Planer Technician

Responsibilities 

• Act as the primary operator of critical production equipment  

• Operate and maintainplaners, sizing equipment, material handling systems, and associated production equipment. 

• Monitor dimensional accuracy, surface finish quality, throughput, and equipment performance. 

• Perform planer knife changes, cutter head setup, and machine adjustments required to maintain product specifications. 

• Act as the primary operator of critical production equipment during startup, commissioning, ramp-up, and early production operations. 

• Inspect planer knives and tooling for wear, damage, and performance degradation. 

• Perform planer knife grinding, sharpening, balancing, and maintenance activities in accordance with manufacturer recommendations and Timberlab standards. 

• Manage knife inventory, replacement schedules, and tooling change records to ensure continuous production readiness. 

• Establish and maintain tooling standards to optimize surface quality, dimensional consistency, equipment uptime, and production efficiency. 

• Troubleshoot planer-related quality issues, including dimensional variation, surface finish defects, tear-out, adhesive bonding issues, and tooling performance concerns. 

• 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, Planing, RF Press Operations, and other production work centers to support operational coverage. 

• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications 

• High School Diploma or GED. 

• Minimum2 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 planers, sizing equipment, including planer setup, knife changes, tooling maintenance, and production troubleshooting. 

• Experience performing planer knife grinding, sharpening, balancing, and cutter head maintenance. 

• 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.