Cobra Kustom Fab – Rockford, Illinois Area
Cobra Kustom Fab is looking for an experienced, self-directed fabrication professional who can take ownership of day-to-day shop operations.
This is not a position for someone who needs a task list every morning. We need a hands-on leader who can look at the workload, determine what needs to happen, organize the work, solve problems, and keep jobs moving from raw material through finished product.
The right person will treat the shop with the same care, urgency, and accountability they would bring to their own business. You will have responsibility for production, quality, organization, equipment, materials, and deadlines—with the authority to make practical shop-floor decisions.
Responsibilities
- Plan, organize, and manage daily fabrication work
- Review drawings, job packets, specifications, and customer requirements
- Determine the best production method and sequence for each job
- Set up and operate fabrication equipment as needed
- Run or oversee CNC plasma cutting, turret punching, press brake forming, welding, grinding, assembly, and powder coating
- Coordinate one-off custom work and repeat-production jobs
- Assign and oversee work when additional employees are present
- Keep projects moving without constant supervision
- Identify missing information or potential problems before production begins
- Inspect completed work for dimensions, fit, appearance, and overall quality
- Track material usage, labor time, job status, and production issues
- Maintain appropriate inventory of steel, hardware, consumables, and shop supplies
- Help order materials and prevent unnecessary waste
- Perform basic machine maintenance and coordinate repairs when needed
- Maintain a clean, safe, and organized shop
- Develop fixtures, templates, setups, and procedures that make repeat work faster and more consistent
- Communicate clearly with ownership regarding schedules, problems, material needs, and job progress
- Help improve production methods, profitability, and overall shop efficiency
Equipment and Processes
Our shop capabilities include:
- Amada turret punch presses
- CNC plasma cutting
- Amada press brakes
- MIG welding
- Shearing
- Grinding and metal finishing
- Powder coating
- Assembly and fit-up
- SolidWorks and DXF-based production files
Experience with every machine is not mandatory, but the successful candidate must have strong all-around fabrication knowledge and be capable of learning unfamiliar equipment.
Required Qualifications
- Strong hands-on metal fabrication experience
- Ability to read fabrication drawings and understand dimensions, tolerances, and bend requirements
- Experience setting up and operating fabrication equipment
- Working knowledge of forming, welding, fit-up, and fabrication sequencing
- Ability to plan jobs and solve problems without constant direction
- Strong mechanical aptitude
- Good judgment regarding quality, safety, material usage, and production efficiency
- Ability to manage multiple jobs and changing priorities
- Dependable attendance and strong personal accountability
- Willingness to perform both skilled fabrication and ordinary shop work when necessary
- Ability to take responsibility for mistakes, correct problems, and prevent them from happening again
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience as a shop foreman, lead fabricator, production supervisor, or fabrication shop manager
- Experience with Amada press brakes or turret punch presses
- CNC plasma experience
- SolidWorks, CAD, CAM, or DXF programming experience
- Powder-coating experience
- Experience estimating labor, material, and production time
- Experience training or supervising employees
- Forklift and material-handling experience
- Preventative-maintenance and equipment-troubleshooting experience
What We Are Looking For
We want someone who:
- Sees what needs to be done and handles it
- Takes pride in the shop and the products leaving it
- Can work independently without being constantly monitored
- Understands that quality and profitability both matter
- Keeps tools, materials, paperwork, and jobs organized
- Looks for better, faster, and more repeatable ways to produce work
- Can lead by example and hold others accountable
- Communicates problems early instead of hiding them
- Wants the responsibility and freedom that come with running a fabrication shop
To apply, please send your work history and a short explanation of the fabrication equipment and processes you have personally set up or operated. Photos of completed fabrication work are welcome.
Learn more about Cobra Kustom Fab at www.cobrakustomfab.com.
Pay: $25.00 - $35.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
Experience:
- Manufacturing: 5 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
