Textile Technician
Who We Are
We are a venture-backed manufacturing startup building the most advanced automated production facilities in the United States. We are on a mission to make American manufacturing economically viable — through intelligent machinery, automation, and a relentless focus on execution. We are early, we are moving fast, and we are looking for exceptional people who want to build something that matters.
Role Title: Textile Technician
Location: Leander, TX; Austin, TX, On-site
Shift: 1st shift, Full-time
Role Summary
We are seeking a motivated Textile Technician to join our production team. The Textile Technician is responsible for the safe, efficient, and high-quality operation of equipment across key stages of textile manufacturing, including blow room / fiber cleaning, carding, yarn spinning, and circular knitting.
This hands-on technical role ensures continuous high-speed production of quality fiber, sliver, yarn, and knitted fabric while maintaining target specifications for cleanliness, evenness, yarn count, twist, efficiency, fabric quality, and overall machine performance.
This role serves as an excellent entry or developmental position in textile manufacturing, with clear advancement opportunities into production leadership, textile engineering, and manufacturing engineering roles.
Responsibilities
Monitor and operate blow-room and fiber-cleaning lines (openers, cleaners, blenders, and related equipment) to open, clean, and blend raw fibers while maximizing trash removal, minimizing fiber damage, and delivering consistent lap or chute-feed material to carding.
Operate and tend carding machines to produce even, high-quality carded sliver, adjusting settings for cylinder/doffer speeds, flats, and waste extraction to control neps, short-fiber content, and sliver uniformity.
Monitor and operate multiple spinning machines (including modern automated rotor spinning), ensuring continuous high-speed production while maintaining target yarn quality, count, twist, and efficiency.
Respond promptly to machine signals to identify and resolve issues such as yarn breaks, empty sliver cans, reduced productivity positions, quality deviations, fiber blockages, or carding irregularities.
Perform piecing using integrated individual spinning-position technology and piecing systems and support automatic doffing operations with DCU for full package changes.
Operate and monitor circular knitting machines to produce tubular or flat knitted fabrics, ensuring correct yarn feed, tension, stitch length, and fabric quality while minimizing defects such as holes, drop stitches, or uneven density.
Conduct routine preventive maintenance and cleaning of blow-room, fiber-cleaning, carding, spinning, and circular-knitting equipment (including opening rollers, rotors, navels, yarn clearers, trash extraction systems, carding clothing, and knitting needles/sinkers) to minimize downtime and maintain performance.
Carry out machine settings and adjustments via HMI/DCU or equivalent touchscreen interfaces, including parameters for rotor speed, vacuum, twist, draft, multi-lot production, yarn effects, carding speeds/settings, and knitting machine gauges/feeds where applicable.
Perform quality-control checks on fiber, sliver, yarn, and knitted fabric and take corrective actions such as component replacement, process optimization, or machine adjustments.
Basic Skills & Qualifications
3+ years as a textile technician or operator with hands-on experience in at least two of the following areas: blow room / fiber cleaning, carding, rotor (or ring) spinning, and circular knitting. Experience managing multiple machines in a shift-based production environment is required. Equivalent experience, related skills, and/or relevant education may be considered satisfactory upon review.
Solid working knowledge of blow-room and fiber-cleaning processes (opening, cleaning, blending) and ability to optimize trash extraction while protecting fiber quality.
Practical understanding of carding process parameters and the ability to produce consistent, high-quality sliver with controlled neps and evenness.
Deep knowledge of rotor spinning process parameters. Proficient in operating the Informator and DCU (or equivalent) touchscreen interface for settings, lot changes, and monitoring. Skilled in piecing, automatic doffing with DCU, and quick response to yarn breaks or quality issues.
Working knowledge of circular knitting machines, including yarn feeding, tension control, stitch formation, and basic troubleshooting of common fabric defects.
Ability to perform routine cleaning, preventive maintenance, and basic mechanical adjustments across the above process stages.
Preferred Skills & Experience
Basic electrical/electronic knowledge (sensors, motors, switches), ability to read simple schematics, and willingness to learn PLC and HMI interfaces or advanced diagnostics.
Mechanical aptitude combined with eagerness to embrace digital tools. Proven track record of learning new machine generations or process improvements.
Lean manufacturing basics and continuous improvement mindset.