Hydraulic Systems Specialist – Manufacturing Operations

ArtiFlex Manufacturing • Wooster, OH

6d • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a hands-on Hydraulic Systems Specialist with deep, practical knowledge of industrial hydraulic systems used in stamping, forming, and automated manufacturing equipment. This role is not theoretical or entry-level—it requires proven, real-world experience troubleshooting, rebuilding, tuning, and improving hydraulic systems under production conditions. You will be the go-to technical authority for hydraulic performance, reliability, and root-cause problem solving across presses, auxiliary equipment, and support systems. What “Qualified” Means Here This role is for someone who has: Diagnosed hydraulic failures on running equipment Built, rebuilt, or modified hydraulic circuits Understands how hydraulics behave under load, heat, contamination, and cycle pressure Can explain why a system is failing—not just replace parts If your experience is mostly classroom-based, supervisory without hands-on work, or vendor-only—this role is not a fit. The Hydraulic Systems Specialist is responsible for diagnosing, repairing, rebuilding, and improving industrial hydraulic systems used in high-volume manufacturing. This role requires hands-on work at the machine, not remote troubleshooting or part swapping. The specialist is expected to understand how hydraulic systems behave under real production conditions, including heat, load, contamination, and cycle pressure. This position owns hydraulic problem solving from symptom to root cause. The specialist will troubleshoot system instability, loss of pressure or speed, overheating, drift, leakage, and inconsistent performance. Repairs must address the underlying cause, not just restore short-term operation. The role includes modifying and improving hydraulic circuits. This may involve resizing components, adjusting valve logic, improving cooling or filtration, or correcting design flaws that lead to repeat failures. The specialist will read, interpret, and modify hydraulic schematics and will validate changes through pressure, flow, and temperature testing. The Hydraulic Systems Specialist provides direct production support. When equipment is down or unstable, this role is expected to lead the hydraulic diagnosis and restoration effort. The specialist works closely with Maintenance, Engineering, and Operations to return equipment to safe, stable operation as quickly as possible. The specialist is also responsible for knowledge transfer. This includes explaining hydraulic behavior in practical terms, coaching technicians during troubleshooting, and documenting system changes or recurring failure modes so solutions become standard practice rather than tribal knowledge. This is a hands-on manufacturing role based on the production floor in Wooster. The work environment includes large presses, hydraulic power units, and automated equipment. The role requires standing, lifting, climbing, and working in confined spaces. This is not a desk or supervisory role. Presence at the machine is required to be effective. Hydraulics are often the least understood and most misdiagnosed systems in manufacturing. This role exists to bring clarity, expertise, and accountability to systems that directly impact uptime, safety, and throughput. This is a newly created role to strengthen hydraulic expertise within our Wooster manufacturing operations. Depending on the candidate’s experience and availability, this position may be structured as a full-time, part-time, or contract engagement. The scope and schedule will be aligned to operational needs and the demonstrated skill level of the individual. Our priority is securing proven, hands-on hydraulic expertise. Employment structure is flexible to ensure the right technical capability is in place to support equipment reliability, safety, and production performance.

Requirements

• A minimum of five years of direct, hands-on experience working with industrial hydraulic systems in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience must include presses, automated equipment, or heavy industrial machinery operating under continuous production demands.
• The candidate must have personally diagnosed hydraulic failures, rebuilt or replaced hydraulic components, and returned equipment to stable operation.
• Experience must go beyond parts replacement and include understanding why systems failed and how to prevent recurrence.
• The candidate must be able to read and build hydraulic schematics and understand system logic from power unit to actuator.
• They must understand pressure, flow, and load relationships and how those relationships change with temperature, wear, and contamination.
• Strong mechanical aptitude is required.
• The role demands physical work, system teardown, testing, and adjustment in live production environments.

Responsibilities

• Diagnosing, repairing, rebuilding, and improving industrial hydraulic systems used in high-volume manufacturing.
• Troubleshoot system instability, loss of pressure or speed, overheating, drift, leakage, and inconsistent performance.
• Modifying and improving hydraulic circuits.
• Reading, interpreting, and modifying hydraulic schematics and will validate changes through pressure, flow, and temperature testing.
• Providing direct production support.
• Knowledge transfer. This includes explaining hydraulic behavior in practical terms, coaching technicians during troubleshooting, and documenting system changes or recurring failure modes so solutions become standard practice rather than tribal knowledge.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees