The posting
Irrigation Installation & Repair Lead
- Location: Northwest Arkansas
- Company: The Grey Barn
- Employment Type: Full-Time
- Base Salary: $60,000/year
- Performance Bonus: $12,000+/year
- Target Earnings: $72,000+/year
About the Role
Grey Barn is looking for an experienced Irrigation Installation & Repair Lead to become our internal irrigation expert.
This is a hands-on field position responsible for installing, troubleshooting, repairing, improving and maintaining commercial irrigation systems throughout Northwest Arkansas.
This is not a desk or supervisory-only position. We want someone who knows irrigation extremely well and enjoys doing the work.
Compensation Details
Performance incentives will be tied to measurable results including:
- Irrigation installation and repair gross profit
- Estimating accuracy
- Estimated versus actual labor
- Project quality
- Repair turnaround
- Callbacks/rework
- Crew training
- Safety
- Overall individual and company performance
Exceptional performance can create opportunities to earn beyond the initial $12,000 annual bonus target.
What You Will Do
- Lead and personally perform new irrigation installations and major system improvements, from scope to materials to installation to testing to a completed working system
- Serve as the primary irrigation troubleshooting expert, diagnosing and repairing heads, valves, mainline and lateral-line breaks, wiring, controllers and failed zones before replacing parts
- Act as the technical irrigation resource for Sales and Account Management, determining labor hours, crew size, materials and equipment for estimates
- Develop standardized production rates for common irrigation work and compare estimated hours against actual completed hours
- Train Crew Leaders and field employees to recognize leaks, broken heads, coverage problems and controller issues, and to know when to escalate
- Identify leaks, failed zones, aging systems and upgrade opportunities during property visits and document them for Sales and Account Management
- Assist with landscape installations, planting, drainage and maintenance when irrigation work does not require your full schedule
Requirements
- 5+ years professional irrigation experience
- Significant experience with both irrigation installation AND repair
- Ability to independently troubleshoot commercial irrigation systems
- Experience installing complete irrigation systems
- Strong irrigation electrical/wiring troubleshooting skills
- Experience with valves, heads, piping, controllers and related components
- Understanding of irrigation hydraulics
- Ability to lay out and execute an irrigation installation
- Ability to develop accurate materials lists
- Ability to estimate labor hours for installations and repairs
- Experience leading irrigation crews or projects
- Ability to train less-experienced employees
- Valid driver's license
- Ability to perform physically demanding outdoor work
- Willingness to assist with other landscaping work as needed
Strongly Preferred
Candidates with extensive experience who don't currently hold an irrigation certification may be considered but should be willing to obtain an agreed-upon certification after joining Grey Barn.
- Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT)
- Certified Irrigation Contractor (CIC)
- Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor (CLIA)
- Backflow certification
- 7+ years irrigation experience
- Commercial irrigation experience
- Two-wire systems
- Smart controllers
- Pump systems
- Irrigation design/layout
- Irrigation estimating
- Bilingual English/Spanish
You Will Thrive Here If You
- Know irrigation extremely well and enjoy doing the work yourself
- Diagnose the problem before replacing parts and take pride in solving the actual cause
- Like teaching crews while you work
- Can work with Sales to scope, estimate and price irrigation work profitably
- Pitch in on landscaping work when irrigation is slow
This Is Probably Not the Role for You If You
- Want a desk or supervisory-only position
- Prefer to replace parts rather than diagnose the root problem
- Are not interested in training others or sharing what you know
- Do not want to help with landscaping work when needed
- Are not comfortable with physically demanding outdoor work
Our Core Values
- Have Fun: Bring energy. Be positive. Be someone people want on their crew.
- Try New Things Fast: Try things. Learn quickly. Improve the system. Keep moving.
- Best in the World: Whatever we choose to do, our goal is to become exceptional at it.
- Put in the Work: Grab the tools. Dig the trench. Find the valve. Diagnose the problem. Install the system. Test it. Teach someone while you're doing it.
- Hold Accountability: Own your commitments, numbers, quality and results.



