Master Upholsterer; Trim and Upholstery Lead

Description

Company: Ulm Automotive LLC

Department: Production

Reports to: Production Manager

Location: Bogart, GA (on-site)

Employment type: Full-time, hourly, non-exempt; paid weekly

Direct reports: None at hire; leads the trim and upholstery station and trains the technicians assigned to it

The Master Upholsterer owns the soft trim in every vehicle we build. Ulm converts incomplete Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis into luxury passenger vehicles, and the seats, headliners, wall and pillar panels, armrests, and trim details are what the passenger touches and judges. This role sets the upholstery standard for the company, builds the patterns and templates the line will use, does the most demanding work personally, and trains the technicians who will do the rest.

This is a craftsman's seat with a lead's responsibility. The right person has spent years cutting, sewing, and fitting leather and fabric in automotive, coach building, or comparable interiors, and can make a production line deliver hand-finished quality at a repeatable pace.

• Pattern, cut, sew, and fit leather, vinyl, fabric, and foam for seats, headliners, wall and ceiling panels, pillars, armrests, consoles, and trim pieces to the drawing and the material specification.
• Wrap and finish hard panels: substrate prep, adhesive application, edge wrapping, and stitch and seam detailing that holds up to daily passenger use.
• Build and maintain the master patterns, templates, and sewing specifications (stitch type, thread, seam allowance, pleat and perforation layouts) so every unit matches the first.
• Repair and refinish trim damaged in production or returned under warranty.

• Set up and run the trim and upholstery station: layout, tooling, sewing equipment, material storage, and standard work.
• Train and qualify production technicians on cutting, sewing, wrapping, and installation; maintain the skill matrix entries for the station with the Quality Manager.
• Plan daily station work against the production schedule with the Production Manager and lead the station to the standard hours.

• Inspect finished trim before it leaves the station: seam alignment, grain match, pattern symmetry, wrinkle‑free fit, and clean edges; reject and rework what does not meet the standard.
• Verify incoming hides, fabrics, foams, and adhesives against specification and quarantine defective lots with Quality and Purchasing.
• Track material yield and cut plans to reduce leather and fabric waste; feed usage data to Purchasing.
• Keep the station compliant with flammability and material requirements for vehicle interiors and keep the material certifications on file with Compliance.

• Work with Engineering, R&D, and outside design partners on new seat designs, trim patterns, and color, material, and finish programs; build samples and prototypes and report what is buildable at production pace.
• Feed pattern, material, and process corrections back into the drawings and BOMs through the engineering change process.

• Follow all shop safety rules for sewing equipment, cutting tools, and adhesives; wear required PPE and keep the station to the 5S standard.
• Report injuries, near misses, and unsafe conditions immediately.

• 7+ years of hands‑on automotive, coach building, or comparable luxury interior upholstery experience, including seats, headliners, and panel wrapping.
• Expert with industrial walking‑foot sewing machines, pattern making, foam shaping, and leather and vinyl work; can demonstrate French seams, top‑stitching, pleating, and perforation layouts.
• Proven ability to build patterns and templates…