Lead Operator– Compost & Soil Operations

About Us

Skagit Soils has been recycling green waste and producing compost and soil products in the Skagit Valley for over 30 years. We serve Skagit, Whatcom, Snohomish, Island, and San Juan counties — keeping organics out of landfills and turning them into high-quality compost, mulch, soils, and aggregates. In 2020, we partnered with Lautenbach Recycling, expanding our capabilities, equipment, and long-term growth. We're a hands-on operation that takes pride in doing things right — quality products, safe work, and solid customer service.

About the Role

This is an equipment-first leadership role. If you're an operator who's ready to take on more responsibility — or a working lead who still wants to be in the seat — this is the job.

You'll spend a significant portion of every day running equipment: feeding screeners, moving material with a loader, working an excavator, managing production flow from raw yard waste to finished product. The other part of the job is leading a small crew, working alongside the Site Manager, and making sure the yard runs the way it should. Both matter. Neither takes a back seat.

What You'll Be Doing

Equipment Operation — This Is the Core of the Job

We're looking for someone who is genuinely skilled in the seat — not just someone who can get by. You'll be running:

Loaders The loader is your primary tool. You'll use it to feed grinders and screeners consistently without overloading, blend materials accurately using bucket counts and layering, build and turn windrows, stage stockpiles, and manage yard traffic safely. Precision matters here — sloppy feeding costs time and wears equipment.

Excavators You'll use excavators for material handling, digging, pile management, and yard reconfiguration. Knowing how to work an excavator efficiently in a tight production environment — around trucks, customers, and other operators — is a skill we value highly.

Screening Equipment (Trommel & Deck Screens) Running the screener well means understanding more than just turning it on. You'll need to know how screen size affects finished product, how to adjust feed rates to prevent clogging or poor separation, how to read material that's too wet or too dry, and how to manage overs and reprocessing flow. Quality output starts with the person feeding the machine.

Grinders You'll feed material correctly to avoid jams and damage, watch for contamination (metal, plastic, debris), and coordinate grind size based on downstream use. Knowing when something doesn't sound or feel right is part of the job.

General Equipment Expectations Daily walkarounds and equipment care are non-negotiable. You know the limits of the machine, you flag problems early, and you work safely around other operators, trucks, and customers in a busy yard.

Compost & Soil Production

You'll manage material from inbound yard waste all the way through to finished product — building and turning windrows with attention to moisture, temperature, oxygen, and contamination; blending soils and compost to spec; and keeping stockpiles organized and production moving.

Crew Leadership

You'll lead a crew of 6–7 employees, set the pace for the day, adjust when things change (weather, volume, breakdowns), train new hires on equipment and safety, and step in as acting site lead when the manager is out. This is a working lead role — you're not watching from the sideline.

Safety & Yard Awareness

Tight yards with loaders, excavators, customer vehicles, and delivery trucks require constant awareness. You'll keep traffic flow safe, enforce good practices without overcomplicating them, spot issues early, and make sure incoming material meets acceptance standards.

Customer Interaction

Help customers with product selection, loading, and basic guidance. Cover the scale house when needed. Handle situations calmly and professionally.

What We're Looking For

• Proven experience operating loaders and excavators — confident, not just capable
• Experience with trommel or deck screeners and grinding equipment is a strong plus
• Background in composting, soils, landscaping materials, recycling, or similar operations
• Understanding of how material behaves through the process — wet vs. dry, finished vs. raw, contaminated vs. clean
• Comfortable working outside year-round in a fast-moving production yard
• Someone who leads by doing — steps up, takes ownership, and sets the standard
• Interest in growing into a Site Manager or Operations leadership role

Schedule Full-time | Typically 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Weekend work may be part of the schedule | Two consecutive days off per week

Pay $28.00 – $35.00 per hour depending on experience

Why This Job

Most operations jobs ask you to pick a lane — either you're in the equipment or you're in leadership. This one asks you to do both, and gives you the room to grow.

If you want to be trusted with real equipment, real decisions, and a real path into site management, this is the opportunity.