Experienced Slater: Slate & Shingle Installer in Ephrata, Pennsylvania at GSM Roofing

GSM Roofing contributed to the National Slate Association's installation manual. Our lead slater is Master Pro Certified. We are looking for another experienced slater who can work to that standard.

We have been doing slate work since 1946. The portfolio is real slate on real buildings: the home of President James Buchanan at Wheatland in Lancaster, the Maytown Reformed United Church of Christ, the 2026 Vermont Gray restoration at St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Tyrone (a National Register property listed since 1993), and the 35,450-piece synthetic slate installation at Penn State's Nittany Lion Inn.

If you have cut, fit, and laid natural slate. If you can match a replacement on a weathered roof so it disappears into the field. If you know what proper head lap looks like, what silicone caulk on a slate joint actually means, and why your last employer kept handing you the historic jobs. Keep reading.

If your experience is a few years of asphalt shingle and you would like to learn slate, this is not that role. We have plenty of openings where you can grow into the trade. This one is for someone who is already there.

The Work

You will install, repair, and restore natural slate, synthetic slate, and architectural shingle roofing on residential, commercial, institutional, and historic properties across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. You will work alongside our specialty metals team, the people who fabricate the copper flashings, ridge caps, and snow guards in-house rather than subbing them out.

Some weeks the work is straightforward: a tear-off and reinstall on a steep-pitch shingle job. Other weeks you are matching slate on a church where the original installer is long gone and the quarry has been closed for decades. You will figure it out. That is what we are hiring you to do.

Why GSM

We have been here since 1946. Over 100 of our employees are in our 25-Year Club, with us a quarter century or more. That is not a marketing statistic. It is a description of the room you would be working in.

Our lead slater is Master Pro Certified. The new hire joins the crew as a peer.

Safety-Sensitive Position

This job is Safety-Sensitive. Safety-Sensitive jobs include tasks or duties that could affect the safety and health of the employee performing the task or others. Tasks include but are not limited to: operating material handling equipment, motorized vehicles, roofing equipment and machinery, and power tools; working at heights over four feet; and working in confined spaces (or as prescribed by OSHA).

Essential Job Functions

• Install, repair, and restore natural slate, synthetic slate, and architectural shingle roofing systems

• Cut, fit, and lay slate to proper head lap and exposure for the pitch and material

• Match replacement slate on aged roofs by quarry, color blend, and weathering pattern

• Work with the specialty metals team on copper flashings, ridge caps, snow guards, and custom fabrication

• Tear off failed roofing, prep substrate, install underlayment to manufacturer and NSA specifications

• Set up scaffolding, roof jacks, and fall protection on steep pitches

• Read and follow project specifications, including historic preservation standards when applicable

• Maintain a clean, safe, OSHA-compliant job site

Qualifications

• Hands-on slater experience with natural slate, synthetic slate, or steep-pitch shingle roofing (three or more years preferred)

• Working knowledge of slate types (Vermont, Buckingham, North Country, Spanish, Welsh) and how they age

• Comfortable on steep pitches with proper fall protection

• Experience with copper or specialty metal flashing is a strong plus

• Master Pro Certification, NRCA ProCertification, or equivalent training is a plus, not required

• Able to lift 75 lbs and handle physical labor in all weather, year-round

• Valid driver's license

• Able to communicate safety information in English (Safety-Sensitive position)

• Must pass drug test and physical

GSM provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age (40 or older), sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation), national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws, except where there is a bona fide occupational qualification. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Salary Description

$21-$30+/hr depending on experience, with flexibility above $30 for an exceptional candidate.