PRINCIPAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST - STAFF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST - Pressure Vessel, Structur[...]

Southwest Research Institute; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio is looking for a Principal Engineering Technologist specializing in pressure vessel and structural welding. The role involves applying advanced welding principles, leading fabrication efforts, and ensuring compliance with quality standards. Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor's degree or 25+ years of experience, be a Certified Welding Inspector, and possess strong mentoring capabilities. The position involves collaboration with teams and maintaining welding procedure compliance. U.S. citizenship is required due to security regulations.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Welding Technology, or 25+ years of experience with a high school diploma.
• Must be a Certified Welding Inspector.
• 15+ years of experience in developing and qualifying welding procedures.

Responsibilities

• Lead collaboration between design and fabrication teams.
• Assess and communicate technical risk of welding activities.
• Develop and maintain welding procedures and records.

Skills

Welding procedures development

Certification as Welding Inspector

Independent technical judgment

Mentoring and training welders

Inspection planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Welding Technology

25+ years of related experience if no degree

Job description

PRINCIPAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST - STAFF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST - Pressure Vessel, Structural Welding

18-01595

Who We Are:

The Mechanical Fabrication Centers Section provides engineered fabrication services for commercial and government customers. We fabricate precision machined components and welded joint assemblies to the most stringent of requirements. We service all technical areas of Southwest Research Institute and are involved in a large cross section of the total of SwRI's and commissioned pressure vessels of various types for land-based, subsea, manned, and unmanned purposes. The Mechanical Fabrication Center executes projects that cover every aspect of SwRI’s slogan “from deep sea to deep space."

Objectives of this Role:

• Apply advanced principles, theories and concepts to welding and fabrication execution, leading project fabrication efforts by translating design intent into qualified, repeatable welding processes for large pressure vessels and structural assemblies.
• Ensure conformance of welded assemblies to approved procedures, dimensional requirements, and pressure-boundary quality standards.
• Lead fabrication efforts involving complex or critical welds with internal teams and external customers including weld qualification and risk mitigation.
• Develop, refine, and standardize welder training and qualification programs for high-strength steels, stainless alloys, nickel alloys, and other specialty materials used in pressure and structural applications.
• Develop workforce planning, mentoring, and skill development strategies to ensure execution readiness for current and future programs.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• Serve as subject matter expert for welding execution; lead collaboration between design and fabrication teams to ensure manufacturability, compliance, and quality of welded assemblies.
• Using Certified Welding Inspector expertise, lead weld team quality improvement activities including development of corrective action and confirmation of procedural compliance.
• Independently assess and communicate technical risk, readiness, and execution status related to complex or critical welding and fabrication activities.
• Lead fabrication proposal efforts, evaluating cost, schedule, and feasibility assessments, leveraging execution experience.
• Develop, qualify, revise, and maintain welding procedures, records, and objective quality evidence, ensuring compliance with internal quality programs and external standards.

Requirements:

• Requires a Bachelors degree in Welding Technology, Welding Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology or related Technology degree. In lieu of a Bachelors degree, 25+ years of related experience a high school education or equivalent and continued education/certifications are required.
• Must be a Certified Welding Inspector.
• 15+ years: Demonstrated expertise in the development, qualification, interpretation, and application of welding procedures in accordance with AWS, ASME, and customer-specific codes and standards. Extensive hands-on experience across multiple welding processes and materials, with emphasis
• 15+ years: Recognized ability to exercise independent technical judgment in weld process selection, acceptance criteria interpretation, and resolution of non-conformances.
• 10+ years: Proven capability to train, mentor, and technically evaluate welders, serving as a subject matter expert rather than line supervision.
• 15+ years: Advanced proficiency in inspection planning, CWI-level evaluation, and objective quality evidence generation, ensuring traceability and audit readiness.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.

Special Requirements:

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

For benefits information at our San Antonio location, click here .
For benefits information at all other locations, click here .

An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.