Planer Technician

Timberlab; Millersburg (OR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Timberlab is seeking a Planer Technician to own the work center, operate and maintain planers and sizing equipment, and develop operating standards. You will train operators, manage tooling, and drive continuous improvement in uptime and quality.

Responsibilities include leading startups, setup, and troubleshooting, maintaining records, and coordinating with Quality, Maintenance, and Engineering to optimize production and safety.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to interpret technical documents and production specs.
• Strong mechanical aptitude with hands-on troubleshooting and repairs.
• Experience leading, training, and supporting machine operators.
• Commitment to safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to work flexible schedules and overtime as needed.

Responsibilities

• Operate and maintain planers, sizing equipment, and related production systems.
• Set up, troubleshoot, optimize, and maintain planning equipment.
• Lead machine setup, startups, shutdowns, and changeovers.
• Train and mentor operators; develop SOPs and work instructions.
• Monitor performance, downtime, quality, and throughput metrics.
• Coordinate with Quality, Maintenance, and Engineering teams to improve reliability.
• Perform routine inspections and preventive maintenance on equipment.

Skills

Mechanical aptitude

Problem solving

Leadership & training

Reading technical docs

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Job description

Job Description Summary

The Planer Technician serves as the work center owner and primary operator for Timberlab’s planning operations. This position is expected to personally operate, set up, troubleshoot, optimize, and maintain planning and sizing equipment while developing operating standards and training operators. The Technician owns equipment performance, dimensional quality, surface finish quality, tooling management, uptime, throughput, and continuous improvement within the work center.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary operator of critical production equipment
• Operate and maintain planers, 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.
• 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 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.