Custom Machine Builder

Custom Machine Builder

Up to $40.00/Hour + Overtime • Pewaukee, WI Area • 100% Onsite • 1st Shift

This opportunity offers an ideal career destination for a true craftsman who hates the mindless repetition of high-volume line assembly and wants a technical home where genuine problem-solving skills are valued. Operating as an established, long-standing custom automation provider, this industry pioneer has spent decades designing and building high-specification machinery for global manufacturers. Running with a tight-knit, highly collaborative team, the organization completely rejects rigid corporate silos—ensuring mechanical builders, electrical wiremen, and engineering staff work side-by-side on the floor from day one.

This isn't a position where operators install the exact same component week after week. Every system born on this production floor is a custom, complex, one-off automation asset integrating cutting-edge controls, robotics, vision systems, and fluid power networks. Once a project hits the floor, the assigned builder has total ownership of the build, the creative freedom to finesse alignments, and a direct line to engineering. Backed by excellent job security, a casual workplace environment, comprehensive benefits, and an opening created by an upcoming retirement, this environment provides an exceptional long-term home for a proud trades professional.

What You Will Be Doing

• Build, fit, and assemble a diverse range of high-value, custom automated systems, robotic cells, assembly presses, and packaging machinery from the ground up.
• Interpret highly detailed blueprints, mechanical assembly drawings, and complex pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical schematics to establish proper build sequencing.
• Utilize shop-floor modeling stations to access 3D digital designs, checking spatial relationships and mechanical movements in real time.
• Install and route electrical cables, complex pneumatic manifolds, and high-pressure hydraulic circuits neatly onto machine frames.
• Finesse, shim, and tune precision machine components to exact tolerances, executing toolmaking-level adjustments to ensure flawless mechanical cycling.
• Partner directly with the engineering team to cross-verify designs, troubleshoot assembly bottlenecks, and iron out technical deviations on the fly.
• Mentor, guide, and share specialized trade techniques with junior technicians on the floor to maintain an elite assembly standard.
• Execute the tactical breakdown, packing, and crating of completed custom machines and automated cells to prepare them for secure transport.

What We Are Looking For

• Machine building pedigree featuring a minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience executing ground-up mechanical machine builds. Candidates with a dedicated background in toolmaking or precision fixture building require a minimum of only 2 years of experience.
• True craftsmanship with deep experience building high-speed material handling systems, precision automated lines, or custom packaging machinery; this role is not for component-level bench assemblers.
• Technical documentation fluency backed by a high proficiency in reading, interpreting, and building from multi-view mechanical drawings, fabrication blueprints, and fluid power schematics.
• Tool and instrument mastery with expert, safe operation of a wide variety of hand/power tools, machine shop equipment, and precision measurement tools (calipers, micrometers, indicators).
• Collaborative mindset showing a no-nonsense work ethic and the interpersonal skills required to work seamlessly alongside senior wiremen, mechanical engineers, and management.
• Local commute and permanent residency established within a comfortable, daily 45-minute driving radius of the Pewaukee, WI area.