CUTTING SOLUTIONS MANAGER

Cutting Solutions Manager - Launching Burton into NZ/AU

Know your way around a sawmill? Help us turn cutting performance into real customer payback.

Every knife, saw and chipper contributes to a mill’s cost per cubic metre. We want to help mills understand that cost, measure performance properly and get more value over the life of their equipment.

The opportunity

For 30 years, Skookum has partnered with wood processors across New Zealand and Australia. Now, alongside Burton Mill Solutions and USNR, we’re launching Cutting Performance Solutions—and we need the person who’ll build it from day one.

This is your opportunity to combine practical industry knowledge with commercial drive, backed by an established local team and international technical expertise.

What you’ll actually do

• Own the launch – develop the product range, pricing, supply, quoting and customer offering.
• Get on site – walk the mill, talk to the operators and maintenance crew, and find where tooling is costing money.
• Run trials that prove it – set baselines, then measure blade and knife life, sharpenings, downtime, recovery, power use and chip quality.
• Turn results into recurring business – convert successful trials into supply agreements and long-term relationships.
• Be the link to Burton and USNR – bring in their specialists when it counts and make sure customers get high level support.
• Make the whole team sharper – train Skookum’s spares, service and sales people to spot cutting-performance opportunities.
• Shape what comes next – future products, local capability and the team this division grows into.

You’ll be right at home if you

• Know your way around a mill – sawmilling, sawdoctoring, chipping, planing, cutting tools, or maintenance and reliability
• Have a mechanical brain: you understand wear, failures, fault finding, and why a machine does what it does
• Can talk to the operator on the floor and the GM in the office – and earn the respect of both
• Think commercially: margin, forecasts and cash matter as much as the sale
• Bring 5+ years in technical sales, business development, application engineering or wood-processing operations
• Are a self-starter, who takes ownership and follows through
• Are happy to travel regularly across NZ and Australia, with occasional trips to the US

Don’t tick every box? If you’ve got the mechanical smarts and the commercial drive, we’ll teach you the product – Burton and USNR training included.

Why Skookum

• A true foundation role – build it, shape it, and grow with it
• Serious backing from USNR, Burton and Skookum’s engineering, service and spares teams
• An established customer base – you’re not starting cold
• Competitive salary plus vehicle or allowance
• Training with international partners, including in the US
• A team of around 100 across NZ and Australia that values practical thinking, accountability and getting the job done properly

Ready to build it?

Apply with your CV and a short cover letter. Tell us about a time you solved a problem on site that others had given up on – that’s the story we want to hear.

All applications are treated in the strictest confidence. Applicants must hold NZ or Australian residency or a valid work visa for the employing country, and a full driver licence.