Upholstery Leather Specialist

Job purpose

Key responsibilities

• Advise on leather selection by type, grade, thickness, and finish for seating, panels, headboards, and wrapped items; calculate quantities.
• Inspect incoming hides, rolls, and foul leather for defects, color consistency, and thickness; report non-conformances.
• Plan hide layout and cutting to maximize yield and minimize waste.
• Select and set up machines, needles, threads, and stitch settings for each leather type.
• Supervise stitching, skiving, wrapping, and finishing against approved samples and drawings.
• Train and guide upholstery staff on leather handling and stitching techniques.
• Coordinate material specifications and availability with Production, Technical, QC, and Procurement teams.
• Support sample preparation and approvals.
• Maintain machines and tools and ensure safe working practices.

Required technical knowledge

• Knowledge of full-grain, top-grain, corrected-grain, split, nubuck, suede, bonded, and PU or synthetic leather.
• Knowledge of aniline, semi-aniline, and pigmented finishes and their effects on appearance, wear, and maintenance.
• Match leather to seating, wall panels, headboards, and wrapped surfaces based on wear, flexibility, fire, and safety requirements.
• Knowledge of walking-foot and compound-feed sewing machines; post-bed and cylinder-bed machines; skiving and splitting machines; cutting tools; and pneumatic staplers.
• Select needle type and size, thread type and thickness, and stitch length for leather type and thickness.
• Knowledge of adhesives, foams, and backing materials used in leather upholstery.
• Understand common leather defects and stitching faults, their causes, and remedies.
• Know current machines and tools suited to leather specifications.

Required qualifications

• Diploma or trade certification in upholstery, leatherwork, or a related field is preferred.
• 8 to 10 years of hands-on leather upholstery experience; luxury furniture or fit-out experience is preferred.
• Ability to read shop drawings and work to approved samples.
• Good communication skills and ability to train and lead a team.