Material Handler / Production Support (Water Spider)

Material Handler / Production Support (Water Spider)

Short‑Term Contract Role

Number of Openings: 4
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Department: Operations
Pay Rate: $19.00 per hour
FLSA Status: Non‑Exempt
Work Arrangement: Fully on‑site, shop‑floor role
Reports To: Senior Supervisor, Operations Management
Schedule Type: 9/80 schedule

Assignment Length

• 3–4 month assignment
• Potential opportunity for direct hire based on performance and business needs

About the Role

This is a hands‑on, production‑embedded role supporting active manufacturing operations at Acron Aviation. As a Material Handler (commonly referred to as a Water Spider in Lean manufacturing environments), you are responsible for keeping materials, parts, and consumables flowing so production teams can stay focused on building.

This role is well-suited for students or early‑career candidates looking to gain real exposure to manufacturing, operations, or supply chain in a fast‑paced, on‑site environment. The role is short‑term by design and offers strong, resume‑building experience on a real shop floor.

What You’ll Do

You will spend your day moving throughout the manufacturing floor, supporting production cells and engineering teams by ensuring materials are always available, and work areas remain organized and flowing.

Key responsibilities include:

• Deliver raw materials, parts, kits, and consumables (fasteners, packaging, etc.) to workstations using just‑in‑time principles
• Support efficient production flow within assigned work cells, often configured in U‑shaped layouts
• Remove finished goods, empty containers, and excess materials from workstations to maintain clean, organized work areas
• Monitor Kanban cards and other visual signals to trigger timely material replenishment
• Stage materials and assist with workstation setup and quick changeovers to minimize downtime
• Maintain a steady, consistent pace to ensure workstations are never waiting on materials
• Identify and report material shortages, damaged parts, safety concerns, or flow disruptions to supervisors
• Perform additional shop‑floor support tasks as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in:
  • Manufacturing
  • Engineering
  • Operations
  • Supply Chain
  • Industrial Technology
    or equivalent experience, including capstone projects, labs, internships, co‑ops, or hands‑on shop‑floor work
• Basic familiarity with manufacturing, warehouse, production, or material handling environments (academic or practical)
• Must be local to the Grand Rapids, MI area
• Must be able to work fully onsite
• Availability to support one of the required shifts listed above
• Strong reliability, organization, and work ethic
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, physically active manufacturing environment

Who You’ll Work With

This is a highly visible, production‑embedded role. You will work closely with technicians, assemblers, and engineers across multiple disciplines, including:

• Electrical Engineering
• Systems Engineering
• RF Engineering
• Firmware Engineering
• Embedded Software Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Qualification Engineering (not Quality)
• Limited Project Engineering

You’ll gain direct exposure to how engineering, operations, and production teams collaborate in a real manufacturing environment.

What You’ll Learn

This role provides hands‑on exposure to Lean manufacturing concepts in practice, including:

• Kanban systems and visual replenishment
• 5S and workplace organization
• Visual management on the shop floor
• Material flow through manufacturing, warehouse, production, and material handling environments
• How production cells operate and are supported
• How engineering decisions translate into production execution

This is not classroom theory — you’ll learn Lean manufacturing by being on the floor every day.
 

Physical Requirements

• Standing and walking for extended periods throughout the shift
• Frequent bending, reaching, and coordinated hand and finger movements
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 75 pounds
• Vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

Why This Is a Strong Early‑Career Opportunity

• Real, hands‑on manufacturing experience
• Direct exposure to engineering and operations teams
• Learn Lean manufacturing by doing
• High‑visibility role on the shop floor
• Short‑term commitment with potential conversion opportunity

About Acron Aviation

Acron Aviation designs, engineers, and manufactures certified avionics systems that support safety‑critical flight operations across commercial and military aviation. Our avionics portfolio includes surveillance, recorders, displays, and related systems developed in regulated environments and deployed on aircraft worldwide. We partner closely with operators and OEMs to deliver reliable, certifiable technology throughout the full product lifecycle—from development and qualification through production and aftermarket support. At Acron Aviation, avionics engineering is rooted in technical rigor, operational discipline, and a customer‑first approach to execution.