Fresh Listing

Posted: March 12, 2026 (1 day ago)

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Transit VM Lead Upholsterer

King County

MTD - Metro Transit

Fresh

Location

Salary

$56.47 - $60.71

per hour

Type

Closes

March 26, 2026

SES Pay Grade

Base salary range: $147,649 - $221,900

Typical requirements: Executive-level leadership experience. Senior executive qualifications required.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job is for a lead upholsterer in King County's Metro Transit department, where you'll repair and maintain seating in buses, vans, and other vehicles, while also guiding a team of workers.

It's ideal for someone with hands-on experience in upholstery who enjoys teamwork, values safety, and wants to contribute to reliable public transportation in a diverse community.

You'll work various shifts and help ensure vehicles are clean and comfortable for riders.

Key Requirements

  • Journey-level skills in upholstery, including repairing and replacing seating, panels, and related components in vehicles like buses and transit equipment
  • Experience designing patterns, measuring, cutting, and installing padding, foam, and covering materials
  • Ability to build and repair upholstery spring systems and handle custom work like banners or equipment covers
  • Leadership skills to coordinate team work, assign tasks, monitor workflow, provide technical guidance, and give feedback on performance
  • Commitment to safe work practices, equity and social justice principles, and collaboration in a diverse environment
  • Availability to work day, swing, or graveyard shifts at various King County locations

Full Job Description

bus pic.png


Learn how Metro connects you with what matters

We're looking for Journey Level craftspeople to join our team!

Employees in this position perform skilled upholstery work in the maintenance and repair of coach, automotive and heavy-duty equipment seating, and seating systems.

If you have a passion for upholstery work, experience designing patterns, and replacing or rebuilding seating and seating systems, we want to hear from you!

Your skills could have been learned through a variety of experiences and need not be limited to paid professional experience only.

This post will be used to fill one (1) Career Service (CS) positions and may be used to establish an eligibility list to fill additional career service, special duty assignment (SDA), or term-limited temporary (TLT) vacancies in this classification and work group.

If established, this list would be valid for 12 months from the date of posting and may be utilized at the discretion of the hiring authority.


About the Vehicle Maintenance Division

The Mission of Vehicle Maintenance is to provide customers safe, dependable, clean transportation in a timely, cost effective, environmentally sensitive manner, with a workforce that values teamwork, communication, and diversity.

The Vehicle Maintenance section operates three shifts (day, swing, and graveyard) seven days a week at various locations throughout King County. Openings may occur on all shifts

Bring your safe work practice, your collaborative work style, your desire to work in a diverse work environment, and your excitement to make a difference in your community to Metro!

Expand your skills while you learn to work in a large mass transit environment. Come be part of an award winning and forward-thinking organization.

Stop working a job and come have a career with King County Metro.

Requirements

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees.

In this role you will apply equity and social justice principles that exemplify shared values, behaviors, and practices to all aspects of the work. As the Upholsterer, you will:

  • Repair equipment such as driver seats, passenger seating, carpeting, headliners, bellows and panels in automobiles, buses, transit vans, cars, trucks, water taxi interior/exterior seating, streetcar seating and rail seating.
  • Repair or replace unsanitary seating.
  • Remove old upholstery from seats and panels of vehicles, measure new padding and covering materials. Cut to required dimensions using stack cutter or hand shears.
  • Build and repair upholstery spring systems. Cut and form foam cushions and seat backs.
  • Coordinate the work of and provide technical assistance to upholsterers performing skilled upholstery work in the maintenance and repair of coach, automotive and heavy-duty equipment seating and seating systems as well as various types of upholstered office furniture and equipment.
  • Perform custom banner work, system upholstery request, custom equipment covers and product review.
  • Assign work in accordance with work orders, preventive maintenance schedules and operating requirements, control and monitor workflow.
  • Respond to questions and provide advice on repair techniques and approaches.
  • Provide feedback to higher-level staff on employee and teamwork performance as well as any behavioral and attendance issues; inform higher-level supervisor on communication with vendors and other work groups as well as on status of projects and assignments.
  • Inspect completed work assignments to ensure work has been completed in a quality manner and equipment is in proper working order.
  • Train new and current personnel in required aspects of upholstery maintenance, repair and base safety procedures.
  • Ensure all shop equipment is maintained appropriately and is in proper operating condition.
  • Maintain inventory of replacement seats, upholstery materials and supplies.
  • Advise upholsterers when their work is deficient or in violation of established regulations and procedures; recommend corrective actions to higher-level staff when required.
  • Maintain shop records including work orders, completed repairs and materials used; enter and extract data in automated vehicle maintenance systems.

Qualifications

At a minimum, to qualify for this position you will need:

  • An equivalent combination of education and experience equating to two years of community courses, apprenticeship program, or automotive/truck upholstery practical experience.
  • Strong skill and knowledge of operating commercial sewing machines.
  • Strong mechanical aptitude for replacement of window shades, driver seat frames, and bellows.
  • A working knowledge of and skills in principles, practices, techniques, tools, and equipment of the vehicle upholstery trade.
Necessary Special Requirements:
  • A valid Washington State Driver License at the time of hire.
  • Must pass a post-offer, pre-employment physical examination.
  • Willingness and availability to work different shifts on weekdays, nights, weekends, and holidays.
Physical Requirements:

The job requires some physical skill, and light physical effort is required to lift and carry objects weighing up to 25 pounds.

Occasional lifting of upholstery supplies and materials weighing up to 50 pounds is required. Lifting of 100 pounds with assistance may be required.

The work requires standing, stooping, kneeling, bending, crouching, and occasional ladder climbing. Work is performed in cramped or awkward positions.

Knowledge/ Skills

  • Knowledge of workload planning and scheduling
  • Knowledge of applicable service standards, operating policies and regulations
  • Knowledge of the proper and safe operation of shop equipment
  • Communication skills and customer service skills
  • Basic computer skills required to enter and extract information from automated vehicle maintenance systems and related software applications
  • Skills in training and providing technical assistance

Additional Information

The following application materials are required:

  • An online King County application, updated with all relevant work history going back 10 years (or more, if necessary), with detailed job duties, dates of employment, and reasons for leaving explained clearly.
  • Supplemental questions

Selection Process

Applications will be screened to determine whether candidates meet minimum qualifications, and for clarity, completeness, and responsiveness to the application instructions above. The most competitive applicants may be asked to test and interview.

Test information:

Candidates passing the application screening process will have the opportunity to complete testing. Testing will be conducted onsite in King County, WA. Interviews may be offered to candidates with satisfactory test scores.


Interview information:

All interviews will be conducted in person. The most competitive applicants may be asked to interview. All interviews will be conducted in person at a King County building location.

Union Representation Positions in this classification are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587. Classification Code 8446100


To apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully.

If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process, or if you have questions, please contact

For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact:
Japatra McGee (she/her)
Human Resources Talent Advisor
jamcgee@kingcounty.gov

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence.

Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Nine colorful icons representing values: teamwork, problem-solving, customer focus, results-driven, racial justice, respect, leadership, and stewardship.

Guided by our "True North, we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion, and belonging in our workplace and workforce.

To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity.

Equitable recruiting, support, and retention are how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards.

We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native Americans and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) EmployerNo person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class.

Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay, or other forms of compensation.

Applicants who are unable to apply online should follow the instructions at Application FAQ’s- King County.

For technical support related to your application, contact the GovernmentJobs' applicant support team for assistance: +1 855-524-5627.

For guidance on how to complete these required materials, be sure to visit the Career Support Services website for resources on how to complete application materials for King County recruitments.

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Posted on NEOGOV: 3/12/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 3/13/2026

Source: NEOGOV | ID: neogov-kingcounty-5265920