Composite Manufacturing Technician

Position: Composite Manufacturing Technician

Reports to: Manufacturing Operations Lead

Status: Full-time, non-exempt

Location: On-site, Santa Cruz, CA

Schedule: Monday-Friday, business hours

Compensation: Piece-rate

About the role

Swellcycle is a sustainable contract manufacturer. We design and produce 3D-printed and composite parts for clients across a range of industries: watersports, art and sculpture, museum and exhibit replicas, and custom awards, all built on a closed-loop system that turns our own production waste (failed prints, fiberglass offcuts, resin trimmings) back into usable composite material.

We’re looking for a hands-on technician to join our small production team. You’ll run the full range of what comes off our printers, from surfboards to sculptures to one-off contract pieces, taking each job from raw 3D print through glassing, finishing, and ready-to-ship. It’s a role for someone who takes pride in clean, quality work and likes seeing a project through from start to finish.

What you’ll do

● Run and manage output across our 3D printers: prepping, cleaning up, and finishing prints

● Glass, laminate, and finish a range of work: surfboards, sculptures, museum replicas, custom awards, and new project types as they come in

● Take part in our recycling workflow: shredding waste, compression molding, and composite development

● Test finished work at each stage to make sure it meets our quality and strength standards

● Run materials research and product testing, experimenting with builds and materials to make our boards and parts stronger, lighter, and more durable

● Document each build as you go (photos, notes, and data) and flag problems early, before they cost time or material

● Spot and help put in place process improvements that keep production cleaner, faster, and more consistent

● Keep projects moving and on schedule

Who you are

● Hands-on and experienced with fabrication, you’ve worked in composites, resin, 3D printing, woodworking, or a related craft, and you pick up new techniques fast

● Comfortable owning a project from raw material to finished piece, managing your own time and hitting deadlines without someone over your shoulder

● Detail-oriented, with a real eye for quality and finish, you care whether a laminate is clean and a surface is true, and you don’t call it done until it is

● At home in a workshop and serious about safety, comfortable around power tools, resins, and dust, and diligent about protocols (we’ll train you on ours)

● Organized and reliable, with a habit of documenting your work and keeping a tidy, safe workspace

● A problem-solver who catches issues early and always has an eye out for a better way to do things

● Excellent communicator, ability to work in a team, proactive, surface issues quickly.

● Bonus: experience with surfboard shaping or glassing, S-glass or carbon lamination, large-format or industrial 3D printing, mold-making, or vacuum bagging

What we offer

● Piece-rate pay that rewards on-time, quality work. The more you complete on schedule, the more you take home

● A hands-on role on a small team building something genuinely new in sustainable manufacturing

● Real experience with advanced composite and additive manufacturing techniques, across a widening range of projects

● Mentorship and collaboration with an experienced team of designers and makers

● Free access to our online shaping classes: Shape3D Foundation, Shape3D Advanced, and Akushaper Basics

● The chance to design and shape your own board and build it start to finish - then ride it

● Swellcycle gear and occasional product perks

Equal opportunity

Swellcycle is an equal opportunity employer. We’re committed to building a diverse team and an inclusive workplace, and we welcome applicants of every background. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

How to apply

Send your CV and a short cover letter through the job posting on our website: https://swellcyclesurfboards.com/pages/career

Pay: $16.90 - $30.00 per hour

Work Location: In person