Sawmill Process Engineer – Optimize Material Flow

The Lumber Manufactory; Washington; On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid health coverage for

Life insurance & disability coverage

Paid time off & company holidays

Job summary

The Lumber Manufactory is seeking a Process Engineer to design, optimize, and continuously improve mill operations across sawmills, planer mills, and engineered wood facilities. You will own material flow from log intake through finished goods, evaluate equipment for maximum recovery and throughput, and partner with production, maintenance, and capital projects teams to modernize operations.

You will spend time on the mill floor conducting studies, validating layouts, and commissioning new

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline.
• 5+ years of process or industrial engineering experience in wood products manufacturing (sawmill, planer mill, OSB, LVL, plywood, MDF, or similar environments).
• Hands-on experience with mill layout design and material flow planning, including green end and dry end configurations, lumber handling systems, and sort and stacker integration, with proficiency in layout tools such as AutoCAD.
• Familiarity with scanning and optimization systems and how optimizer settings translate to recovery and grade yield outcomes.
• Experience evaluating and implementing automation in mill environments, including PLC-controlled sort lines, automated stackers, kiln tracking systems, and MES or production reporting platforms.
• Proficiency in time study methods, OEE analysis, and capacity modeling applied to high-volume, continuous-flow wood processing.
• Knowledge of kiln drying operations and how drying schedules, kiln capacity, and green inventory management interact with mill flow.
• Understanding of lumber grading rules and how product mix and grade targets influence equipment sequencing and line design.

Responsibilities

• Own and optimize material flow from log intake through finished goods, evaluating equipment to maximize recovery and throughput.
• Develop mill layouts for sawmills, planer mills, panel plants, or engineered wood facilities with proper footprints and flow paths.
• Specify breakdown equipment and sequencing to maximize recovery and throughput.
• Evaluate automation systems such as log and lumber optimizers, PLC-controlled sort lines, and automated stacking lines.
• Conduct line balancing and bottleneck analysis across the mill to align equipment utilization with production targets.
• Perform time studies and production flow analyses to establish standard work, crew sizing, and shift capacity targets.
• Plan and execute equipment installations, mill reconfigurations, and capacity expansions with minimal downtime.
• Apply lean principles to identify waste and optimize lumber handling, sort, and stacking operations.
• Support capital projects for mill modernization, including scanning upgrades and automated grading systems.

Skills

Material flow optimization

Mill layout design

Automation systems

Time study

OEE analysis

Capacity modeling

Lumber handling systems

Cross-functional collaboration

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent

Tools

AutoCAD

MES / production reporting platforms

Job description

The Lumber Manufactory is seeking a Process Engineer to design, optimize, and continuously improve mill operations across sawmills, planer mills, and engineered wood facilities. You will own material flow from log intake through finished goods, evaluate equipment for maximum recovery and throughput, and partner with production, maintenance, and capital projects teams to modernize operations.

You will spend time on the mill floor conducting studies, validating layouts, and commissioning new