BuiLD Leadership Development Program

Blackwood Solutions BuiLD Program (Blackwood Leadership Development)

Become the person who runs a department. Blackwood is BuiLD-ing its next generation of leaders from the insde! BuiLD is for graduates who want real responsibility. You will learn our business and industry while being grown as a leader. Your training will position you in rotations through many of the departments that run Blackwood while you are prepared for your career entry as a mid-level manager! 

Who We Are 

Blackwood Solutions is America's trusted utility services contractor and the largest utility pole recycler. • Founded in 2016 with yards and customers across the country. • We haul, store, manage, and recycle utility poles while developing safety and efficiency innovations for electric utilities, one of the most stable sectors of the economy.  

What This Program Is 

An 18-24 month, full-time, paid development program built on rotations, real projects, and direct access to senior leadership. The goal is to prepare you for mid-level management of a department within Blackwood. • Your cohort will move through departmental rotations to learn the foundation of Blackwood, each with a defined host leader, reporting line, and body of work. • Rotations include Engineering, Finance, Technology, Dispatch, Operations, Business Development, and People & Culture, with others added as the program matures. • You will work alongside Blackwood senior leadership, including our Director of Engineering, CFO, and SVP of Technology. • You will do real work, including serving as a project manager on development projects and owning leads / follow-up from customer events and conferences. • You will spend time in the field, material yards, and dispatch so you understand the operation before you lead it. 

How You Will Develop 

You will learn our industry and our company vernacular, so you can speak credibly with drivers, engineers, utility customers, and executives. • You will learn from departmental host leaders who own your day-to-day development and hold you accountable for results. • You will receive formal training in field and yard safety, financial fundamentals, general business, and people leadership in tandem with your rotations and assignments. • You will represent Blackwood at industry conferences and customer events. • You will learn alongside your cohort with different degrees and backgrounds (which may include: marketing, engineering, business, and supply chain, etc.) • Your cohort will meet weekly as if you were the Blackwood leadership team, working through real ideas and problems and making recommendations as a group. • You will present regularly, starting with a small group of peers and growing to the entire company, building presentation skills you will use for the rest of your career. • You will report on each rotation, including what is working, what is not, and your recommendations for improvement. 

Travel and Expectations 

This is a demanding program, and we want you to know that up front. • Travel is extensive, expected, and non-negotiable • We will send you wherever the business needs you, including yards, customer sites, and conferences. • Departmental rotations may place you with leaders and in roles that are hard, humbling, and far from glamorous. • You will be trusted with real work and held to a high standard. • If you want a predictable schedule, a desk job, or a set location, this program is not the right fit. • This program is open to qualified internal applicants as well as external candidates, and the same expectations apply to everyone. 

Compensation and Benefits 

Pay is designed to attract strong talent and reward growth • Pay increases are tied to progress through the program • Medical insurance through UnitedHealthcare, plus dental and vision coverage • Short-term and long-term disability • 401(k) with company match • Paid time off accrual 

Who We Are Looking For 

Graduating seniors or recent graduates with a bachelor's degree. We value a variety of majors, and how you work matters more than what you studied

• You are legally authorized to work in the United States now and in the future without employer sponsorship. 

• You are willing to start with the basics, wear the PPE, and earn credibility before you lead. • You are curious, analytical, and comfortable using data to show a better way. 

• You communicate clearly and respectfully with everyone from drivers and yard crews to utility executives. 

• You are comfortable presenting your ideas to groups and defending them. 

• You take initiative, handle ambiguity, and stay focused on results. 

• You are excited by travel, hard work, and being stretched. 

• You hold a valid driver's license and can travel as the program requires. 

• Work experience of any kind is valued, including internships, trades, retail, food service, military, and athletics.

WHAT YOU WILL GAIN FROM EACH DEPT ROTATION: 

Operations and Field (Skills gained: field safety, crew leadership, yard management, credibility with the people who do the work).

• You will complete your CDL training, and you will experience driving a Tesla Semi. • You will work in the material yards and with crews and drivers to learn how poles actually move, get stored, and get delivered. 

Dispatch and Logistics (Skills gained: logistics planning, routing, data analysis, real-time problem solving)

• Learn how loads are planned, routed, and tracked across drivers, yards, landfills, and customers. 

Technology and Data (Skills gained: data analytics, process improvement, using tech platforms to drive better business practices, outcomes, and productivity.

• Learn how the company actually runs and how AI is impacting this. • Learn how data moves, why systems succeed or break, and how technology decisions get made. • Put AI tools to work: automating routine tasks, speeding up analysis, and turning information into faster, better decisions. 

Engineering (Skills gained: technical fluency, project coordination, working with engineers and utility customers)

• Work with our engineering leaders on the products, designs, and customer projects that drive our work, including technical modeling, documentation, lifecycle management, and the basics of R&D on innovative product lines. 

Finance (Skills gained: corp finance fundamentals, quoting & pricing, P&L reading, making a business case for an idea)

• Learn how Blackwood makes money, structures pricing, and measures performance, including how to close the books each month. Business Development and Customers (Skills gained: relationship building, customer communication, sales and account management, professional presence)

• You will represent Blackwood at industry conferences and customer events and own the follow-up on the leads you generate. 

Safety (Skills gained: risk awareness, safety leadership, the ability to hold others to a high standard)

• You will learn perspective on real-world safety considerations, business sense from a safety perspective and the implications on customer relationships as it relates shared safety initiative • Work with our safety leaders to develop and maintain field safety practices, training, incident prevention, handling and review. 

People & Culture (Skills gained: learning company culture, how to impact it, measure it, and adjust to the needs of our human capital)

• You will work with our HR and People & Culture teams to understand the importance of good communication, documentation, appreciation, recognition, and attention to detail in supporting the needs of a workforce. • You’ll see firsthand how thoughtful policies, consistent follow-through, and genuine care for people shape company culture, performance and longevity.

General Business (Skills gained: people leadership, business judgment, the habits of a manager) • You’ll receive formal professional training in management and experience how general business sense runs throughout the program. 

What We Promise, and What We Do Not 

• We promise structured development, real responsibility, regular exposure to senior leaders, and a fair chance to prove you are ready to manage a department. 

• We promise a placement in mid-level management overseeing a department, or placement in an area best suited for your skills at the time of completion of the program. 

• Advancement is earned, and the people who earn it help run our business. How to Apply 

• Applicants will be asked to confirm that they are authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship. If you will require sponsorship now or in the future, this position is not a fit. 

What to do next?

• Submit your resume through Handshake with a short written response of 200 words or fewer to this prompt: "Tell us about a time you improved something no one asked you to fix." 

• Complete the Culture Index Survey:  https://surveys.cultureindex.com/s/GWYriIcc10/74076

*Selected candidates will be invited to an initial conversation with our People and Culture team, followed by interviews with Blackwood leadership.

*Interviews are planned prior to 2026 year-end as candidates are considered for a June 2027 start.

*A signed NDA is required both at acceptance of the position and prior to the start of the placement.

Questions? Contact Jamie Feagans, VP of People & Culture, at jamie@bwoodsolutions.com

OUR CORE VALUES: WE ARE BLACKWOOD SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS; WE COMMIT TO REAL WORLD SAFETY; WE SERVE FIRST; WE DELIVER EXCELLENCE 

Blackwood Solutions is an equal opportunity employer. We make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.