Installation Technician

About AERA Systems

AERA Systems is a modular homebuilding startup based in Nashville. Our mission is to rapidly deploy sustainable housing around the world. We design and manufacture sustainable modular homes in Nashville using cross-laminated timber (CLT) -- a solid wood panel product. Our homes are engineered to be the most energy efficient, healthy, and resilient homes on the market. We prefabricate wall assemblies and volumetric pods in our Nashville factory and set them on-site with minimal reliance on specialty trades, which lets us build faster, tighter, and greener than traditional construction.

This is a startup. The work is real, the team is small, and the people we hire now will help shape how the company builds for years to come.

The role

Installation Technicians are the core of our production and install crew. You will spend most of your time on job sites -- mostly in and around Nashville, with travel to project sites elsewhere in Tennessee. Most trips are short, but a couple of times a year you will travel to out-of-town projects to complete installations which take around a month. When you are not on-site, you are in our Nashville factory building the wall assemblies and pods.

This role is a rare chance to work across a lot of trades in a single job. In the factory you will learn how to frame walls, install insulation, set windows, and do finish work. On-site you will set modular wall assemblies and volumetric pods, then complete interior and exterior trim details and hand over a finished home. If you like variety, you like seeing a project through from raw material to keys-in-hand, and you want to work somewhere your ideas can actually change how the next job gets built, this is a good fit.

What you'll do

Factory (Nashville)

• Build modular wall assemblies including handling large CLT panels using automated equipment
• Install rigid insulation and complete water and air sealing details
• Install windows, exterior doors, and trim on completed panels
• Assemble volumetric pods, including interior framing, finishes, and casework installation
• Move materials and finished assemblies with pallet jacks, dollies, and, if qualified, telehandlers or forklifts
• Follow shop drawings and per-panel checklists; catch and fix issues before they leave the floor

On-site (across Tennessee)

• Set panels and pods per install drawings
• Weather-seal and detail connections between panels
• Complete on-site trim and finish carpentry -- casing, base, doors, and punch-list work
• Help unload trucks and stage components in the correct install sequence

Transportation

• Drive a pickup or box truck with trailer to project sites
• Load, secure, and unload cargo safely

General

• Follow factory and jobsite safety protocols, including fall protection at height
• Support warehouse operations -- receiving, sorting, staging materials
• Keep tools, workstations, and vehicles in good working order

What we're looking for

Required

• Comfort with hand tools and light power tools
• Ability to read shop drawings, install drawings, and typical construction details
• Valid driver's license with a clean driving record
• Willing to travel to project sites across Tennessee, including occasional extended stays (typically a couple of projects a year that keep the crew on-site for most of a month)
• Able to lift 50 lbs. regularly, up to 75 lbs. with a team lift; work at height with fall protection; work in a factory environment with dust, noise, and variable temperature; work outdoors on install sites in varying weather
• Able to pass a pre-employment background check

Preferred, not required

• 2+ years of carpentry experience (residential framing or finish)
• Telehandler, forklift, or other heavy equipment experience -- you may operate this equipment on the job if qualified
• CDL, or willingness to obtain one (we cover training and testing)
• Modular, panelized, prefab, or timber-frame experience
• Cabinet or millwork installation experience

How you work

• Detail-oriented and takes pride in the finished product
• Straightforward communicator who flags problems early
• Team player who shows up ready to work
• Curious about how things go together and open to a better way of doing it

Compensation and benefits

• $20-$28 per hour, based on experience
• Overtime paid at time-and-a-half
• Per diem on travel days plus paid travel time
• Company-paid CDL training
• Tool and boot allowance
• Path to Lead Installer as the crew grows

AERA Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected class.