A remodeling chief operating officer runs everything after the contract is signed: production, trade partners, safety and warranty, across many kitchen, bath and whole-home jobs at once. They build the systems that let project managers and lead carpenters finish on time while families keep living in the house.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Provides strategic leadership for remodeling operations, ensuring alignment of process improvements and team performance with the company's overall objectives. Drives operational excellence and efficient decision-making across the organization. Serves as a key member of the executive team to innovate and implement best practices in the remodeling industry.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee all remodeling operations to optimize efficiency and quality of service.
Develop and implement operational policies and procedures to improve processes and streamline operations.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure operational alignment with company goals.
Monitor performance metrics and drive continuous improvement initiatives across all service areas.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily reviews of remodeling project progress and operational performance.
Manage and mentor team leaders and operation managers to foster a high-performing work environment.
Analyze operational data to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities for operational enhancements.
Liaise with vendors, subcontractors, and clients to ensure seamless project execution and client satisfaction.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: ≥95% on-time completion of remodeling projects.
Process Improvement Implementation: Achieve a 20% improvement in department efficiency within the first year.
Team Alignment Score: >90% positive employee engagement and satisfaction rate.
Operational Cost Reduction: Attain a 10% reduction in operational expenditures through strategic process improvements.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.
A minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in operations management.
Proven track record in process improvement, operational scaling, and team leadership.
Strong analytical, strategic planning, and communication skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the remodeling or home services industry.
Prior use of project management or operational optimization tools and software.
Demonstrated success in leading large-scale operational transformations.
Background in managing multi-site operations and remote teams.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in an office environment and conduct occasional site visits.
Capable of lifting up to 20 pounds when necessary for on-site operational tasks.
Must be able to travel to various work sites and attend industry events.
Adaptability to variable work environments, including remote locations and construction sites.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours based on project deadlines and operational needs.
Periodic travel to remodeling job sites and cross-department meetings.
Availability for on-call duties during critical project implementations or emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range of $150,000 - $200,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based annual bonus opportunities.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits.
Employer-sponsored 401k plan with matching contributions.
Additional benefits including paid time off, professional development allowances, and company-sponsored events.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative, innovative, and inclusive work environment where every team member is encouraged to grow and excel.
We champion a culture of continuous improvement and proactive collaboration, ensuring that our dedication to customer satisfaction and industry-leading quality remains at the forefront of our operations.
Our team is committed to supporting one another while delivering exceptional remodeling services that transform our clients’ spaces and lives.
Join us to be part of a forward-thinking company that values creativity, accountability, and a relentless pursuit of 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].
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What's different about a COO at a remodeling company
A COO's work happens inside people's homes, with your crews and outside trades in the same rooms. That raises the stakes on safety, trade licenses and how the family is treated.
On your jobs, you're the controlling employer
OSHA's multi-employer policy says more than one employer may be cited for a hazard on a shared site. The controlling employer has general supervisory authority over the site, including the power to fix hazards or make others fix them. On a remodel, that is usually you. Its duty is reasonable care, which is less than it owes its own crew. Decide how often project managers check trade partners' work areas, and write it down. Source: OSHA: Multi-employer citation policy (CPL 02-00-124).
Kentucky electrical work needs a master electrician
In Kentucky, an electrical contractor's license requires a Kentucky master electrician license, held by the applicant or by someone the company employs. Send new kitchen circuits and panel work to a licensed electrical contractor. Keep a current copy of each trade partner's license and insurance on file, and check it again at renewal. Plumbing, HVAC and other states have rules of their own. Source: Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction: Electrical new application checklists.
Project managers set your ceiling
Revenue rises no faster than your supply of project managers and lead carpenters who can run a job in a lived-in home. Track how many active jobs and how much contract value each project manager carries. Hire the next one before your best one is stretched past what they handle well.
The family is still living there
Homeowners often stay home through a kitchen or bath remodel. Write one company standard for dust walls, floor protection, daily cleanup and locking up at night. Then audit jobs against it the same way you audit safety, and share the scores with project managers.
Warranty calls show what to fix
Log every warranty call by trade, by product and by project manager. Patterns like cracked grout, sticking doors or loose trim point to a fix in how jobs are built, and that fix belongs to the COO, not to the crew that gets sent back.
How much remodeling chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for remodeling chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 520 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Pay is a salary and a yearly bonus, per the template. BLS groups COOs with chief executives, so the industry median shown runs above the template's range.
Residential builders and remodelers
$213,510$213,510 median Middle half $157,070–$315,530 10th–90th $91,200–$392,560
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Residential builders and remodelers
$91,200
$157,070
$213,510
$315,530
$392,560
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS reports remodelers and home builders 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
Has run production across many jobs at once with subcontracted trades
Writes job site standards and checks that crews follow them
Coaches project managers on schedules and homeowner updates
Reads job-cost and schedule data to find lost time
Knows OSHA construction rules as they apply to small home jobs
Teach these on the job
Your project management system and templates
Your trade partners and what each does best
Trade licensing in Kentucky, Louisiana or your state
Your warranty terms and claim process
The project management system is the COO's main tool: schedules, daily logs, punch lists and change orders for every job. Ask candidates which systems they've rolled out to project managers and trade partners, and how they got people to use them.
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 · Reducing callbacks
Callbacks after completion are rising and tying up lead carpenters who should be starting new jobs. Walk me through how you'd fix it.
A strong answer: Tracks callbacks by cause, crew and trade, adds a pre-completion punch walk and closeout checklist, and fixes root causes through training or with trade partners.
Behavioral · Leading change
Tell me about a time you rolled out a new process to field crews who liked the old way, such as daily logs, a punch checklist or a scheduling app.
A strong answer: Brought lead carpenters in early, tested it on a few jobs, showed what it saved them, and followed up until it stuck.
Wait for a few clean months of data before you fix targets, and use the template's numbers only to pick what to track.
Project Completion Rate
Of the jobs that reached substantial completion this month, find the share that hit the date set at the production kickoff, and sort the late ones by cause.
Process Improvement Implementation
Pick one measured process, such as the wait between contract signing and the first day on site, and compare it before and after each change you roll out.
Team Alignment Score
Run a short anonymous survey of office and field staff on a set schedule, and track the share of positive answers by department.
Operational Cost Reduction
Track overhead per finished job, such as vehicles, dumpsters, rework and office hours, and compare it with the same months last year.
Career path
Project managerRuns a set of remodels from start to final walkthrough.
Should a remodeler use its own crews or subcontract the trades?
One common setup keeps carpentry, demolition and finish work in-house and hires licensed trade partners for plumbing, electrical and HVAC. Your own crews give you control over quality and timing. Trade partners cost less when work slows, but they may put your job behind a bigger customer's. The COO decides the mix and revisits it as volume changes.
How much does a remodeling chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $157,070 and $315,530 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a remodeling COO do when a job runs late?
Find the cause first: a late product, a failed inspection, a trade partner or a weak schedule. Then give the homeowner a new date in writing, with the reason, before they have to ask. Track late jobs by cause each month. If the same cause keeps showing up, the fix is a process change, not a talk with one project manager.
How should a remodeling COO choose trade partners?
Beyond the paperwork, call a few of their past customers. Give a new partner a small job before a big one, and score each job on timing, cleanup and callbacks. Keep a backup partner for each key trade, so one busy month at their shop doesn't stall your jobs.
When should a remodeling COO step into a homeowner dispute?
Step in when the project manager and the homeowner no longer agree on the facts, such as what the contract covers, or when the homeowner holds back a payment. Visit the house, listen first, and read the contract and change orders before promising anything. Back the project manager in front of the homeowner, and coach them afterward.
Which site tasks does the remodeling COO template's 20-pound line cover?
Carrying a box of tile, a sample board or a small tool bag into a house, for example. The site lines mean walking through rooms in the middle of demolition, stepping around tools and debris, and driving to jobs across the service area. The posting can describe those tasks and the safety glasses and hard hat the company provides.
