The manager tracks every lot's ticket and files a new one before it lapses. Source: New Hampshire RSA 374:51: Notification by excavator (example state).
Erosion controls get checked on a schedule
Clearing or grading an acre or more, or a smaller lot in a larger subdivision plan, needs stormwater permit coverage. In New Hampshire, where EPA issues the permit, the site is inspected at least every 7 days, or every 14 days and within 24 hours of a quarter-inch rain. Stabilizing starts by the next business day on ground that will sit idle 14 days or more. The manager sends crews to fix silt fence after storms and to seed or mulch idle ground. Source: EPA: 2022 Construction General Permit, as modified (inspections and stabilization).
Wet dirt slows everything
Fill under a pad, a road or a trench backfill is often tested for density before the next lift or trade goes on. Soil that is too wet won't pass however long the roller runs, so the crew may have to disc it to dry or bring in drier fill. The manager books the tester for when a lift is truly ready and moves the crew rather than letting it roll mud.
Trucks set the pace of a dig
On a mass dig or a haul-off, the number of dump trucks decides how fast the excavator can work. Too few and the machine waits; too many and drivers sit in line. The manager sizes the truck count to the load time and the round trip, and lines up hired haulers before a big export day.
How much excavation operations managers make
The closest BLS group for excavation operations managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $102,680 a year ($49.36 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 26,090 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for other specialty trade contractors.
Salary is the base. Tie the template's bonus to tasks finished on schedule and to trucking and rental spending, so it rewards planning rather than crew overtime.
Other specialty trade contractors
$102,680$102,680 median Middle half $75,710–$147,200 10th–90th $51,310–$203,280
All industries
$105,770$105,770 median Middle half $72,320–$167,280 10th–90th $50,090–$253,390
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Other specialty trade contractors
$51,310
$75,710
$102,680
$147,200
$203,280
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS doesn’t publish pay for excavation contractors on their own. These figures cover other specialty trade 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 kept a dozen or more builder lots moving at once without losing track of one
Plans a lot's machines and trucks from the grading plan and soil report
Keeps locate tickets and permits current across many lots
Gets silt fence fixed and idle ground seeded on time after storms
Judges when ground is too wet to work and moves crews before they rut a site
Teach these on the job
Your one-call center's ticket portal
Your stormwater inspection forms and permit files
Your testing firm's scheduling and reports
How each builder releases lots and who signs for them
Your crew list and who can run which machine
The manager's day runs on a crew schedule board, the one-call center's ticket portal, machine telematics, and calls with the testing firm and haulers. A finalist who has kept dozens of locate tickets live at once, without one lapsing, will settle in fast.
Excavation operations 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 · Prioritizing crews
Three general contractors each say their job is the priority next week, and you have crews for two. How do you decide?
A strong answer: Looks at contract dates and penalties, which sites are ready with permits, locates and staking done, margin and relationship, then tells each contractor the truth and offers options.
Behavioral · Improving productivity
Tell me about a process change you made that improved crew or equipment productivity on site work.
A strong answer: Names the bottleneck, like trucks waiting at the excavator or a pipe crew waiting on material, the change, such as matching truck count to loading rate or staging pipe the day before, and the gain in loads or feet per day.
Days lost to rain or frozen ground belong on their own line, or these numbers will blame the manager for the weather.
Crew Allocation Efficiency
Of the crew hours paid each week, the share spent digging, grading or laying pipe on a job. Most lost hours hide in two places: driving between lots and waiting on locates or the tester.
On-Time Task Completion
Compare each day's plan with the foremen's reports: basements dug, pads cut, sewer runs laid. A miss caused by a builder's unready lot counts as theirs, not the crew's.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
After each lot or phase, ask the builder's superintendent two things: did the crew come on the day promised, and was the lot left graded and clean for the next trade?
Resource Optimization
Trucking, rental, fuel and overtime per job against the plan. A cut that made a job finish late, such as too few trucks on an export day, isn't a saving.
Who holds the stormwater permit on a builder's site?
Often not you. Where EPA issues the permit, it treats as operators the party that controls the plans, most often the owner, and the party with day-to-day control of the site, most often the general contractor. Subcontractors generally aren't operators. If a developer hires you directly to run the site, you may be one. Either way, the contract should name who inspects and who repairs the controls. EPA's 2022 permit runs through February 16, 2027, and a replacement has been proposed. States that issue their own permits set their own terms.
How much does an excavation operations manager make?
General and operations managers who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $102,680 a year ($49.36 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $75,710 and $147,200 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How do I explain the template's uneven-terrain and lifting lines?
The template asks for standing, walking and working on uneven ground for long stretches, plus lifting up to 25 pounds. For this manager, that means checking a fresh lift before the tester comes and pulling silt fence back up after a storm. It also means carrying fittings or a tripod to a crew and getting in and out of trucks and machines. Put that work in the post. Applicants who need it done another way can ask, and you weigh that as a reasonable accommodation.
When should tomorrow's excavation schedule be locked?
Lock tomorrow by mid-afternoon and keep a rough two-week plan tied to each builder's lot releases. File locate tickets when a lot is confirmed, not the day before the machine arrives, while staying inside your state's window for how early a ticket may be filed. Keep one backup job ready for every crew in case rain or a late lot wipes out the plan.
Is there a limit to the jobs one operations manager can juggle?
It depends more on spread and job length than on revenue. Many one-day basement digs across a metro area take more juggling than two large developments. Watch for tickets lapsing, trucks waiting at the wrong site, or crews the manager hasn't seen in a week. When that starts, add a dispatcher for calls and tickets before adding a second manager.
