Explore a Career with National Hydro Excavation Services

AREA MANAGER

Cedar Rapids, IA | Reports to Vice President

L&H Hydrovac is looking for a driven, experienced Area Manager to lead our Cedar Rapids, Iowa operations and help shape what that market becomes. This isn’t a role where someone hands you a playbook. You’ll be the one writing it.

You’ll have direct ownership of day-to-day field operations: scheduling, dispatching, customer relationships, crew performance, billing, and safety. As we grow our Iowa footprint, including our Des Moines location, this role grows with it. The right person will move fast, operate with high autonomy, and be rewarded for results.

If you’ve built something in this industry before and want the chance to do it again with a company that’s serious about growth and backs it up with real compensation, keep reading.

• Build and manage daily and weekly crew and equipment schedules to maximize utilization and profitability

• Own job dispatching and coordinating field execution to meet client needs and project timelines

• Monitor job-level profitability and drive cost control across Iowa operations

• Serve as the primary point of contact for key accounts, customer escalations, and long-term relationship management

• Enforce company safety standards, policies, and procedures in the field that are non-negotiable

• Lead hiring, onboarding, performance management, and disciplinary actions for operators and field staff

• Approve customer billing, invoices, and change orders; ensure accuracy and timeliness

• Manage estimates, job pricing, and customer concerns with professionalism and urgency

• Help build and protect L&H’s brand reputation in the Iowa market through operational excellence and customer service

• Coordinate with Des Moines operations as needed to support company-wide priorities

• Proven experience managing field operations in the hydrovac, vacuum excavation, or broader construction/utilities industry

• Track record of running crews, managing schedules, and owning outcomes not just overseeing them

• Strong customer relationship skills; you know how to retain accounts and resolve problems without escalating them unnecessarily

• Financially literate, you understand job margins, billing, and what it means to run a profitable operation

• Excellent communicator with clients, field crews, and leadership

• Comfortable with scheduling software, Microsoft Office, and field reporting tools

• Self-directed and decisive; you don’t need to be managed, you need to be trusted

• CDL or field equipment experience is a plus, not a requirement

• Base salary: $85,000 - $130,000 depending on experience

• Performance-based bonus potential on top of base salary. Tied to operational results

• Additional bonus opportunities available

• Company truck provided

• Full benefits package: medical, dental, and vision

We’re a growing hydrovac services company with operations across Iowa and beyond. We’re not the biggest company in the space — but we’re building something, and we’re doing it the right way: with experienced operators, quality equipment, and a team that takes the work seriously.

The Area Manager we hire for Cedar Rapids won’t just fill a seat. They’ll have a real voice in how we grow, real accountability for outcomes, and real upside when we win. If that’s what you’re looking for, we want to hear from you.