OverviewThe Director of Slopes & Surfaces exists to deliver exceptional guest satisfaction through the quality of the mountain terrain product at The Summit at Snoqualmie and Alpental. Every decision this role makes - how snow is groomed, how snowmaking is deployed, how parks are built, how trails are maintained - is ultimately in service of one outcome: guests experiencing a surface so consistently excellent that it becomes a defining reason they return. This is not a technical operations role that happens to affect guests; it is a guest-experience role that happens to be delivered through technical operations.
ResponsibilitiesLong Term Thinking - Collaborate on development of the Snowmaking Master Plan - contributing operational expertise to long-range infrastructure, system design, and capital investment decisions in partnership with the VP of Mountain Operations, General Manager, and Planning Director
- Drive innovative solutions to ensure and insure product creation in an evolving climate - bringing a forward-looking mindset to a function where weather variability is increasing and operational resilience is a strategic priority
- Build the annual summer work plan with clear priorities, timelines, and resource allocation across grooming, trails, and slope maintenance functions - treating off-season preparation as a critical operational period that directly determines winter readiness
- Leverage Boyne network resources, peer expertise, and best practices from sister properties to lead The Summit to best-groomed-in-the-region status
- Develop annual operating and capital plans for each function in partnership with the VP of Mountain Operations
- Evaluate staffing model including the question of a dedicated Snowmaking Manager as the function and team develop
Excellence in Execution - Own the grooming program - standards, scheduling, equipment deployment, and daily execution across all areas, with particular expertise in grooming man-made and technically produced snowmaking snow
- Develop and enforce grooming templates that deliver consistently excellent surface conditions regardless of atmospheric variability
- Drive snowmaking as a competitive advantage - optimizing a regionally leading snowmaking operation that ensures product creation regardless of conditions
- Develop the annual snowmaking production plan - aligning targets with terrain opening sequence, peak period readiness, and water and energy efficiency
- Maintain deep technical fluency in snowmaking systems - fan gun and all-weather systems - sufficient to lead the function, develop staff, and make real-time operational decisions
- Set standards for terrain park feature construction, maintenance scheduling, and daily inspection and shaping - ensuring operations meet all safety and risk management compliance requirements and industry standards
- Oversee MTB trail maintenance and construction through the MTB Trails Manager, ensuring trail product quality meets the standards of a thriving bike park program
- Ensure summer slope maintenance, brush cutting, drainage, and culvert work is planned and executed to protect terrain quality and set up winter operations for success
- Oversee 5 departmental budgets with full accountability for performance within approved parameters
- Coordinate closely with the Grooming Maintenance Manager and Sr. Manager, Vehicle Maintenance, Snow Removal & Fleet on equipment readiness - ensuring grooming machines and personal on-snow machines are serviceable and downtime is minimized through proactive scheduling
Attitude is Everything - Model composure and solutions-focused leadership during high-pressure periods - variable weather, peak operations, and equipment challenges - setting the standard for how this department responds under pressure
- Foster a team culture of craft, pride, and genuine ownership of the mountain product across all functions - grooming, snowmaking, terrain parks, MTB, and summer terrain
- Operate as a constructive, collaborative partner across Mountain Operations, Snowsports School, Tubing Park, Mountain Bike Park, and Base Operations - particularly on shared terrain and surface responsibilities
- Understand the Mountain Bike Park's business objectives and guest experience goals well enough to direct trail maintenance and build priorities that actively serve those goals
Develop Great People - Coach and develop managers across all functions - meeting each person where they are and building the skills, confidence, and accountability that elevate individual and team performance
- Invest equally in team members at every stage of their development - from those stepping into leadership for the first time to those deepening long-held expertise - recognizing that a strong team requires growth at every level
- Support team education on grooming techniques for snowmaking snow surfaces - building shared capability that directly improves the mountain product
- Build team depth and cross-functional knowledge so the department performs consistently through seasonal transitions, operational demands, and personnel changes
- Foster a team identity that takes genuine pride in the mountain product they deliver every day
Serve First - Hold NPS improvement as a shared performance measure alongside resort NPS initiatives - particularly in the areas of terrain quality, snow conditions, terrain park product, and MTB trail quality
- Actively participate in cross-divisional guest experience review and contribute operational solutions to identified guest experience gaps
- Ensure snowmaking operations support Tubing Park grooming and product quality to the high standard guests expect
- Serve as a significant stakeholder in snowmaking capital planning - near and long term - ensuring the resort's infrastructure investment serves both current and future guest experience goals
QualificationsRequired - Deep, practical knowledge of snow grooming operations, equipment, and standards - this is a dominant technical credential for this role
- Strong snowmaking fundamentals and operational experience
- Working knowledge of terrain park design, construction, and safety standards
- Demonstrated leadership of multi-function operational teams in a variable-staffing environment
- Experience owning and managing departmental budgets
- Ability to work year-round across winter and summer operational cycles
Preferred - Deep snowmaking expertise including fan gun and all-weather systems
- MTB trail building and maintenance experience; IMBA or equivalent trail classification familiarity
- Experience managing across multiple departments simultaneously
- Familiarity with summer slope and land management operations
- Resort, outdoor recreation, trail management, or grounds operations background
Click Here for Full Job Description Join our team and enjoy The Summit Experience year round!
Wage and Benefit Info:
The wage range for this positions is: from $100,000 - $120,000 annually, DOE
Benefits include: health, dental, vision
Team member will accrue PTO and will earn 2 weeks or more in a 12 month period.
All individuals may contribute to the 401(k). An employee must work 1,000 hours in a calendar year to qualify for the discretionary match (there is a 2 year vesting cliff).
All individuals accrue sick time at 1 hour per 40 hours worked to a maximum of 64 hours per year.
