Lead Carpenter – Residential Remodeling
Mid-Coast, Maine
$35–$45/hour | Full-Time | Year-Round
Come Help Us Build the Kind of Contracting Company People Wish They Could Hire
Innovation Painting and Remodeling is an established, growing Maine painting and remodeling company looking for an experienced Lead Carpenter to help lead our Mid-Coast Maine residential remodeling and carpentry operation.
We operate established teams across Southern Maine, Mid-Coast Maine, and Northern Maine, with a growing pipeline of residential painting, carpentry, and remodeling work.
We've built our company around a pretty simple idea:
Do what you say you're going to do. Communicate. Show up professionally. Keep a clean jobsite. Take pride in the work. And treat a customer's home like it matters.
Too many homeowners have had bad experiences with contractors.
We want to be the company that restores their faith in contractors.
That means our standards go beyond whether something is technically installed correctly. Our crews are expected to be reliable, communicative, respectful, organized, professional, and committed to leaving behind work they're proud of.
We're looking for a Lead Carpenter who approaches the work the same way.
The Opportunity
This isn't simply another carpenter position.
We're looking for someone who can eventually take ownership of the day-to-day field operation of our residential carpentry and remodeling projects.
You'll still be hands-on and building, but you'll also be the person who can:
- Look at a project and determine the right way to approach it
- Solve problems when existing conditions aren't what we expected
- Lead and develop other carpenters
- Keep a project organized and moving
- Communicate confidently and professionally with homeowners
- Maintain high standards for workmanship and cleanliness
- Recognize potential problems before they become expensive problems
- Keep ownership informed when larger decisions need to be made
You'll work closely with ownership when you first join us to learn our standards, systems, and expectations.
The goal, however, is not permanent supervision.
We're looking for someone we can trust to run great projects.
For the right person, this is an opportunity to have much of the independence and ownership of running your own jobs without having to run your own contracting business.
We handle the customers, marketing, sales, estimating, billing, scheduling support, and administrative side of the company.
We want you focused on building great projects, solving problems, leading your crew, and taking care of the customer.
Compensation & Benefits
- $35–$45/hour, depending on experience
- Full-time, year-round employment
- Paid time off
- Company-provided major tools and equipment
- Paid training and professional development
- Consistent residential project pipeline in the Mid-Coast area
- Significant autonomy for the right person
- Opportunity for continued leadership and advancement as the company grows
The Work
Our work changes throughout the year, which allows us to provide year-round employment and a wide variety of projects.
Exterior Season
During the warmer months, much of our carpentry supports residential exterior restoration, repair, and painting projects.
Typical work includes:
- Exterior rot repair
- Siding and trim replacement
- Window and door work
- Sheathing replacement
- Framing and structural repairs
- Deck and porch work
- Diagnosing water and moisture damage
- Rebuilding deteriorated areas correctly
Sometimes the job is replacing a few rotten trim boards.
Other times we open an area up and discover damaged sheathing, framing, water intrusion, or years of improper repairs underneath.
We need someone who can look at those situations, understand what's going on, and determine the right way to rebuild them.
Interior Remodeling
During the colder months, our carpentry operation transitions heavily into residential remodeling.
Projects range from smaller room renovations to complete multi-week bathroom remodels.
Our team may handle:
- Demolition
- Framing and structural repairs
- Correcting and leveling existing framing
- Subfloor repair and replacement
- Insulation
- Drywall
- Interior doors
- Finish carpentry
- Baseboard and trim
- Flooring
- Cabinet and vanity installation
- Tile floors
- Custom tile showers
- Waterproofing systems
- Finish installation
- Coordination with licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors
We perform most aspects of our remodeling projects in-house, with licensed plumbing and electrical work subcontracted.
What You'll Own
This is a hands-on leadership position.
You'll be responsible for:
- Producing high-quality residential carpentry and remodeling work
- Leading and developing a small carpentry crew
- Planning and organizing daily production
- Keeping projects moving efficiently
- Maintaining high standards for quality, cleanliness, and professionalism
- Communicating directly with homeowners
- Anticipating materials, equipment, and labor needs
- Identifying unforeseen conditions early
- Developing practical solutions when existing conditions differ from the plan
- Coordinating field work with subcontractors
- Training and supporting other carpenters
- Keeping ownership informed of progress, problems, and upcoming decisions
You will not be expected to run the entire business from the jobsite.
Ownership handles sales, estimating, billing, major change-order pricing, marketing, and the administrative side of the projects.
We want you focused on running excellent jobs.
Who We're Looking For
We're looking for someone with broad residential remodeling experience and strong construction judgment, not simply someone who has spent their career performing one specific type of carpentry.
You should have:
- Strong residential carpentry and remodeling experience
- Strong framing and finish carpentry fundamentals
- Experience troubleshooting and repairing existing homes
- Ability to independently plan and execute work
- Strong problem-solving and construction judgment
- Professional communication skills
- High standards for workmanship and jobsite cleanliness
- Comfort working in occupied homes for extended projects
- Ability to lead, teach, and work effectively with other carpenters
- Good understanding of residential construction sequencing
- Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
Experience with the following is strongly preferred:
- Previous Lead Carpenter, Remodeling Foreman, or Project Lead experience
- Complete bathroom remodels
- Tile and waterproofing systems
- Coordinating subcontractors
- Running multi-week occupied-home renovations
You don't need to be the best tile setter, framer, drywall installer, and finish carpenter in Maine.
You do need enough experience and judgment to understand how a project should be built, recognize when something isn't right, and determine a good path forward.
Why Innovation Painting and Remodeling?
We're not looking for somebody to simply fill a spot on a crew.
We're looking for someone who wants to become a key part of our Mid-Coast operation and help us continue building a remodeling company known for doing things differently.
We provide:
- The customers
- A consistent project pipeline
- Marketing
- Sales
- Estimating
- Billing
- Scheduling support
- Major tools and equipment
- Administrative support
You get to focus on the part you're good at:
Building things correctly. Solving problems. Leading people. Taking care of customers. And producing work you're proud to put your name on.
We want our customers to know that we're going to show up, communicate when something changes, respect their home, stand behind our work, and do what we said we were going to do.
And we want our employees to be proud to say they work for Innovation Painting and Remodeling.
If you're an experienced residential remodeler who believes professionalism matters just as much as craftsmanship—and you're looking for an opportunity to help lead a growing remodeling operation—we'd like to talk.
Pay: $35.00 - $45.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Paid time off
- Tools provided
Application Question(s):
- Have you independently led residential remodeling projects or supervised other carpenters?
- What specific types of contracting work have you personally completed?
- Are you comfortable working directly with homeowners in occupied homes and communicating with them throughout multi-week projects?
- You begin demo on a bathroom remodel and discover significant rot and damaged framing that was not visible during estimating. What would you do next?
- In a few sentences, describe the most complicated residential remodeling project you have personally been responsible for. What parts of the project did you handle yourself, and what responsibility did you have for the crew/customer?
Experience:
- Professional residential carpentry/remodeling: 5 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
