Location: Denver, Colorado
Employment Type: Full-time, on-site
Compensation: $35-$40
Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm
Website: elmendorfgeurts.com
EG Studios brings artists, engineers, fabricators, and communities together to create large-scale public art. Our work becomes part of airports, parks, schools, hospitals, and other public spaces, so craftsmanship, safety, communication, and follow-through matter.
Position Summary
EG Studios is seeking an experienced, hands-on Shop Foreman to lead fabrication operations, manage shop personnel, and maintain control of fabrication quality, safety, materials, equipment, and production readiness.
The Shop Foreman translates approved drawings, project requirements, Welding Procedure Specifications, inspection requirements, and fabrication plans into organized shop execution. This position develops fabrication and installation plans, directs daily work, participates in fabrication as needed, manages shop capacity, and ensures work is properly inspected and documented before it advances or is released.
The ideal candidate is a skilled fabricator and practical leader who can manage people, sequencing, quality, materials, equipment, and changing project demands without losing control of the work.
Key Responsibilities
Fabrication Planning, Execution, and Quality Control
- Develop and maintain fabrication plans, installation plans, sequencing, labor forecasts, equipment needs, handling requirements, and production schedules.
- Review drawings, specifications, Welding Procedure Specifications, inspection requirements, and project-specific requirements before work begins.
- Set daily priorities, assign work, and communicate clear expectations to the fabrication team.
- Lead and participate in fitting, fabrication, welding, assembly, trial assembly, packing, and shipping preparation.
- Ensure personnel use current approved drawings, procedures, work instructions, and acceptance requirements.
- Perform or assign fit-up checks, weld-quality reviews, dimensional checks, material-identification checks, in-process inspections, and final internal inspections.
- Require personnel to check their own work and assign qualified peer checks when appropriate.
- Confirm work is complete and ready before third-party, Owner, or project-required inspections.
- Coordinate required testing and outside inspections and review results before affected work advances.
- Identify and control nonconforming work, require correction or authorized disposition, and verify completion before release.
- Ensure required inspection, material, testing, equipment, qualification, and release records are completed in accordance with the EG Studios Quality Management System.
- Prevent incomplete, nonconforming, unapproved, or insufficiently documented work from advancing or being shipped.
- Stop or redirect work when safety, quality, approved requirements, or project readiness are at risk.
Crew and Shop Leadership
- Direct day-to-day shop activity and maintain clear accountability for assigned work.
- Supervise fabrication and installation personnel and monitor workmanship, productivity, safety, reliability, and compliance.
- Provide instruction, coaching, and corrective direction based on each team member’s experience and assignment.
- Track progress and address confusion, delays, or workflow problems before they affect project commitments.
- Maintain organized work areas, storage locations, tools, equipment, and access routes.
- Protect required material identification and traceability.
- Separate scrap, unsuitable material, and non-traceable material from deliverable stock.
- Monitor consumables, tools, and equipment conditions so missing or unsuitable resources do not interrupt production.
- Identify labor, workspace, material, equipment, and workflow constraints before they affect fabrication or installation.
- Enforce shop safety requirements and immediately address unsafe conditions.
Workforce Planning and Hiring
- Identify fabrication and installation labor needs based on workload, schedule, required skills, certifications, and capacity.
- Develop and post job listings after the labor need is approved.
- Source qualified candidates through job platforms, trade schools, welding programs, referrals, and industry contacts.
- Review applicants and lead technical candidate evaluations in coordination with the CEO.
- Help maintain a reliable pipeline of qualified fabrication and installation personnel.
- Confirm personnel are qualified, authorized, trained, or appropriately supervised before work is assigned.
Material, Equipment, and Shipping Control
- Perform or assign technical receiving inspections before material is released for fabrication.
- Maintain control of material condition, identification, storage, and traceability.
- Monitor consumable inventory and identify purchasing needs before shortages affect production.
- Track equipment condition and prevent unsafe or unsuitable equipment from being used.
- Verify fabricated components are complete, inspected, identified, protected, and ready for installation.
- Confirm quantities, labeling, packing, loading requirements, documentation, and release status before shipment.
Project Coordination
- Coordinate with the Project Manager, Design Consultant, engineers, inspectors, and company leadership to resolve fabrication constraints.
- Communicate fabrication progress, readiness, quality concerns, staffing needs, material needs, and schedule risks.
- Identify constructability, sequencing, access, handling, safety, or inspection concerns early.
- Recommend practical adjustments without independently changing approved designs, procedures, acceptance criteria, scope, or committed schedules.
Required Qualifications
- Significant hands-on metal fabrication and welding experience.
- Previous experience leading a fabrication crew, shop team, or comparable production environment.
- Ability to read and work from fabrication drawings, shop drawings, structural details, and Welding - Procedure Specifications.
- Working knowledge of fit-up, weld quality, dimensional verification, material control, and fabrication inspection.
- Ability to plan, sequence, delegate, and track complex fabrication work.
- Experience managing shop organization, tools, consumables, equipment, and material flow.
- Strong judgment and willingness to stop work when safety, quality, or approved requirements are at risk.
- Ability to communicate clearly with fabricators, project managers, designers, engineers, inspectors, and company leadership.
- Ability to work on-site in Denver and participate directly in fabrication activities as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience implementing fabrication quality-control procedures and maintaining inspection records.
- Familiarity with formal Quality Management Systems.
- Experience coordinating third-party welding inspection, nondestructive testing, or other outside testing.
- Knowledge of welder qualifications, continuity requirements, Procedure Qualification Records, and Welding Procedure Specifications.
Experience with large-scale, structural, architectural, artistic, or custom fabrication.
Experience with trial assembly, complex handling requirements, and phased shipping.
Experience recruiting and evaluating welders, fabricators, installers, or other skilled-trade personnel.
Certified Welding Inspector credentials or comparable inspection experience are beneficial but not required.
How to Apply
Email the following to stevie@elmendorfgeurts.com:
- Resume or summary of relevant experience
- Welding, fabrication, supervisory, and inspection qualifications
- Current availability
- Compensation expectations
- Examples or photographs of relevant fabrication work, when available
