Career Opportunities

We offer health, vision and dental insurance; a 401-K saving plan, profit sharing/retirement plan, paid vacation, and paid holidays. Normal work hours are 6:00 am to 3:00 pm M-F, so you have your evenings and weekends free! At Designed Stairs your contributions matter and we value the quality of life. What are we missing? YOU! A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A Woodworker Bench Carpenter: As a woodworker at Designed Stairs, you are part of a team lead by an experienced stair builder. Each day you arrive to fabricate part packages for specific custom stairs. These packages will include hardwood components such as handrails, newels, balusters, etc. Your team is responsible to create the parts packages for above the stair structure that will then be installed by our installer team. Your team’s goal is to prefabricate all possible parts with known standards as well as custom one-of-a-kind job specific detail. Your process begins by reading job prints to understand the scope and detail of the specific custom job. You then select the parts needed for the job. Using multiple hand tools (miter saw, drill, router, etc) and larger equipment (drill press, table saw, bandsaw, etc) you fabricate the parts using skilled techniques and process according to stair building standards. If there are no set standards for a unique custom item, you then problem solve using woodworking and stair building knowledge to create a custom solution. You assure that your parts are made to a high standard and meet job specifications before staging them for delivery to the job site. Our installers appreciate the work our shop does to make their field installation go as smooth and fast as possible. Your work is installed in luxury homes and our builders and home owners are regularly thrilled and amazed with the beautiful stairs and railings. Qualifications

• Detailed with focus on high quality
• Works well on a team and can work independently
• Self-Starter
• Can start and finish a job independently.
• Positive can-do attitude
• Can follow set standards and procedures
• Problem solving skills
• Ability to work efficiently and safely

Skills

• Cabinetry, furniture, woodworking or construction experience (3 years min)
• Understands woodworking techniques, procedures and terminology
• Read and interpret drawings and sketches to determine material and fabrication needed
• Solid Math skills
• Skilled to use routers, as well as perform router operations using a fence
• Skilled to carve using various techniques using grinders, chisels and scrapers
• Ability to color match various parts to meet company standards
• Skilled to use various hand and power tools safely
• Skilled in various gluing procedures

Be a part of creating luxury curved stairs installed into million-dollar homes. Work for an organization where your contributions matter and values quality of life. We offer health, vision and dental insurance; a 401K saving plan, profit sharing/retirement plan, paid vacation, paid holidays. Work hours are 6:30 am to 3:30 pm, so you have your evenings free! Could you learn to be a highly skilled carver? Do you have good visualization skills? Do you strive for the highest degree of accuracy and have the patience to methodically achieve the desired results? The process of carving rails: Starting in carving it's as simple as two pieces of rails joined together. You carve them for a smooth fit. As you master the chisels and carving you eventually start with a block a wood that rough shaped from our CNC. The wood is shaped for the twist and rise of a curved stair. You further shape the rail to match the rail profile needed. Skills Required

• Hand tools and power tools
• Gluing materials, bar clamps
• Radial arm saw
• Straight-line saw
• Table saw
• Miter saw
• Planer
• Wide belt sander
• Jointer
• Digital and dial caliper

Ideal candidate:

• 5 years of Woodworking experience
• Mechanically inclined
• Solid Math skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Talented working with hands
• Positive can-do attitude
• Self-Starter
• Works well on a team and can work independently

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Build rapport with prospects and customers to determine customer needs.
• Specify stair design to align with customers design concepts and project objectives.
• Create and deliver solutions that meet our client's project needs.
• Manage multiple projects to meet due dates.
• Prioritize and manage a busy workload.
• Research accounts to identify key prospects and generate opportunity.

Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Friendly, with the ability to build rapport quickly
• Problem-solving skills
• Visualization skills
• Good math skills
• Self-motivated, with the ability to manage workload independently
• Exposure to the construction industry a plus
• Design experience helpful
• 3-year experience in customer service over the phone
• 1-year sales experience minimum
• Associate's or Bachelor's degree preferred

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage work flow from RFQ to order to assure an accurate and timely outcome.
• Manages revision control processes.
• Assures margins are managed for the best outcome.
• Manages pricing system and oversees pricing process, along with hands-on pricing.
• Develops pricing system, creates part and processes used for estimating.
• Prices nonstandard products and formats nonstandard quotes.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering is preferred
• Quoting customer service experience
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills
• Self-motivated
• Strong math skills
• Knowledge of construction or millwork products a plus

Our dimension mill makes high quality stair parts both to stock and custom per order.  We work in 30 different wood species and make stair parts of all types including one of a kind reproduction parts.  Learn this interesting and challenging job from highly experienced leadmen. Skills Required:

• Hand tools and power tools
• Gluing materials, bar clamps and clamp carrier
• Radial arm saw
• Straight line saw
• Table saw
• Miter saw
• Planer
• Wide belt sander
• Jointer
• Router
• Shaper
• Digital and dial caliper
• Fork truck

Ideal candidate:

• High degree of accuracy
• Talented working with hands
• Mechanically inclined
• Positive can-do attitude
• Self-Starter
• Works well on a team and can work independently
• Solid Math skills
• Problem solving skills

A Day in the life of a driver: Leave from your home about 6 am to get to your first stop by 7am.   Meet installers with specialty materials they need for their day.  Drive to next job site.  Stretch then unload oak stair parts and stage them in the area that will aid the installer for their efficient work.   You may have 4 job sites a day to deliver to.  There may be other stops of picking up materials.    Come back to the shop, review with the office any issues or open items you found while in the field.   See what needs to be delivered tomorrow and plan your route.   Review shop paperwork for each job, to make sure you understand the materials that need to be loaded.   Determine if a van will be suitable, or you need the larger box truck.  Load the truck. Drive the truck home, so you are ready in the morning.

Ideal candidate:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Friendly, with ability to build rapport quickly
• Strong problem solving skills
• Strong visualization skills
• Self-motivated, with ability to manage workload independently
• Phone sales or other in-house sales experience
• 3-year sales experience minimum
• Exposure to construction industry a plus
• Design experience a plus
• Bachelor’s degree a plus

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Build rapport with prospects and customers to determine customer needs
• Specify stair design to align with customers design concepts and project objectives
• Create and deliver solutions that meet client’s project needs
• Self-manage multiple projects with changing scopes, prioritize and multi task workload
• Sourcing new sales opportunities through incoming leads and outbound cold calls and email
• Research accounts to identify key prospects and generate opportunity
• Maintain and expand database of prospect customers

• Dusting; desks, lunchroom, and showroom
• Empty garbage and recycling
• Mop and vacuum floors
• Clean washrooms (4)
• Communicating cleaning supply or repair needs

Responsibilities:

• Manage multiple schedules from production to delivery and installation
• Delivery personnel report to this position
• Coordinate the daily activities of field personnel
• Collaborate with all departments
• Purchase supplies and materials
• Utilize MRP to maintain proper inventory levels
• Keep inventory turns per company goals

Qualifications:

• Experience in manufacturing planning
• Experience in construction helpful
• Bachelor’s in engineering is preferred
• Strong leadership qualities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Woodworking skills helpful

Ideal candidate:

• Construction Skills / minimum 5 years' experience
• Desire to learn new skills and work hard
• High quality and attention to detail
• Strong math skills
• Strong problem solving skills
• Self-starter who works w/o supervision
• Organized
• Professional
• Comfortable working on scaffolds
• Driver license and transportation to jobsite throughout Chicago and suburbs
• Strong Communication Skills
• Service minded / good customer service skills
• Positive team attitude

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Meet with residential builders; listen, and understand their needs.
• Provide solutions to meet their budget, space, or design requirements.
• Create drawings for order.
• Create technical engineering documents from AutoCAD.
• Use field dimensions to design stairs.
• Work from our Sandwich, IL office, and job sites throughout northern Illinois.
• Learn to design all types of stairs and rails for million-dollar homes.

Qualifications:

• Strong math skills
• AutoCAD
• 3D modeling software
• Knowledge of construction
• Knowledge of hardwoods and joinery
• Problem-solving and analytical skills
• Self-motivated
• Strong communication skills, ability to interact with a broad variety of individuals
• Bachelor's degree in engineering is preferred

Physical needs:  Bending and reaching, working over multi-story stairwells on planks or ladders.