Join Our Team
Most days, the job looks like this: you show up, put on shoe covers before you cross the threshold, lay down a drop cloth, fix the problem, explain what you did, take a photo of the clean work area, and leave. That’s it. No upselling. No pressure. No cutting corners because the customer won’t notice.
We’re Blackthorn Locksmith & Security, part of the Cedarwell family of businesses. We’ve been doing this since 2008, and the reason people call us back – and send their neighbors our way – is that we actually do the job the way we said we would. Every time. That standard is built into how we work, not bolted on as an afterthought.
If you want to work somewhere that takes the craft seriously, where the crew you work alongside cares about leaving a house cleaner than they found it, and where you get a written price on every job and never have to defend a bill you didn’t write – this might be the right place for you. We’re looking for people who take quiet satisfaction in doing something well.
Who We’re Looking For
- Residential Locksmith Technician: Someone comfortable working in people’s homes – rekeying, installing deadbolts, handling lockouts with a calm manner when a family is already stressed.
- Commercial Locksmith Technician: A methodical thinker who can work through a multi-door hardware job, read a spec sheet, and coordinate with a facilities manager without needing their hand held.
- Access Control Installer: A technician with a feel for low-voltage wiring, keypad and credential systems, and the patience to commission a system properly before signing off.
- Apprentice / Entry-Level Technician: Someone with good hands, a willingness to learn, and the self-awareness to ask when they’re not sure – experience with tools of any kind is a plus, not a requirement.
- Dispatcher / Call Handler: A clear communicator who stays steady when the phone is busy, knows how to gather the right information on the first call, and treats every caller like their lock problem actually matters.
- Customer Service Representative: Someone who can handle follow-ups, scheduling, and the occasional difficult conversation without losing their composure – and who understands that the relationship doesn’t end when the job is done.
What We Offer
Real Training and a Clear Path Forward
We don’t hand you a van and a parts list and wish you luck. New technicians spend structured time alongside experienced leads before they’re running calls independently. As your skills build – across hardware brands, access control platforms, and commercial hardware – so does your role. We carry everything from everyday Schlage and Kwikset up to Medeco, Abloy, and Mul-T-Lock, so there’s always something more to learn if you want to learn it.
Work You Can Actually Be Proud Of
The Cedarwell Care Promise isn’t a marketing line we print and ignore. Shoe covers, drop cloths, a photo of the clean area before you leave – those happen on every job, not just the ones where the customer seems to be watching. When the standard is consistent, you never have to decide in the driveway whether today’s job is a full-effort day or not. That consistency is easier to live with than you might think.
Local Crew, National Backing
Each Blackthorn location is independently owned and operated. You’re not a number in a call center. You’ll know your crew, your dispatcher, and your regular service area. At the same time, you’re part of a network that has been doing this since 2008, with established relationships with hardware suppliers and a back-office that isn’t making things up as it goes. The support is there when you need it; you won’t feel it sitting on your shoulder when you don’t.
Steady, Reliable Demand
Locks fail on a Tuesday at 7 p.m. and on a Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Access control projects land year-round because businesses don’t stop needing security between seasons. Residential work doesn’t disappear when the economy shifts – people still move, still get locked out, still want to upgrade to a deadbolt they actually trust. This is a trade with durable demand, and Blackthorn is positioned in all three of the service lines that drive it.
No Experience? Read This.
If you’ve spent time doing anything that required patience and your hands – appliance repair, cabinet installation, auto detailing, HVAC service calls, stage rigging, marine maintenance – more transfers than you’d expect. The judgment about when to slow down and double-check, the habit of leaving a space better than you found it, the ability to explain what you did to someone who wasn’t watching: those things matter here, and we can’t teach them the way we can teach how to rekey a Schlage cylinder.
What we teach in the first months: lock anatomy, picking and bypass awareness so you understand the hardware you’re protecting, rekeying procedure, door hardware installation from handle sets to closers, and the intake process we use on every call. You’ll start alongside an experienced technician. You won’t be dispatched solo until you and your lead agree you’re ready. The pace is steady, not rushed. If you’re the kind of person who reads the manual before they start, you’ll fit in here.
How to Apply
Call us at (818) 390-9007 – a live person answers, including on weekends – or use the application form below. Tell us where you’re based, what you’ve worked on (even if it’s not locksmith work), and when you’re available to start. Hiring happens locally, so your application goes to the Blackthorn crew nearest you. There’s no corporate filtering layer between your message and the people making the decision.
Written by Shane Delaney, Owner & Lead Technician at Blackthorn Locksmith & Security, serving communities nationwide since 2008.