Reclaim & Cleaning Operations Manager

About Tersus Solutions

Founded in 2009, Tersus Solutions is a Denver-based company committed to revolutionizing textile care and circularity with its patented liquid CO₂ technology–the most advanced and environmentally friendly cleaning available.

As the backbone of recommerce™, Tersus partners with leading outdoor, athletic, luxury, and footwear brands to provide full-suite textile reclamation, repair, upcycling, recycling, and logistics solutions. Tersus also sets a new standard in PPE care, utilizing its CO₂ cleaning process to offer unmatched care for firefighter gear, far exceeding the carcinogen removal rate of traditional cleaning methods for safer, more comfortable gear. Additionally, Tersus reclaims and recycles down from apparel, bedding, and gear, extending the life of valuable materials and reducing waste.

The Role

We're building out our end-of-life product reclaim program, the process for evaluating, treating, and processing garments (including stained, damaged, or otherwise compromised technical apparel) that come through our system at end of life. This is a high-ownership, hands-on role for someone who can bring real production and garment-care expertise to stand up this workstream from the ground up.

This isn't a traditional laundry or dry cleaning plant, but the core skill set transfers directly: diagnosing stains and damage, running effective treatment protocols, training a hands-on crew to execute consistently at volume, and building the quality standards that make a reclaim operation scalable. If you've managed a commercial laundry, dry cleaning plant, or similar garment-care production floor, this role lets you apply that experience to a new kind of product and a new kind of mission, and to build a program largely from scratch as Tersus scales.

Key Responsibilities

Stain and Damage Triage

• Build and run a pre-sort and triage process to assess incoming garments, including stain type, damage severity, and viability for reclaim versus repair versus retirement.
• Develop diagnostic criteria for common stain categories (oil-based, protein, tannin, dye transfer, and others) and match each to the right treatment path.
• Determine which garments the CO2 process will resolve on its own and which need spot treatment first.

Spot Treatment and Technique

• Design and run a hand spot-treatment station for stains that need pre- or post-processing attention.
• Select chemistry and technique appropriate to technical fabrics, being mindful of coatings, laminates, and finishes (DWR, Gore-Tex membranes, and similar) that can be damaged by the wrong approach.
• Build quality control checkpoints to confirm treatment results before a garment moves forward.

Crew Training and SOPs

• Design and deliver hands-on, visual training for a bilingual hourly production crew, using job aids, stain reference charts, and demonstration-based methods rather than relying on written manuals alone.
• Build repeatable standard operating procedures for triage, treatment, and quality grading.
• Supervise day to day production flow, coaching staff on technique and consistency.
• As the program grows, this role may take on direct people management, including hiring, scheduling, performance feedback, and developing crew leads.

Quality and Throughput

• Set inspection checkpoints and grading standards (pass, repair, or reject).
• Balance quality outcomes against line speed as the program scales.
• Track and report on key metrics (volume processed, treatment success rate, reject rate) to leadership.

Program Build-Out

• Partner cross-functionally to help define what the reclaim program looks like end to end, since much of this is being built new.
• Recommend equipment, chemistry, and workflow improvements based on hands-on experience.
• Document institutional knowledge as processes are established.
• Serve as a point of contact with brand partners when needed, discussing garment condition, treatment outcomes, and reclaim standards directly with brand teams.

Required Qualifications

• Experience managing production operations in a commercial laundry, dry cleaning plant, or similar garment-care facility.
• Hands-on knowledge of stain diagnosis and spot-treatment technique.
• Experience training and supervising a bilingual, hourly production workforce, with the ability to step into a formal people management role.
• Strong communication skills across language and experience levels on the production floor.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with quality grading systems and inspection checkpoints in a production environment.
• Familiarity with technical or performance fabrics and their care requirements.
• Experience building SOPs or training programs from the ground up, rather than working within an established playbook.

Skills & Attributes

• Comfortable building process and structure in an environment that's still being defined.
• Hands-on and detail-oriented, with a genuine interest in the craft of garment care.
• Process-oriented, with a drive to document and standardize as the program scales.
• Comfortable representing Tersus in conversations with brand partners and translating technical findings into clear, practical language.

Work Environment & Safety

• This role works on a production floor that processes firefighter turnout gear and other PPE, which may carry soot, combustion byproducts, and other contaminants before cleaning.
• Required to wear assigned PPE (such as gloves, eye protection, and respiratory protection where applicable) and follow all safety, handling, and decontamination protocols.
• Must complete required safety training and acknowledge Tersus's fire gear and PPE handling policies as a condition of the role.
• Work involves standing for extended periods, repetitive handling of garments, and lifting up to 20 lbs.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $55,000 - $70,000
• 401(k)
• Medical, Dental & Vision insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Flexible Time Off
• Legal/Lawyer Benefit
• RTD Ecopass

Location & Work Structure

• Based at our U.S. operations in Englewood, CO (Denver metro).
• Full-time, on-site position.