Laborup

Production Technician - Foundry

Laborup  •  $20/hr  •  Crystal Lake, IL (Onsite)  •  1 day ago
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Job Description

We’re hiring Production Technicians for our aluminum casting foundry.

You do not need foundry or molten metal experience. We'll train all of that from the ground up.

This is an active, hands-on job for people who like to stay moving and work with their hands. The foundry operates multiple industrial-scale molten aluminum furnaces. You’ll help monitor furnaces, prepare molds, pour molten metal, operate finishing equipment, and support production throughout the department.

This is not assembly-line work where you’ll stand at one station doing the same task every day. Cross-training is a major part of how we operate. One day you might be monitoring furnace temperatures, the next pouring castings, the next operating the shot blaster or automated saw, and the next preparing sand molds. You’ll move throughout the department, constantly learning new skills and becoming more versatile.

Because this is a foundry, the environment is hot year-round. You’ll wear specialized heat-resistant PPE while working around molten metal. If you’ve worked in construction, roofing, landscaping, manufacturing, or another physically demanding environment, you’ll likely find the pace and conditions familiar.

This is a stable, long-established manufacturer that invests heavily in training. The employees who learn every station and consistently show up ready to work can move into lead and higher-responsibility roles over time.

Why Join Us

  • No foundry experience required: We teach molten metal handling, pouring, and mold prep.
  • Daily variety: Furnaces, pouring, shot blasting, saws, sand molds, not one station.
  • Overtime opportunity: Weekly optional overtime for those looking to make more money.

Compensation

  • Pay: $20 / hr
  • 2nd shift: 15% shift differential ($23 / hr total)
  • Optional overtime every week

Hiring on 1st and 2nd Shift

  • 1st shift: Monday - Friday
  • 2nd shift: Monday - Thursday

Potential Backgrounds

  • Construction, roofing, or other outdoor labor in summer heat
  • Manufacturing or production floor work
  • People who'd rather move around all day than stand at one station
  • People who don't mind heat, sweat, and getting dirty

Requirements

Responsibilities

  • Furnace Monitoring: Watch temperatures, gauges, and flames to hold metal at spec.
  • Melting: Melt aluminum and add alloys for required casting properties.
  • Pouring: Pour molten metal into permanent and sand molds.
  • Mold Prep: Preheat, spray, and pack molds before each pour.
  • Machine Operation: Run shot blasters, automated saws, and strip-out machines.
  • Quality Checks: Inspect molds and castings for defects during production.
  • Furnace Maintenance: Clean, fill, and maintain furnaces and department equipment.
  • Material Records: Log sand, alloy, and metal usage each shift.

Qualifications

Required

  • Comfortable on your feet in heat
  • Shop math: fractions, decimals, basic percentages
  • Read a tape measure and scales accurately
  • Read dial gauges and digital thermometers
  • Basic machine operation experience
  • Consistent attendance and safe work practices
  • Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship

Preferred

  • One year of manufacturing or production experience
  • Construction, roofing, or outdoor labor background
  • Forklift operation experience
  • High school diploma or GED
  • Read blueprints and work orders
  • Comfortable working with minimal supervision
Laborup

About Laborup

Laborup is the #1 AI powered talent platform for America’s industrial workforce. We use AI to create jobs, not take them away. We help HR and plant leaders hire and keep the skilled workers who keep plants running: machinists, welders, maintenance techs, operators, industrial electricians, and engineers. USA Today called us the “LinkedIn for blue collar workers,” and Forbes profiled our work in “How AI Is Solving America’s 1 Trillion Dollar Manufacturing Labor Crisis.”

Today we work with manufacturers from 50 person shops to large public companies with tens of thousands of employees, and the story is the same everywhere. It is hard to find talent, hard to keep good people, and staffing costs keep rising. In a market where filling critical industrial roles can take months and turnover is constant, Laborup helps teams move qualified workers from first contact to on site interview in days instead of weeks and keep them on the floor longer.

Most of the workers our customers need are not on LinkedIn or the usual job boards. Laborup uses AI to find this hidden workforce, call and text them, screen and qualify them, build real profiles, and match them directly to the plants and roles where they can succeed. For workers, that means real, permanent roles at serious manufacturers, not one off gigs. For companies, it is durable infrastructure for hiring and retention at scale in a labor market that will stay tight for years.

We work across nuclear, defense, and advanced manufacturing, as well as sectors like aerospace, automotive, and food production. Teams that use Laborup hire 5 to 10 times faster, see around 3 times better retention, and cut cost per hire by up to 50 to 70 percent. That turns into fewer empty shifts, fewer missed orders, more stable teams, and more capacity without more headache.

We are building the modern talent system for America’s industrial base with a simple long term goal: put a billion industrial workers to work in good jobs that matter.

Industry
Retail & Ecommerce
Company Size
11-50 employees
Headquarters
Knoxville
Year Founded
Unknown
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