Finisher / Handwork Lead

Description

About This Role

This role is being created to formalize something that has always existed at Acme but hasn’t had a title, a pay grade, or a clear scope: the experienced Finisher who knows the work cold, holds the team together, and is the first person newer people turn to when they’re unsure.

Acme is building Finishing into a permanent, structured department with defined skill levels, a career ladder, and a connection to the Workforce Development apprenticeship program. The Finisher / Handwork Lead is the anchor of that department — a working lead who does the job and sets the standard for how it gets done.

This is not a desk job. The Lead is on the floor, hands on parts, alongside the team. But the Lead is also responsible for the team’s performance, the quality of what leaves the department, and making sure newer Finishers grow. It’s a role for someone who is excellent at the work and ready to own more than just their own output.

Position Summary

The Finisher / Handwork Lead is a working lead in Acme’s Finishing department, responsible for the daily execution, quality, and throughput of all post-machining handwork operations on precision aerospace, defense, and industrial components. The Lead works alongside the team, deburring and finishing complex machined parts to exact specifications, while also coordinating workflow, coaching Finishers and trainees, troubleshooting quality issues, and driving the standards and behaviors that define the department.

This role reports to the Production Manager and operates in close coordination with Acme’s Workforce Development program to ensure that the Finishing department serves as an effective entry point and development pipeline for production talent.

Essential Responsibilities

Production Lead — Daily Operations

• Coordinate daily workflow across the Finishing team: assign jobs to Finishers and trainees based on priority, skill level, and traveler requirements
• Monitor shift throughput and communicate job status, delays, or quality holds to the Production Manager and shift supervisor in real time
• Confirm that travelers and work orders are being followed correctly and that documentation is completed accurately before jobs move forward
• Identify and escalate bottlenecks, missing tooling, missing or incorrect travelers, or other obstacles that affect on-time flow through the department
• Coordinate handoff between 1st and 2nd shift at the Lead level — clear communication of open jobs, quality holds, and team status

Hands-On Finishing Work

• Perform complex deburring, handwork, and surface preparation on precision machined castings, forgings, and components using hand tools, air tools, files, stones, and abrasive media
• Inspect parts against engineering drawings including GD&T callouts, surface finish requirements, and special notes; identify and flag non-conforming conditions before parts move to Quality or Ship
• Handle complex, close-tolerance, or high-value parts that require above-average judgment, care, and technique
• Read and interpret engineering drawings, job travelers, and work orders; raise questions with Engineering or Quality before starting if a print is unclear
• Perform or support in-process inspection and cleaning operations, including preparation for outside processing (plating, coating, heat treat)

Quality & Standards

• Set and enforce the department’s quality standard — if it doesn’t meet the print, it doesn’t leave the department
• Initiate nonconformance documentation when a defect is identified; do not pass suspect parts
• Follow all QMS requirements per Acme’s ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certification — traveler sign-offs, records, controlled document use
• Maintain 5S standards in the Finishing area; own the cleanliness and organization of the department
• Identify recurring quality issues coming out of upstream machining operations and communicate patterns to the Production Manager and Quality

Workforce Development — Coaching & Training

• Coach Finisher trainees and Finisher I employees on technique, print reading, inspection, traveler documentation, and safe tool use
• Partner with Workforce Development & Apprenticeship Program Manager to align on-the-floor coaching with the formal Finisher training program — 30/60/90-day skill goals, ToolingU course reinforcement, daily training logs
• Conduct or support daily check-ins with trainees; document training activities and flag performance concerns to the Production Manager and/or Workforce Development
• Provide direct input on trainee readiness to advance from Finisher trainee ? Finisher I ? Finisher II; this is a collaborative assessment with Dalibor, Greg, and Production supervision
• Model the behaviors, work habits, and standards that define the Finishing department — pride in craft, attention to detail, clear communication, and ownership

Safety & Compliance

• Enforce all safety requirements in the Finishing area: PPE, proper tool handling, safe handling of heavy or awkward workpieces, housekeeping standards
• Lead by example on safety — no shortcuts, no exceptions, and address unsafe behavior immediately when observed
• Support new employee safety orientation for anyone onboarding into the Finishing department

Requirements

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing finishing, deburring, or handwork role on precision machined components
• Demonstrated ability to deburr and finish complex machined castings and forgings to exact print specifications — not just production parts, but parts where the finish and edge condition matter
• Strong blueprint reading ability including GD&T, surface finish callouts, material specifications, and tolerance requirements
• Ability to perform and direct in-process inspection using standard measurement tools: calipers, micrometers, surface comparators, visual inspection against print
• Proven ability to lead, teach, or mentor other people on the floor — formal title not required, but clear evidence of stepping up
• Strong communication skills: able to give clear direction to a team, raise issues to supervision, and interface with Quality and Engineering when needed
• Organized and dependable — this is a coordination role as much as a hands-on role, and both have to happen simultaneously
• High school diploma, GED, or equivalent
• Ability to stand, lift, and handle workpieces up to 50 lbs. throughout the shift; team lift for heavier components

Preferred

• Experience leading or coordinating a production team, work center, or shift — formal or informal
• Experience working in an ISO 9001 or AS9100D certified environment and comfortable with QMS documentation requirements
• Experience coaching or on-boarding new employees in a manufacturing environment
• Familiarity with ERP systems or similar job shop ERP for traveler management
• Familiarity with ToolingU or similar training platform
• Experience on both 1st and 2nd shift — understanding of shift handoff dynamics

The Finishing Career Ladder at Acme

Acme is formalizing Finishing as a permanent production department with a defined skill and compensation progression. The Finisher / Handwork Lead sits at the top of the current Finishing ladder and is the role that makes the department function:

• Finisher Trainee — Entry-level; 120-day apprenticeship program with Dalibor and the Lead; no prior experience required
• Finisher I — Independently performing routine deburr and handwork to print; completed initial training, passed skill assessment
• Finisher II — Complex parts, surface finish to spec, inspection support; mentoring newer team members; $24–$29/hr

The Lead is also a potential stepping stone into a Finishing Supervisor or Production Supervisor role as the department grows — the path from here is intentional, not theoretical.

What We Offer

• Hiring bonus
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance — Day 1, no waiting period
• Company-paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
• HSA and FSA options
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid vacation, sick time, and holidays
• Weekly pay
• Gainsharing bonus — when Acme wins, you share in it
• Tuition assistance
• A leadership role in a department that is growing and being built the right way — with career paths, structured training, and real investment in the people doing the work

About Acme Industries

Since 1948, Acme Industries has been a trusted precision manufacturer serving aerospace, defense, power generation, mining, and transportation markets from Elk Grove Village, Illinois. We are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified and specialize in large, complex machined castings and forgings. Our Finishing team is the last step before a part reaches the customer, and the standard they hold is the standard our customers experience. We’re building a Finishing department that reflects that — led by someone who takes that seriously.