Help Build Tucson

Arto Tucson · Now hiring the first crew

We are opening a new plant in the old Sam Levitz building at 36th Street and Palo Verde (map). We need hard workers who think with their hands. Start on the ground floor, help install the machines, run the first production, and move up as far as you want to go.

Apply now (about 5 minutes)

It started on a milk route.

In the late 1950s, Arto Alajian left Heliopolis, Egypt, and landed in Venice, California. He had grown up in his father's factory, where he learned to design shoes. Tile would come later.

It was a classic immigrant story: he went to aviation mechanic school at night, drove for Cookie Cream ice cream, and then ran an Ador milk route house to house, restaurant to restaurant, every morning across Venice.

In those years he met Irene Birkenbreiter, a muralist. He began making thin clay brick veneers to frame her murals. The frames found their own audience. He showed them along his milk route, sold them to the homes and restaurants he already visited, and came back later to install them himself.

1966 was the year the brick outpaced the milk, and ARTO became a company.

Sixty years later, ARTO is a materials works. At our home plant in Gardena, California, we work in clay and concrete—making handcrafted tile, brick, and pavers. Our work is on homes, restaurants, hotels, and public buildings across the country.

Now, we are expanding. This new Tucson property is 130,000 square feet on 8 acres, giving us the space to do it all. We are bringing our concrete works and clay works here, and we plan to add stone works. Glass and metals are on the list too, but as always, we take it one step at a time.

Read the full ARTO story

Why Tucson. Why now.

Tucson is our next chapter. This is an expansion, not a move. Gardena stays home base. We are standing up a brand-new plant and a brand-new team in Tucson from the ground up. As a founding team member, you will not just follow standard operating procedures. You will help create them, build the local expertise, and set the standard for everyone who joins after you.

Here is what the first few months look like:

Prepare the Facility. You start as an Artisan. Help organize and prepare the building for equipment install. Stage materials, set up the production floor, and learn the layout inside and out.
Build with the Experts. When the equipment manufacturer engineers arrive to install and calibrate the machines, you work directly alongside them—learning from the people who built the systems.
Become the First Operators. You run the very first production parts off the new line. Nobody who joins later will know these machines the way the founding crew does.

First-year goal for the founding team: go from Artisan to Artisan Operator (Apprentice) on all three core machines by year-end. Every machine you master comes with a base pay increase. Growth is earned by hands-on ops and safety mastery—not by waiting on a calendar.

The machines:

Automacad: a computer-controlled production line run by a PLC and a touchscreen interface.
Thermoforming: heats plastic sheets and vacuum-forms the precise molds used for tile casting.
Time Worn: a conveyor finishing machine with abrasive heads that gives stone and tile its signature aged look.

As Tucson grows, more specialized roles open up beyond the first three machines—including Customer Service, Glaze Operations (running glaze lines on ceramic and glazed brick), Silk Screening (decorative surface print work), and Handpainters (hand-painted deco).

Who we are looking for

You show up on time, ready to work.
You work safe, every time.
You like figuring out why something does not work, and fixing it.
You are handy. Cars, trucks, bikes, robots, a school shop, your house. It all counts.
PLCs (the computers that run machines) are a big plus. If you have run a machine from a touchscreen or gone online with a PLC on a laptop, tell us. If you have not, but you want to learn, tell us that too.

We train on the job. The first crew gets the most training of anyone, because you go from install to first production. What I mean by “on-the-job training” is that we’ll be learning together. I'm Armen, one of the brothers that run the place, and I will be learning these machines right alongside you. That’s part of the offer: we’re learning together.

How you move up

Everyone starts on the shop floor. From day one, your level reflects what you can actually do, and every step up raises base pay.

Artisan (A1–A3): the foundation. Show up on time, work safe, master core plant operations.
Artisan Operator: machine-specific path with three clear tiers.
- Apprentice — runs the machine under direct supervision.
- Journeyman — runs it alone for a full production day.
- Master — programs, schedules, and optimizes the machine.
Master 1st Class: Master on two or more machines.
Artisan Technician (AT1–AT3): keeps equipment up. Diagnostics, preventive maintenance, PLC troubleshooting.
Artisan Leadership: Pod Lead → Shift Lead → Site Operations Lead. You do not need to be a machine operator to lead. Strong people leaders move up here too.
Executive Site Leadership: Plant Manager → Site General Manager.

Stackable roles. Qualifications stack. One person can be an Automacad Master, an Artisan Tech II, and a Pod Lead at the same time—and get paid for all three.

Some people will grow with ARTO for years. Some will use the training here to launch the next phase of their career. We are invested either way.

Pay

$16.00 an hour to start.
$16.50 an hour, a permanent raise, once you prove the basics: you show up ready to work, you do the basics, and you work safe. Usually in week one or two.
By January: $21.50 an hour if you hit Apprentice on all three machines (Automacad, Thermoforming, Time Worn).
Pod Lead: $25.00 an hour if you step up to lead a shift of 2 to 5 people.
Hours: 40 hours a week (7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday).
From there, Journeyman and Master levels are bigger raises.

How hiring works

Apply below. It takes about 5 minutes.
A short phone call.
An interview at the plant.
A paid working hour on a real PLC board. We hand you a task and see how you think.
We call your references, then make an offer.

Referred by someone you know? Put their name on the form.

Apply

Takes about 5 minutes. Best on a phone or a computer. If the form does not load, open it here.

ARTO · 3430 E 36th St, Tucson, AZ 85713 · Rustic Elegance Since 1966