Finger Joint Technician

Finger Joint Technician

The Finger Joint Technician serves as the work center owner and primary operator for Timberlab's finger joint production line. This position is expected to personally operate, set up, troubleshoot, optimize, and maintain the critical equipment associated with lumber scanning, defect removal, finger joint machining, adhesive application, pressing, and RF curing operations. The Technician establishes operating standards, develops operators, drives process performance, and owns safety, quality, uptime, recovery, and productivity within the work center.

Responsibilities

• Operate and maintain RF curing systems, press equipment, adhesive systems, and associated material handling equipment.
• Monitor press cycles, curing parameters, adhesive performance, and bond quality.
• Optimize pressing and curing processes to maximize throughput while maintaining product quality requirements.
• Act as the primary operator of critical production equipment during startup, commissioning, ramp-up, and early production operations.
• Lead machine setup, startups, shutdowns, changeovers, and production troubleshooting activities.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, startup procedures, work instructions, and best practices.
• Train, coach, and mentor Machine Operators assigned to the work center.
• Monitor production performance, downtime, quality, recovery, and throughput metrics and implement corrective actions.
• Coordinate with Production, Quality, Maintenance, and Engineering teams to improve equipment performance and process reliability.
• Perform routine inspections, preventative maintenance activities, and equipment condition assessments.
• Maintain accurate production, downtime, quality, and maintenance records.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, and waste reduction.
• Ensure compliance with all safety procedures, including LOTO, machine guarding, and PPE requirements.
• Cross-train across Finger Jointing, Planning, RF Press Operations, and other production work centers to support operational coverage.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Minimum 2 years of manufacturing, lumber, wood products, engineered wood products, or industrial production experience.
• Demonstrated experience operating, setting up, and troubleshooting industrial manufacturing equipment.
• Experience operating RF curing systems, press equipment, glue/adhesives systems, or similar automated manufacturing equipment.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and advanced problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead, train, and support machine operators.
• Ability to read and interpret technical documents, work instructions, and production specifications.
• Strong commitment to safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to work flexible schedules, overtime, and shift work as required.