A commercial roofing project manager runs reroof and new-construction roof jobs from signed contract to the maker's warranty. They plan tear-off around the people inside, book cranes, get submittals approved, track unit-price work, and answer to owners and general contractors on schedule, changes and money.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $59,020, middle half $75,310 to $122,990, 90th percentile $157,660. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Production Manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
Early weekday hours, roofs and office · Hours shift with daylight and weather, plus some nights or weekends on schools and stores that can't take daytime noise
You'll run commercial reroof and new-construction roofing jobs from signed contract to manufacturer warranty. You plan tear-off on occupied buildings, book cranes and staging, get submittals approved, call weather holds with the Field Supervisor, and pass the manufacturer's final inspection. Building owners and general contractors come to you about the schedule, changes and money.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Plan each reroof before mobilizing: moisture survey and core cuts, tear-off sequence, staging areas, dumpster and crane locations, and nightly tie-ins.
Submit product data, roof details and the manufacturer's warranty application, and get the architect's or owner's approval before ordering material.
Coordinate tear-off on occupied buildings with building managers: rooftop unit shutdowns, air intake protection from adhesive odors, quiet hours and tenant notices.
Book cranes, hoists and street or sidewalk permits, and plan material loading so roof loads stay within limits.
Track unit-price items like wet insulation and deck replacement with daily photos and measurements, and get them signed off for billing.
Book the manufacturer's inspection, close punch items, and deliver the warranty, as-builts and maintenance guide to the owner.
Track job cost, billing and retainage against the schedule of values.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Check the forecast early and decide with the Field Supervisor whether crews tear off, hold for weather or switch to flashing work.
Walk a roof to confirm every area torn off today will be sealed watertight tonight.
Return the building manager's calls about noise, odors, leaks or roof access.
Release material for the next phase with the supplier and confirm delivery and crane times.
Log photos of deck conditions and unit-price quantities for the owner and the manufacturer.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Roofs passing the manufacturer's final inspection the first time: [your target].
Interior leaks reported during construction: [your target].
Jobs finished by the contract completion date: [your target].
Unit-price quantities documented and billed: [your target].
Days from substantial completion to warranty issued: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years running commercial roofing jobs from the office, or [5+] years leading commercial roofing crews.
Knows at least [two] low-slope systems, such as TPO, PVC, EPDM, modified bitumen or built-up, and how each is flashed and warrantied.
Can read roof plans, specs and manufacturer details and turn them into a tear-off and install sequence.
Working knowledge of OSHA fall protection for roofing, including warning lines, guardrails and personal fall arrest.
Builds job cost reports and schedules in [your project management software].
6. Preferred Experience
Experience with manufacturer no-dollar-limit (NDL) warranty jobs and their inspection steps.
OSHA 30 construction training and a fall protection competent person course.
Has planned crane picks with a rigging contractor.
Can read infrared and core-cut moisture surveys.
7. Physical Requirements
Climb roof ladders and hatches and walk large roofs in heat, wind and cold.
Lift and carry membrane samples, tools and drawing sets up to [40] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Roofs across [your service area] most days, with mornings or afternoons in the office.
Weekday hours: [6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.], shifting with daylight and weather.
Some night or weekend work on buildings that can't take noise or odors during the day, like schools and stores.
Hard hat, safety glasses and fall protection required on every roof.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new project manager gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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
Every project manager tracks scope, schedule and money. On a commercial roof, the membrane maker, the people working below and the crane all get a say in the plan.
Warranty paperwork starts before the roof does
Membrane makers want to hear about a warranty job before crews start. One maker's bulletin on product substitutions says its Pre-Installation Notices should go in at least two weeks before the project starts. Register each job with the maker when the contract is signed, not when the last seam is welded. Source: Elevate: Temporary product substitutions update.
Look for power lines before booking the crane
OSHA makes the employer define the crane's work zone before it starts. If any part of the crane, its lines or the load could reach inside 20 feet of an overhead line at full working radius, the employer must use one of the rule's three options. One keeps everything 20 feet away, using a warning line, barricade or line of signs plus other listed steps. Walk the street side with the crane company before you set the date. Source: eCFR 29 CFR 1926.1408: cranes and power lines.
Infrared finds suspects and cores confirm them
A night infrared scan marks areas where insulation may be wet. Treat it as a list of suspects, not proof of how much board is wet. Mark the suspect areas on the roof plan, cut cores to confirm, and carry the results into the bid's unit-price quantities. Then the owner sees how much wet board to expect before tear-off, not after.
Odors travel through the air intakes
Solvent-based adhesives and primers smell. Rooftop units pull that smell straight into classrooms, offices and stores. Mark every intake on the roof plan and agree shutdown times with the building manager. Near intakes, use low-odor or water-based adhesives where the maker's system allows them.
How much commercial roofing project managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial roofing project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $96,540 a year ($46.42 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 6,510 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for roofing contractors.
Pay is mostly salary, often with a bonus for job profit and a clean closeout. The template has no pay range, so check your offer against the BLS numbers shown on this page.
Roofing contractors
$96,540$96,540 median Middle half $75,310–$122,990 10th–90th $59,020–$157,660
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$25k$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
Roofing contractors
$59,020
$75,310
$96,540
$122,990
$157,660
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
BLS reports residential and commercial roofing contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Turns a roof plan and spec into a tear-off and install sequence
Knows at least two low-slope systems and how each is flashed
Writes clear notices to owners and general contractors about delays and changes
Keeps job cost, billing and retainage current every month
Stays calm with a building manager fielding tenant complaints
Teach these on the job
Each membrane maker's warranty steps and forms
Your project and job cost software
Crane and hoist planning with your rigging contractor
Reading infrared and core-cut moisture surveys
Your city's street and sidewalk permit process
Expect a project management system such as Procore, the job cost module of the accounting software, and each maker's warranty portal. On the roof, a tablet with the plans, a moisture meter, a core cutter and a phone camera for unit-price photos.
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 · Defending unit-price quantities
The owner's rep disputes your wet insulation quantities at the pay meeting. How do you back up your numbers?
A strong answer: Dated daily photos, measured areas marked on a roof plan, signed daily tickets and the moisture survey. Asks for daily sign-off from then on.
Behavioral · Collecting retainage and change orders
Tell me about a time you had to collect retainage or a disputed change order from a GC. How did you get paid?
A strong answer: Used documentation and contract terms, kept following up, used the relationship and knew lien or bond-claim deadlines as a backstop.
The template leaves room for your own goals. Look at last year's closed jobs, find your current level on each measure, and set a goal this project manager can move.
Roofs passing the manufacturer's final inspection the first time
Count warranty jobs where the maker's inspector left no punch list needing a return trip, against all warranty jobs inspected. Keep each punch list to spot details crews keep missing.
Interior leaks reported during construction
Log every leak the building manager or general contractor reports while the job is open, with date, location and cause, and trace each one back to that night's tie-in check.
Jobs finished by the contract completion date
Check each closed job: did it reach substantial completion by the date in the contract, counting any extensions the owner approved? Log the weather days the contract lets you add.
Unit-price quantities documented and billed
For each job, line up the quantities in the daily photo log, the quantities the owner signed and the quantities billed. Any gap shows where documentation slipped or money was left behind.
Days from substantial completion to warranty issued
Count calendar days from substantial completion to the date the maker issues the warranty, and note what held it up, such as open punch items or unpaid warranty fees.
Career path
Field supervisorRuns crews on site and picks up sequencing, details and daily paperwork.
Project managerRuns a set of commercial roofs from contract to warranty.
Senior project managerTakes the largest, most complex jobs and coaches newer project managers.
How should a commercial roofing project manager price deck damage nobody can see yet?
Put it in the bid as a unit price, per sheet of steel deck or per square foot of wood or concrete repair, with an allowance quantity. Each piece replaced then gets a photo and a measurement before it's covered. The owner's rep signs the daily count. The owner pays for what was found, and your base price doesn't carry a guess.
How much does a commercial roofing project manager make?
Construction managers who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $96,540 a year ($46.42 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $75,310 and $122,990 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What is a nightly tie-in and why does the project manager check it?
A tie-in is the temporary seal between new roofing and the old roof at quitting time each day. If it fails overnight, water runs under the new roof or into the building, onto a store's stock or a classroom floor. The project manager checks that every area opened today is sealed tonight. The owner will hold the roofer responsible for that water.
Is a former foreman or an office hire the better commercial roofing project manager?
Both paths work. A former foreman knows sequencing and what crews need. Someone from the office knows contracts, billing and submittals. Test the side they haven't done. Give a foreman a schedule of values and a pay application to fill in. Walk an office candidate across a roof and ask them to critique a tear-off plan.
What do the template's ladder, weather and 40-pound lines involve day to day?
Climbing fixed ladders and roof hatches, walking large roofs to check tie-ins and staging, and carrying membrane samples, tools and drawing sets in summer sun or winter wind. List them in the posting. Ask if the applicant is able to do that work, given an accommodation where needed, and say fall protection is worn on every roof.
