Lead Painter / Finisher — Job Call
MadeFirst West is looking for a Lead Painter / Finisher to help lead and strengthen our finish department in Los Angeles.
We’re looking for someone with a deep bag of finish experience across scenic, theming, automotive, display, and custom fabrication work — someone who can step in, take ownership of the paint department, lead a small team, work closely with production, and help bring more consistency, quality, and efficiency to how we finish projects.
This role is for someone who knows how to:
- create great finishes across a wide range of materials and project types
- lead other finishers with clarity and confidence
- efficiently navigate digital tools like slack and g-suite for communication and project reviews
- work closely with PMs, production, and builders
- build systems, not just beautiful surfaces
- stay flexible when fast-moving projects shift
- keep quality high without slowing the whole shop down
Our work lives in the world of experiential fabrication, brand activations, scenic environments, themed builds, pop-ups, displays, and custom installations, so range matters.
We’re especially interested in candidates with experience in:
- scenic paint and faux finishing
- theming and immersive/environmental finishes
- auto body-style prep and finishing
- spraying/rolling/brushing clear coats, specialty coatings, and custom treatments
- finish sampling, color matching, QC, and onsite touch-up/install support
- leading small teams and managing finish workflow
- willing to travel
If that sounds like you, we’d love to connect.
Lead Painter / Finisher — Job DescriptionPosition Summary
The Lead Painter / Finisher oversees and executes project finishes in support of MadeFirst’s fabrication, scenic, and activation work. This person will help lead the finish department day to day, managing finish workflow, quality, team communication, finish planning, and onsite follow-through as needed.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone with broad finish experience who can work across a variety of project types and materials while helping the department become stronger, more self-sufficient, and more organized over time.
The ideal candidate is a strong finisher, a clear communicator, a practical leader, and someone who takes pride in both the craft and the process behind the work.
Key ResponsibilitiesDepartment Leadership
- Help lead the paint / finish department day to day
- Manage and support a small team of finishers with different backgrounds and skill sets
- Build stronger systems, communication, and accountability within the department
- Work closely with production, PMs, shop leadership, and builders to align priorities and finish expectations
- Help create a finish department that is efficient, consistent, and requires less day-to-day hand holding
Project Planning
- Comfortably use digital tools like Slack and G-Suite for communication and project review.
- Review digital renderings, finish callouts, and samples to understand project intent
- Communicate clearly across internal channels
- Develop finish plans, treatments, and sequencing for assigned projects
- Create samples and mockups as needed
- Help identify job-specific materials, coatings, paints, and equipment needs
- Coordinate with production on schedule, readiness, and handoff timing
Build Execution
- Execute a wide range of finishes across scenic, themed, fabricated, and branded environments
- Lead finish quality control throughout the life of a project
- Communicate finish standards and treatment direction clearly to other finishers
- Keep the department moving efficiently while maintaining quality
- Troubleshoot finish issues as they arise and adjust approach as needed
Onsite / Install Support
- Travel for installs, touch-ups, and field finish work as needed
- Prepare finish kits and touch-up kits for installs and strikes
- Help identify and resolve finish issues onsite quickly and professionally
- Represent the department well in fast-paced, client-facing environments when needed
Department Standards / Upkeep
- Help maintain a safe, clean, and functional finish area
- Ensure proper PPE, spraying, and safety practices are followed
- Help track and organize department tools, supplies, and materials
- Contribute to ongoing improvements in process, workflow, and department setup
QualificationsRequired
- Strong experience in painting / finishing within scenic, fabrication, theming, entertainment, retail, exhibit, or related build environments
- Demonstrated leadership experience or clear readiness to lead a finish team
- Wide range of finish knowledge, ideally including:
- scenic paint
- faux finishes
- theming / immersive finishes
- prep and surfacing
- color matching
- spraying / HVLP / airless
- clear coats and specialty coatings
- auto-style prep / bodywork / finishing
- working across wood, metal, plastics, foam, hardcoat, and mixed-material builds
- Strong eye for finish quality, consistency, and detail
- Ability to interpret renderings, drawings, finish callouts, and design intent
- Ability to work in a fast-paced fabrication environment with shifting priorities
- Willingness to work overtime and travel for installs when needed
- Ability to lift 50 lbs, use ladders, and work physically as required
Preferred
- Scenic or themed entertainment background
- Auto body or specialty coating experience
- Experience building finish samples and finish documentation
- Comfort working cross-functionally with PMs, production, and shop leads
- Experience helping train or mentor junior finishers
What Success Looks Like
- The finish department runs with more clarity, consistency, and independence
- Finish expectations are understood earlier and communicated more clearly
- Quality stays high across a wide range of projects
- Finishers are better aligned, supported, and directed
- The department becomes more efficient and less reactive
- Onsite finish support is prepared, professional, and dependable
Tone / Fit
We’re looking for someone who is:
- hands-on
- highly capable
- low ego
- detail-oriented
- adaptable
- solutions-minded
- strong with both craft and people
This role is a chance to help shape and elevate the finish department inside a fast-moving experiential fabrication shop doing a broad range of scenic, branded, and custom work.
Pay: $25.00 - $40.00 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
