Job Description

**Manufacturing Production Associate **

Employment Type: Full-Time

Compensation: Competitive pay scale commensurate with experience (Includes a +$1.00/hr shift premium for qualifying schedules)

Work Shifts: 1st and 2nd Shift opportunities available with flexible scheduling choices

Work Location: Kalkaska, Michigan

Total Rewards & Benefits Package

• Financial Incentives: Sign-on bonus program available for qualified new hires, plus a 401(k) retirement plan featuring a robust company match.

• Health & Wellness: Full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage options.

• Time Away: Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to support work-life balance.

• Career Growth: Stability paired with professional cross-training. We invest in your long-term success by helping you master multiple skills across diverse manufacturing departments.

Company Overview & Role Summary

Since 1943, our organization has remained a steadfast manufacturing presence, building long-term careers in an environment that values people. We do not believe in rigid, one-note assembly lines; instead, we empower our team members to explore various production cells to discover where their mechanical strengths and career interests thrive.

As a Manufacturing Production Associate, your day-to-day assignments will match your unique skillset and aspirations across our specialized production areas:

• Joining & Assembly: Precision torch and induction brazing, resistance welding, soldering, and mechanical assembly.

• Metal Fabrication: Operating mechanical power presses, manual kick presses, and specialized wire mesh shearing machinery.

• Quality Assurance: Performing high-precision product inspection utilizing stereo microscopes and measurement tools.

• Plant Operations: Wash room processing, material handling, and tool/die support maintenance.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Operate fabrication machinery, including power presses, manual kick presses, and shear tables to shape metal components.

• Join parts using resistance welders, torch/induction brazing setups, and soldering equipment.

• Conduct detailed visual and dimensional inspections of finished items under microscope magnification.

• Measure parts using precision inspection instruments such as micrometers, dial calipers, test indicators, and go/no-go gages.

• Read, interpret, and follow complex blueprints, schematics, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

• Utilize computerized systems to log production data, track metrics, and scan jobs in or out of the workflow.

• Support tool and die maintenance utilizing bench grinders, drill presses, manual lathes, and CNC equipment.

• Handle general material movement, sorting, and packaging finished goods safely for shipment.

• Adhere strictly to all plant safety guidelines, standard operating procedures, and personal protective equipment (PPE) mandates.

Candidate Qualifications & Requirements

• Work Ethic & Attendance: A proven record of dependable attendance and a strong, team-oriented work ethic.

• Experience: 1 to 2 years of hands-on experience in a production, warehouse, or industrial manufacturing environment is beneficial (though motivated entry-level candidates with a great attitude will be fully trained!).

• Education: High school diploma or GED equivalent, coupled with the ability to successfully pass a basic industrial math and tape measure evaluation.

• Aptitude: High attention to detail, mechanical inclination, and the ability to solve practical shop-floor problems.

• Physical Demands: Capacity to stand or sit for extended periods, lift up to 30 lbs independently, and meet close-vision requirements.

• Reliability: Dependable daily transportation to our Kalkaska, MI production facility.

• Compliance: Successful completion of pre-employment background screening and drug testing.

You should be proficient in:

• GD&T
• Quality Inspection Experience
• CNC Tooling
• Soldering
• AS9100 Quality Systems
• Microscope Proficiency
• Warehouse Experience
• ISO 9001 Certification Experience
• Tape Measure Reading
• Maintenance and Repair Skills
• Machine Safety Inspections
• Machine Setups for Production Runs
• Meets Physical Requirements
• Tool/Die/Mold Repair Skills
• High School / GED
• Tool/Die/Mold Setup Experience