Responsibilities

Design and optimize material flow from log intake through primary breakdown, secondary processing, drying, surfacing, and finished goods staging, minimizing handling, rehandling, and queue buildup between operations
Develop and maintain mill layouts for sawmills, planer mills, panel plants, or engineered wood facilities, incorporating equipment footprints, log, cant, and lumber flow paths, green chain and dry chain configurations, and trim and sort systems
Determine primary and secondary breakdown equipment requirements, including headrigs, frame saws, and gang saws, and define optimal sequencing to maximize recovery and throughput
Evaluate and specify automation and optimization systems such as scanning and optimization technology (log, cant, and lumber optimizers), PLC-controlled sort systems, and automated stacking and strapping lines
Perform line balancing and bottleneck analysis across the mill, from the log deck and debarker through the green chain, kiln scheduling, dry mill, and shipping, ensuring equipment utilization is matched to production targets
Conduct time studies and production flow analyses to establish standard work, crew sizing, and shift capacity targets across mill departments
Partner with maintenance, production, and dry kiln teams to plan and execute equipment installations, mill reconfigurations, and capacity expansion projects with minimal downtime
Apply lean principles to wood products manufacturing, identifying waste in lumber handling, sort and stacking operations, trim optimization, and grade flow
Support capital project development for mill modernization initiatives, including scanning upgrades, automated grading systems, and materials handling improvements, contributing to vendor evaluation, installation, and commissioning
Own and maintain mill flow diagrams, equipment layout drawings, and standard operating procedures, authoring and updating documentation as equipment, products, or processes change
Adapt to changing priorities and support team and operational needs as they evolve
Join our team as we modernize timber from forest to finished product.

Qualification

Someone who prefers collaborativeHands-on and detail-orientedProficiency in time study methods

Required

A technically deep engineer who thrives on solving complex material flow and equipment sequencing problems in high-volume manufacturing environments
Someone who prefers collaborative, cross-functional problem-solving and enjoys partnering with operations, maintenance, and capital projects teams to execute ambitious mill improvements
Hands-on and detail-oriented, comfortable spending time on the mill floor conducting verification tests, validating layouts, and commissioning new equipment rather than working only from a desk
Comfortable with ambiguity in early-stage projects, able to work within the constraints of existing mill infrastructure while envisioning and planning future state configurations
A self-directed owner who carries projects from analysis through implementation and holds oneself to rigorous engineering standards and timelines
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)
Working knowledge of primary and secondary wood breakdown processes, including log merchandising, sawing patterns, kerf and recovery optimization, surfacing, and grading
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

Process Engineer at Lumbermanufactory · LumiJobs

Process Engineer

Responsibilities

Qualification

Required

Benefits

Company

Lumbermanufactory

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