Field Crew - Finish Carpenter at Riley Projects – Los Angeles, California

Multi-trade · Full build cycle

This isn't the job for everyone. But for the right person, it's more than a job.

If you're the kind of carpenter who slows down at the end of a project — because that's when the eye of the homeowner lands on your work — we want to hear from you.

About Riley Projects

We're a small design-build firm doing high-craft custom residential work in Los Angeles. Designer, project manager, and field crew under one roof — so the work that reaches you is resolved, not dumped on you to figure out. We're building toward employee ownership, which means the people who build this company have a real stake in what it becomes.

How This Crew Works

Each member of this crew takes the lead at their phase of the build — and steps back to support when the baton passes. During interior closeout, that lead is you. The crew that spent weeks building the structure and running the systems is now behind you, helping you close out the house the way it deserves to be closed out.

That means you're the last word on the interior. It also means that when you receive this site from the Systems Builder, you need to be able to look at it and know whether it's ready. Everything that came before either sets you up or doesn't — and you have to be honest about which it is. The right person for this crew will recognize that model immediately — and want it.

Mission of the Role

You are here to finish the house the way it deserves to be finished — where the craft becomes visible, where the details are felt even when they're not consciously seen. You close out the interior with the same standard the rest of the crew brought to the structure. And you do it as the lead — with the full crew behind you.

Focus of the Role

• During interior closeout, you lead the site. You own finish carpentry and millwork — doors, trim, built-ins, cabinetry installation. You have a trained eye for what's level, what's plumb, what's true — and you won't leave until it is.
• You have real experience in tile and stone. Wet areas, floor fields, feature walls. You understand layout, substrate prep, and setting. You know what the designer intended, and you know how to get there.
• You work closely with the designer and the Foreman. When finish details are unclear or conditions don't match what was drawn, you raise it immediately and you bring a proposed solution.
• Before your phase opens, you are a supporting crew member. You've spent the build helping the Framing carpenter and the Systems Builder do their best work — and that context makes you a sharper finish carpenter. You know what's in the walls. You know what was easy and what was a fight. That knowledge informs how you close out.

What Success Looks Like By the time you close out your first build with Riley Projects, the following things are true:

• The finish work is something you're proud to put your name on. Tight joints, clean reveals, millwork that looks like it was always part of the house.
• Tile work that held layout through the full field. Grout lines that are consistent. Wet areas detailed and installed to last.
• You accepted the site from the Systems Builder with clear eyes. You said what was ready and what wasn't — and the transition happened when the site was actually ready, not when it was convenient.
• The designer trusts your eye. They've walked the site with you and felt like you understood what they were after — and you delivered it, or you flagged it early when something wasn't going to work.
• Having been part of every phase of this build, you have sharper opinions than you arrived with. About the kit. About the sequence. About what makes the next project easier. You're telling us.

Our Part

You will not arrive to a job site that isn't ready for finish. We will give you the time and support to do this work right — not rush it to make a bad schedule work. When you need clarity from the designer, you'll get it.

Core Competencies

• 3–5 years of field experience with genuine depth in finish carpentry and at least one of: tile/stone or interior trade coordination. You've seen full residential projects through to close-out and you know what that last mile requires.
• Detail-oriented in a practical way — not slow, just precise. You manage your own work and you communicate clearly with the crew and the designer.
• You have good instincts about material and installation sequence. You think ahead — both about your own phase and about the phases you'll support before it.
• You know how to lead when it's your phase and follow when it's not. Both require skill. Both matter here.

Compensation & Ownership

We pay competitively for the right person. Riley Projects is on a structured path to employee ownership (ESOP). The people who help build this company will own a piece of it. We'll talk through what that looks like in detail when we meet.