Playground Carpenter

Playground Carpenter
Job Type: Full Time, Permanent
Work Location: Wallenstein, ON
Compensation:$25.00 - $35.00

At Earthscape Play, we design, engineer, and build beautiful, innovative custom playground sculptures and structures that inspire children and adults to creatively play. By partnering with some of the most prestigious Landscape Architecture firms in North America, we bring brilliant playground concepts to life. Our award-winning design-build firm is located just outside of Elmira, Ontario in Waterloo Region.

Together, our ambitious team builds state-of-the-art timber playgrounds that become iconic, well-loved destination spaces. The work environment we've created is positive, productive, fun, and highly rewarding. To see our one-of-a-kind projects, visit www.earthscapeplay.com.

Currently, we are looking for a Playground Carpenter to join our growing team. The role of this team member is best suited to someone who is interested in custom manufacturing and design, but also who is comfortable working outside the box as our playgrounds don't fit within regular building code categories.

The Role:

Based in our Wallenstein shop, our fabricators collaborate with a diverse, experienced team of engineers, carpenters, and wood craftspeople. We are looking for someone with a keen eye for construction design to help translate our creative concepts into tangible playground structures and sculptures. At Earthscape, safety and inclusivity are core to our design-build process; we evaluate every custom element to eliminate hazards while preserving the beneficial risks that foster children's confidence, resilience, and joy.

Key Responsibilities:

Building & Craftsmanship

• Enjoy rigorous, physical work cutting, shaping, and assembling large timbers and custom components for complex playground structures.
• Seamlessly read, interpret, and translate complex construction drawings, AutoCAD drafts, and 3D renders from our Engineering department into physical builds.
• Safely and competently operate all types of standard industrial wood shop machinery and power tools.
• Maintain high standards of precision to ensure structures are built to meet or exceed rigorous international safety standards.

Teamwork & Improvement

• Take a deeply collaborative approach within the shop and when interfacing with our engineering and design teams.
• Act as a critical link between design and reality by working closely alongside a diverse group of co-workers and supply chain teams to discuss what worked, what didn't, and how to optimize future builds.
• Actively participate in the shop's collective growth. We want someone who is very strong at politely sharing their deep woodworking knowledge and ideas with peers, while remaining equally open to learning from and listening to other carpenters.
• Help bring inclusive, accessible play spaces to life, ensuring that the final physical product is welcoming and tactile for all children.

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

• Senior-level expertise of 10-15 years in custom woodworking, heavy timber framing, or high-end carpentry, with a master's touch for working with diverse, non-chemically treated wood.
• Committed to a holistic culture of daily safety through maintaining a clean workspace, ensuring rigging and lifting security, and looking out for the well-being of the whole team.
• Thrive in diverse teams, communicating with humility and respect to collaborate seamlessly with designers, engineers, and fellow fabricators.
• Bring hands-on manufacturing experience and understand how to navigate evolving custom designs, effectively bridging the gap between concept and build.
• Enjoy providing practical, creative solutions from the shop floor, partnering with designers and engineers to perfect our unique builds.
• Hold a Working at Heights certification or are ready to complete it as Earthscape Play will fully provide and pay for this as needed

What's in it for you?

This job offers the opportunity to work on some of North America's most interesting playground projects. The pace, challenges and problem-solving opportunities mean you will never be bored. You'll work alongside a highly skilled, committed group of people who care deeply about the work and hold a high standard for how things get done.

We believe in great compensation for great employees and offer:

• Profit sharing and performance bonuses
• Employee share ownership opportunities (ESOP) after 1 year of service
• Six-week sabbatical after 14,000 hours worked
• Tuition reimbursement
• Extended health and dental benefits
• Company events
• Casual dress code

Accommodations: We are committed to treating all people in a way that respects their dignity and independence. Should you require any accommodation during the recruitment process or otherwise, please notify us of this when you apply and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.

Pre-employment checks: As part of our selection process, successful candidates may be required to consent to background checks relevant to the role, prior to receiving a job offer. These could include: work references, education and credential confirmation, employment verification, identity check, criminal offense and driver's license record.

A Note on Technology & Our Process: At Earthscape, we value innovation and efficiency, so we sometimes use AI tools to help us craft our job descriptions. However, when it comes to people, we are strictly human-first. We do not use AI tools, automated ranking algorithms, or keyword screening software to filter or grade applications. Every single resume is read and evaluated by a real member of our team.

At Earthscape Play, we are committed to building an environment where everyone feels included, valued, and heard. Diversity, inclusion, and belonging are an important part of our everyday work, and it is our belief that they enable us to reach our goal of bringing incredible play spaces to life. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities.