A commercial roofing foreman (or field supervisor) oversees roofing crews on several commercial jobs at the same time. They plan each day's tear-off around weather and tenants, choose and check fall protection, line up rooftop unit shutdowns, and send the project manager daily reports with quantities and photos.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Oversee commercial roofing projects by leading dedicated roofing crews to ensure high-quality work and optimal project efficiency. Serve as the on-site leader responsible for addressing challenges, maintaining quality control, and ensuring safety compliance. Contribute to the company’s overall success by driving project execution and effective team collaboration.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Supervise and coordinate roofing crews on-site to ensure projects meet quality standards and deadlines.
Conduct regular quality control checks to assess work performance and adherence to safety protocols.
Troubleshoot and address on-site challenges promptly to minimize project disruptions.
Maintain effective communication with upper management regarding project status and potential issues.
Enforce company policies and industry safety regulations consistently across all projects.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily briefings with roofing crews to review project goals and address any concerns.
Inspect ongoing roofing projects for quality assurance and compliance with specifications.
Communicate with site managers and clients to provide updates and gather feedback.
Identify and resolve equipment or material issues in a timely manner.
Document daily work progress and report any deviations from project plans.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project completion rate: 95% or higher adherence to scheduled timelines.
Quality control pass rate: >98% inspection success per project.
Safety incident rate: <2% occurrence on active worksites per quarter.
Crew efficiency rate: Achieve at least a 90% productivity rating based on daily output metrics.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Minimum of a high school diploma or GED with additional technical training in construction preferred.
3+ years of hands-on experience in roofing project management or field supervision.
Strong leadership and team management skills with a proactive problem-solving approach.
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to coordinate effectively with teams and clients.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in commercial roofing or related construction fields.
Familiarity with industry-specific tools, materials, and safety standards.
Experience implementing quality control initiatives and managing subcontractors.
A track record of successful project completions within budget and timeline targets.
7. Physical Requirements
Capable of lifting up to 50 lbs. and performing repetitive manual tasks.
Ability to work in challenging environmental conditions, including extreme temperatures and heights.
Comfortable with navigating uneven surfaces and confined spaces when needed.
Endure prolonged periods of standing, climbing, and physical activity throughout the workday.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM, with occasional weekend overtime as required.
Frequent travel across project sites within the designated region.
On-call duties may be required during critical project phases.
Work is predominantly outdoors, with variable exposure to weather conditions.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range: $25 - $35 per hour, commensurate with experience and performance.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses upon meeting project milestones.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance benefits.
Participation in the company’s 401k plan.
Access to additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of growth, inclusivity, and excellence.
We believe in empowering our employees through continuous learning and advancement opportunities.
Our supportive environment encourages collaboration, innovation, and a driven work ethic.
Join us to build a lasting career while contributing to high-quality projects that shape the community.
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
A commercial foreman's roofs are big, nearly flat and sit over buildings that stay open. The owner, a general contractor and the membrane maker all judge the work, and most days start with the forecast.
Picking the fall system for each roof
On low-slope roofs (4 in 12 or flatter), OSHA allows guardrails, nets or harness systems, or a warning line paired with one of those or with a safety monitor. On a roof 50 feet wide or less, a safety monitor alone is allowed. The foreman picks the setup for each roof and each edge, writes it into the job plan and checks it every morning. Source: 29 CFR 1926.501: Duty to have fall protection (Cornell LII).
The safety monitor has one job
OSHA says a safety monitor must be a competent person who can spot fall hazards, stays on the same roof within sight of the crew, is close enough to talk to them and has no other duties that pull their attention away. No wheeled roofing equipment may be used or parked where a monitor is protecting the crew. A foreman driving between jobs or meeting the building manager can't also be the monitor. Source: 29 CFR 1926.502: Fall protection systems criteria and practices (Cornell LII).
Occupied buildings set the schedule
Offices, schools and stores keep running under the roof. Confirm rooftop unit shutdowns with the building manager, and plan with them to shut down or cover air intakes near adhesive work. Read the adhesive's safety data sheet for its ventilation advice. Post notices before noisy tear-off days. If odor complaints come in, move the work or, where the spec allows, switch to a low-odor adhesive, and tell the project manager.
The forecast sets how much roof comes off
On a reroof, rain finds wet insulation and the offices below. Each morning the foreman and lead agree on an area the crew can tear off, insulate, cover and seal back to the old roof well before rain or quitting time. Assign someone to watch the radar, set a stop time with the project manager, and move the crew to flashing work if storms come early.
Daily reports carry money
Reroof contracts may price extra work by the unit, such as each board of wet insulation or each area of rotted deck replaced. The foreman's daily report lists those quantities with photos and measurements, plus crew hours, deliveries, weather and inspector visits. Without that record, the project manager can't get the extra work approved and billed.
How much commercial roofing foremen make
The closest BLS group for commercial roofing foremen is First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $34.37 an hour ($71,500 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $79,920 median for First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in all industries. About 23,510 of the 812,210 First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in that survey work for roofing contractors.
The template pays hourly, plus bonuses when projects reach milestones. Base each bonus on what a foreman can change, like phases closed on schedule, roofs that pass the manufacturer's inspection on the first walk and clean fall protection spot checks.
Roofing contractors
$71,500$71,500 median Middle half $59,760–$80,940 10th–90th $49,680–$100,920
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
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Roofing contractors
$49,680
$59,760
$71,500
$80,940
$100,920
All industries
$53,280
$63,400
$79,920
$101,460
$128,260
BLS reports residential and commercial roofing 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
Three or more years running roofing crews or projects, as the template asks
Sets up fall protection for a roof without being told how
Plans tear-off around weather, tenants and rooftop unit shutdowns
Turns each day's wet board and deck counts into a report the project manager can bill from
Removes a worker from the roof for a safety breach and documents it
Keeps building managers and general contractor superintendents updated in plain words
Teach these on the job
Your daily report format and unit-price tracking
Each manufacturer's warranty steps and inspection booking
An OSHA 30-hour class, if they haven't taken one
Your silica and hot work plans
Working with crane, sheet metal and other subcontractors
A foreman's truck carries spare warning line stanchions, harnesses, fire extinguishers and a moisture meter. Daily reports, photos and crew hours go in from a phone or tablet, often into a project app the general contractor shares. Say in the ad how many roofs a foreman covers at once and whether foremen keep the truck overnight.
Commercial roofing foreman 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 · Handling odor complaints in an occupied building
Midmorning, the building manager says office workers are complaining about adhesive smells. What do you do?
A strong answer: Pauses adhesive work near air intakes, checks that rooftop units are shut down or intakes covered per the plan, switches to a low-odor product if the spec allows, calls the project manager and updates the building manager.
Behavioral · Removing someone from the roof
Tell me about a time you had to remove someone from your roof for safety or behavior, such as working past the warning line without fall protection. What happened next?
A strong answer: Acted right away, documented, reported to the project manager or HR, and the crew understood the standard afterward.
The template's figures are a starting point. Once enough roofs have closed under this foreman to compare, set targets from their inspection results and crew hours.
Project completion rate
Phases closed by the dates in the owner's or general contractor's schedule, from your job log. Weather days get their own column; for other misses, note the cause, like a crane that didn't show.
Quality control pass rate
Roofs that pass the manufacturer's inspection and the owner's or general contractor's walk without major punch items, out of all roofs the foreman oversaw that quarter.
Safety incident rate
Injuries and close calls on the foreman's jobs against crew hours worked, from the incident log. Put fall protection findings from spot checks on the same report.
Crew efficiency rate
Squares of roof installed per crew hour, from daily reports and time cards, compared only across similar systems. Full tear-offs with deck repair run slower than roofs laid over the old one.
Career path
Lead rooferLeads a single crew and builds its toughest details.
Field supervisorSplits each day between several roofs, their leads and building managers.
Project managerHandles contracts, submittals, billing and warranty closeout.
Most mornings start with calls: the forecast to each lead, deliveries with the supplier, shutdowns with building managers. Then the foreman drives a loop of roofs. At each stop they walk the warning lines and torch areas, probe a few seams and look at details before they're covered. The day ends with each job's report, photos and crew hours sent to the project manager.
How much does a commercial roofing foreman make?
First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $34.37 an hour ($71,500 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $59,760 and $80,940 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who does what: the roofing foreman or the project manager?
The project manager works from the contract: submittals, the schedule of values, billing, change orders and the warranty paperwork. The foreman works from the roof: crews, safety, daily quantities and quality. They talk every day, and the foreman's reports are what the project manager bills from.
Does a commercial roofing foreman need OSHA 30?
Federal OSHA doesn't require it. OSHA describes its 10- and 30-hour Outreach classes as voluntary and says finishing one doesn't satisfy the training its standards demand, such as fall protection training. It adds that states, cities or others may require the class as a condition of employment. Check the rules where each building is before you make the card a must-have.
Who should be the competent person on a commercial roof?
In OSHA's construction rules, a competent person recognizes hazards on the job, present or likely, and is allowed to correct them right away. On a low-slope roof the role shows up in several rules: fall training is given by one, and a safety monitor must be competent to recognize fall hazards. Name one for each roof in writing. Since the foreman leaves to visit other jobs, that is often the lead roofer.
How should a foreman ad handle the template's physical list?
Keep the template as written, but in your ad describe a foreman's day rather than their endurance: climbing hatch ladders on several roofs, walking large roofs to check seams, lifting up to 50 pounds, and roof work in any season. A hatch climb or other task test isn't a medical exam, EEOC says. Measuring heart rate or blood pressure during it would make it one, which isn't allowed before an offer.
