Shipping Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Fargo Woodworks builds heirloom-quality furniture by hand — conference tables, executive desks, reception desks and sideboards that ship to offices across the country. Every piece is made to order right here in Fargo. Nothing is mass-produced, nothing is outsourced, and nothing leaves this shop that we wouldn't put in our own homes.

We're growing, and we're building the kind of shop people want to stay at: clear standards, real ownership of your area, and the equipment and system to do the job right the first time. If you take pride in your work and want to get better at it, you'll do well here.

About the Role

Hands-on working lead for Fargo Woodworks’ Shipping department. This role performs final assembly, inspection, documentation, protective wrapping, crate packing and loading, shipment coordination, staging, and workspace readiness while building the processes, training, and capacity needed for a growing team.

What You'll Do

• Perform final furniture assembly and inspection before shipment.
• Clean, photograph, and document every component before it is packed.
• Disassemble pieces as required for safe transport, then wrap, cushion, protect, label, and pack them so they arrive as intended.
• Pack finished components into the correct crates and help load, stage, and move shipments safely.
• Coordinate daily Shipping priorities, readiness checklists, ship dates, pickups, and handoffs with Production and other departments.
• Work with the Crate Builder to confirm crate size, materials, strength, and timing so completed crates are staged ahead of need.
• Verify order components, destination information, package or crate dimensions and weight, carrier, service, labels, documents, and tracking records.
• Coordinate parcel, freight, and other carrier pickups; keep shipment status and documentation accurate; and surface delays or constraints early.
• Plan for oversized or unusual shipments, missing destination information, special handling, and installation or delivery requirements shown in the shipping workflow.
• Train, coach, and set clear daily expectations for helpers and future Shipping team members.
• Keep shipping, staging, crate-material, and loading areas safe, organized, clean, and ready for work.
• Investigate damage, packing failures, missed handoffs, or recurring delays and turn what was learned into better standards and training.
• Help develop practical processes, checklists, documentation, tools, material plans, and staffing capacity as the department grows.
• Stay hands-on and step into the highest-priority work when a customer date, product quality, or safe shipment is at risk.
  

What We're Looking For

• Professional experience in shipping, receiving, crating, packaging, warehousing, manufacturing final assembly, logistics operations, or a closely related hands-on environment.
• Credible experience leading, training, mentoring, coordinating, or directing the work of others. Formal management experience is not required.
• Evidence of growing responsibility and being trusted to own work through completion.
• Strong follow-through, initiative, accountability, and practical problem-solving.
• Ability to coordinate priorities, schedules, handoffs, and documentation while remaining productive in the physical work.
• Careful attention to product condition, component accuracy, labels, photos, records, and shipment details.
• Clear communication, including the judgment to raise risks early and propose next steps.
• Safe, confident use of common hand and power tools and material-handling equipment appropriate to the work.
• Ability to work full-time on-site in Fargo, North Dakota.
• Preferred: Experience protecting, packing, crating, or shipping custom furniture, cabinetry, fixtures, architectural products, or other large appearance-critical goods.
• Preferred: Experience with parcel and LTL freight carriers, pickup scheduling, bills of lading, shipping labels, tracking, claims documentation, or shipping software.
• Preferred: Rough-carpentry or crate-building experience, including measuring, cut lists, and an understanding of structural protection.
• Preferred: Experience with final assembly, quality inspection, photo documentation, pallet jacks, forklifts, or other shop lifting equipment.
• Preferred: Experience creating checklists, work standards, training materials, layout improvements, or other practical process improvements.
• Preferred: Interest and capability to grow into broader department leadership as the Shipping team expands.

What Winning Looks Like in This Role

• Personally own work through completion rather than stopping when an individual task is done.
• Plan ahead for crates, materials, shipment information, carrier timing, and downstream constraints so avoidable urgency does not control the day.
• Protect custom furniture with careful inspection, complete documentation, and packaging decisions appropriate to the product and route.
• Communicate status, missing information, handoff risk, and recovery plans early and accurately.
• Lead respectfully through clear expectations, useful training, consistent follow-through, and a willingness to work beside the team.
• Use sound judgment, initiative, and practical problem-solving while maintaining safety, quality, and accuracy.
• Build repeatable standards, training, and capacity so the department can support a larger team over time.
  

Physical Requirements

• Ability to perform the essential physical functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Stand and move for most of the shift, with frequent bending, reaching, kneeling, wrapping, and handling of large components.
• Lift and carry up to 50 pounds independently; team-lift or use appropriate equipment for heavier furniture and crates.
• Work safely in an active shop environment with dust, noise, material-handling equipment, and seasonal temperature changes.
• Use required PPE and safely operate hand tools, power tools, pallet jacks, and other approved lifting or material-handling equipment.

What We Offer

• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Steady, year-round full-time work — we're growing, not seasonal
• Real ownership of your area, not just a task list handed to you
• Training and room to grow — as we grow, we promote from within
• Work you can point at: furniture built to last generations, shipped nationwide

Who Thrives Here

• You take pride in what you build and you care how it turns out
• You show up on time, every day, and people can count on you
• You'd rather own your area than be told what to do all day
• You speak up when something's wrong instead of passing the problem downstream
• You want to get better at your craft, not just collect a paycheck
• Straight talk: this is real work at a real standard. If you're looking to coast, this isn't the shop for you.

Fargo Woodworks designs and builds premium handcrafted furniture for residential and commercial spaces across the country. Every piece is made to order in Fargo by a growing team committed to exceptional craftsmanship, dependable execution, continuous improvement, and creating products that last for generations.

Company Description

Fargo Woodworks designs and builds premium handcrafted furniture for residential and commercial spaces across the country. Every piece is made to order in Fargo by a growing team committed to exceptional craftsmanship, dependable execution, continuous improvement, and creating products that last for generations.