A professional who controls periodic, field, or retort kilns to bake clay products, such as brick, sewer pipe, clay refractories, and roofing tile. Respnsibilities include:

• Opens fuel valves and lights gas or oil fire, using oil-soaked stick.
• Seals kiln door with bricks and daubs brick with clay to prevent loss of heat, using trowel.
• Observes thermometer and action of pyrometric cones through peepholes, or removes object from kiln with tongs and examines object to determine rate of burning.
• Turns gas or oil valves and dampers to adjust rate of burning or baking of objects.
• Closes fuel valves and fireboxes, opens kiln-crown holes, and installs fans to cool objects.
• May be designated according to type of kiln operated as dry-kiln burner; field-kiln burner; retort-kiln burner; or according to product burned as brick-kiln burner; roofing-tile burner.