A plumbing field supervisor oversees install crews and service plumbers in the field. They check repipes, water heater installs and sewer replacements before they're covered or inspected, fix problems crews can't, and keep jobs on schedule and on budget, spending most days on the road between sites.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, plumbing and HVAC contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for overseeing plumbing projects, ensuring high-quality workmanship, and troubleshooting issues to keep jobs on schedule and within budget. Acts as the pivotal link between field technicians and management, driving operational efficiency and excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Supervise and inspect plumbing installations and repair work to ensure adherence to company standards.
Troubleshoot technical issues on job sites and implement effective solutions promptly.
Monitor project timelines and enforce adherence to deadlines.
Communicate regularly with field crews and project managers regarding progress, challenges, and quality concerns.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily inspections of ongoing projects to verify workmanship quality.
Provide technical guidance and support to plumbing technicians on the job site.
Coordinate with subcontractors and suppliers to ensure timely delivery of materials.
Compile detailed reports on job progress and issue resolution for management review.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Job Completion Rate: Achieve a 95% on-time project completion rate.
Quality Assurance: Maintain a callback rate below 5%.
Customer Satisfaction: Attain a customer satisfaction rating of over 4.8 stars.
Cost Efficiency: Ensure project expenses remain within a 10% variance of allocated budgets.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent; technical certification in plumbing or construction preferred.
Minimum 3 years of experience in plumbing work with at least 1 year in supervision.
Strong technical aptitude for plumbing systems and troubleshooting.
Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous role in a field supervisory capacity within the plumbing or home services industry.
Experience working with diverse plumbing systems in residential and commercial settings.
Familiarity with local plumbing codes and regulatory requirements.
Proven track record of managing multiple projects simultaneously.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
Capable of working in varying weather conditions including hot, cold, and humid environments.
Requirement to navigate confined spaces and elevated work areas.
Stamina to perform physical tasks during extended periods on job sites.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with occasional overtime as project demands require.
Some evening or weekend work may be necessary to meet deadlines.
Travel required between job sites within the local area.
On-call availability during critical project phases may be expected.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $60,000 - $80,000 USD per annum, dependent on experience.
Eligible for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401k plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits include paid time off and career development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are committed to fostering a culture of teamwork, continuous improvement, and innovation.
We empower our employees with the resources and support necessary to excel in their careers.
Join us in an environment where your contributions are valued, and you are encouraged to grow both personally and professionally.
Our inclusive and collaborative culture drives us to deliver exceptional service to our customers every day.
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
Any supervisor watches quality and safety. At a residential plumbing company, the hazards and checks are specific: yard trenches, concrete slabs, crawl spaces and walls that close up fast.
Sewer replacements put crews in trenches
Replacing a sewer line means a trench across the yard. OSHA says workers in a trench five feet deep or more must be protected from cave-ins, unless it's dug in stable rock. The walls get sloped or benched, shored, or fitted with a trench box. A shallower trench needs one too if a competent person finds signs of a possible cave-in. The supervisor makes sure that check happens before anyone climbs in. Source: OSHA: Protective systems for excavations (29 CFR 1926.652).
Breaking concrete brings silica rules
Slab leaks and under-slab drain repairs mean jackhammering or sawing concrete. OSHA's silica rule for construction lists dust controls for those tools, such as water on the blade. Covered employers need a written exposure control plan and a competent person to carry it out. The supervisor checks that crews use the controls, not just carry them on the truck. Source: OSHA: Silica in construction.
Crawl spaces and attics get sized up first
Repipes and remodels often run new pipe through crawl spaces and attics. OSHA's confined space rule for construction reaches both during construction and remodeling. Its residential fact sheet says a crawl space seldom brings in most of the rule's duties, except when something like a live, exposed wire is down there. Attic heat strong enough to cause heat exhaustion can turn an attic into a permit-required space. Have a trained person judge each space before the crew climbs in. Source: OSHA fact sheet: Confined spaces in residential construction.
Check it before the drywall goes back
On a repipe, new lines run through walls and ceilings, and the drywall patch follows fast. The supervisor checks supports, fittings, protective nail plates and the pressure test while everything is open, and before the city inspector arrives. A failed rough-in costs a return trip and delays the patch crew in a home where the family is still living.
Subs, deliveries and the job budget
Residential jobs lean on other trades: concrete cutting for slab work, excavation or boring for sewer lines, drywall and paint after a repipe. The supervisor books them in the right order and makes sure the water heater, fixtures or pipe arrive before the crew does. Idle crews and second trips are where job budgets slip.
Residential vs. commercial plumbing field supervisor
Both jobs check work and keep crews safe. The size of the jobs and who sets the schedule change.
Topic
Residential
Commercial
Jobs at once
Many short jobs a week: repipes, water heaters, sewer replacements
A few long projects, often one building for months
Who sets the schedule
Your own board and the homeowner's availability
The general contractor's construction schedule
Where the risks are
Yard trenches, crawl spaces, attics and lived-in homes
Deeper excavations, lifts and work at height on active sites
Paperwork
Permits, inspection results and job photos
Submittals, requests for information, daily reports and change orders
Who is on site
The homeowner, often living in the house during the work
The general contractor's superintendent and other trades
How much plumbing field supervisors make
The closest BLS group for plumbing field supervisors is First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $44.87 an hour ($93,320 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $79,920 median for First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in all industries. About 60,520 of the 812,210 First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in that survey work for plumbing and HVAC contractors.
Pay in the template is a yearly salary with a bonus for results. Tie the bonus to what the supervisor controls, such as callbacks, jobs on budget or a clean safety record. Paying a salary doesn't settle overtime by itself, since the job's duties count too, so check before you set the pay plan.
Plumbing and HVAC contractors
$93,320$93,320 median Middle half $75,600–$112,920 10th–90th $61,200–$138,720
All industries
$79,920$79,920 median Middle half $63,400–$101,460 10th–90th $53,280–$128,260
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Plumbing and HVAC contractors
$61,200
$75,600
$93,320
$112,920
$138,720
All industries
$53,280
$63,400
$79,920
$101,460
$128,260
BLS reports plumbing and HVAC contractors together. 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
Enough residential plumbing experience to spot a bad joint or a wrong drain slope on sight
Gives a crew blunt feedback and keeps their respect
Keeps trench, silica and ladder rules in place when the job is behind
Plans several jobs a day and keeps crews and subs moving
Keeps a short daily log, photos attached
Teach these on the job
Your inspection checklist and what each photo must show
Job costing and budget reports in your software
Competent person training for trenches and silica
Coaching and discipline, if they're new to managing
Your callback and warranty claim process
Supervisors carry test gauges, a sewer camera and a moisture meter to check finished work, plus a tablet for job photos and the daily log. Tell candidates which of this gear you supply and how many crews they'll cover.
Plumbing field supervisor interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Measure each one across all the crews this supervisor oversees. Set the targets from past jobs before you hold anyone to them.
Job Completion Rate
Jobs this supervisor's crews wrapped up by the date the customer was given, counted monthly. Note which delays came from permits, weather or the homeowner.
Quality Assurance
Callbacks on this supervisor's crews inside your warranty window, as a share of their finished jobs. Go through each one with the crew and name the cause.
Customer Satisfaction
Survey and review scores for jobs on the supervisor's crews, compared month to month and against the company as a whole.
Cost Efficiency
Actual labor, materials and subcontractor costs against each job's budget, from your job costing reports. Look for patterns, like repipes that always run over on labor.
Does a plumbing field supervisor need a plumbing license?
If they'll be the licensed person on site for apprentices, yes. In Texas, the responsible master plumber must make sure a licensed plumber directly supervises every site where a registered apprentice is doing plumbing work. An unlicensed supervisor can check quality and safety but can't fill that role. Where your state licenses plumbers, a journeyman license is a sensible minimum for this job.
How much does a plumbing field supervisor make?
First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $44.87 an hour ($93,320 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $75,600 and $112,920 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who can be the competent person on a trench?
OSHA doesn't tie it to a job title. The person has to recognize hazards, including ones likely to develop, and have your authority to fix them at once. On a trench, they inspect before work starts each day, as needed during the shift and after every rainstorm, and pull workers out at signs of a cave-in. A trained field supervisor fits that role well.
How is a plumbing field supervisor different from a production manager?
In a residential plumbing shop, the production manager plans the install side from the office: scheduling jobs, ordering materials and handing work to crews after the sale. The field supervisor is out on the jobs, checking quality and safety and solving problems as they come up. Smaller shops sometimes combine the two. If you do, expect less time in the field.
Does a plumbing field supervisor still do plumbing?
Some. The template's duties are inspecting work, troubleshooting, tracking timelines and reporting, so the tools come out when a crew is stuck, not for a full board of calls. If you also expect them to fill in on a repipe crew or the service board when you're short, say so in the ad. Every hour on a crew is an hour not spent checking other jobs.
