Woodshop Operator

Company Description Earthlite is the world’s leading massage brand, providing high-quality wellness, spa, and medical equipment backed by decades of industry expertise. Founded in 1987, the company operates as a carbon-neutral organization and actively supports environmental programs, charitable initiatives, and internal wellness efforts. Team members join a mission-driven organization that values sustainability, quality craftsmanship, and long-term customer relationships.

Position Summary

The Woodshop Operator fabricates wood, plastic, fiberglass, and metal components used in Earthlite massage tables and related wellness equipment. Core work includes cutting, drilling, routing, edge banding, sanding, and polishing to documented specifications, along with in-process quality verification and safe, orderly operation of woodworking machinery.

This is a hands-on production role on the shop floor. Success in the position is measured by first-pass quality, adherence to standard work, safe machine operation, and consistent output against build schedules.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Fabrication and Machine Operation

• Set up and operate woodshop equipment — including panel and table saws, CNC router, drill press, edgebander, shaper, jointer, planer, and wide-belt and orbital sanders — in accordance with machine-specific standard work and safety procedures.

• Cut and dimension raw materials for the wooden frames and subassemblies of stationary massage tables.

• Drill wooden, plastic, and metal parts using approved stops, fixtures, and holding jigs to hold hole location and depth tolerances.

• Apply and trim edge banding on table components to the specified finish standard.

• Sand wood components and subassemblies to the defined grit sequence and surface-finish criteria.

• Buff and polish plastic components to the required clarity and mirror-finish standard.

• Read and work from work orders, drawings, cut lists, and bills of material; interpret dimensions in both imperial and metric units.

• Perform operator-level machine care: blade and abrasive changes, dust-collection checks, lubrication, and cleaning per the preventive-maintenance checklist. Report equipment faults promptly to the supervisor.

Quality

• Verify that incoming raw material and in-process components meet quality criteria before running the operation, and quarantine nonconforming material.

• Perform in-process inspection using tape measures, calipers, squares, and gauges; record results on the QC checklist.

• Confirm that work orders carry the correct part numbers, revision level, and quantities before processing.

• Complete all documentation required by the operation legibly and in real time (QC checklists, travelers, scrap and rework tags).

• Escalate recurring defects, tooling wear, and material issues to the supervisor rather than reworking around them.

Health, Safety, and Housekeeping

• Follow all Earthlite and Cal/OSHA safety requirements, including the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), machine guarding, lockout/tagout, and hazard communication procedures.

• Wear the personal protective equipment required for each task and inspect it before use.

• Never operate a machine with a guard removed, bypassed, or inoperative; never clear a jam or change tooling on energized equipment.

• Maintain wood-dust housekeeping standards, keep dust collection connected and functioning, and keep aisles, exits, and electrical panels clear.

• Report all injuries, near misses, spills, and unsafe conditions to the supervisor immediately.

• Participate in safety meetings, toolbox talks, and job-hazard-analysis reviews for the work area.

Documentation and Systems

• Work to the current revision of standard work instructions; do not deviate without supervisor approval.

• Record labor, quantities completed, and scrap against the correct work order in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

• Maintain accurate material issue and consumption records for the operations performed.

Continuous Improvement and Teamwork

• Sustain 5S standards in the work area and at individual workstations.

• Contribute improvement ideas for safety, quality, ergonomics, cycle time, and material yield.

• Support cross-training within the woodshop and CNC cell, and assist adjacent operations and quality inspectors as scheduled.

• Support incoming and final inspection with handling and transfer of material and finished product as needed.

Equipment and Tools Operated

Panel saw

Table saw

Miter / chop saw

CNC router

Shaper / router table

Jointer and planer

Band saw

Wide-belt sander

Edge sander

Orbital and hand sanders

Edgebander

Buffing / polishing wheel

Hot-melt adhesive equipment

Drill press

Pneumatic and cordless hand tools

Dust collection system

Pallet jack

Forklift (if authorized)

Measuring and gauging tools

Qualifications

Required

• High school diploma or GED, or equivalent combination of education and relevant manufacturing experience.

• Ability to read and follow written work instructions, work orders, and safety procedures in English.

• Working knowledge of both imperial and metric measurement, and ability to use a tape measure, calipers, and squares accurately.

• Basic shop math — fractions, decimals, and unit conversion.

• Ability to be trained and authorized on woodworking machinery and to follow safety procedures without deviation.

• Reliable attendance and the ability to work the assigned production shift, including overtime as scheduled.

• Ability to meet the physical demands of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred

• One or more years of experience in wood products, cabinetry, furniture, or a comparable light-manufacturing environment.

• Prior experience with CNC routers, edgebanders, or wide-belt sanders.

• Current forklift certification.

• Experience in a documented quality system (ISO 9001 or similar) and with lean or 5S practices.

• Familiarity with an ERP system for work order and labor transactions.

• Bilingual English / Spanish.

Core Competencies

• Attention to detail and craftsmanship — takes pride in finish quality.

• Safety discipline — follows procedure consistently, including when unobserved.

• Teamwork and communication — collaborates across the woodshop, CNC cell, assembly, and QA.

• Initiative and ownership — flags problems early and offers improvements.

• Dependability and adaptability in a changing production schedule.