Welding Engineer

HS International; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 124,000; Full time

Job summary

HS International, a rapidly growing Solar Utility EPC with Houston facilities, seeks a hands-on Welding/Manufacturing Engineer to support welding operations on the Houston floor and through process development. The role emphasizes improving weld quality, developing WPS/PQR/WPQ, and mentoring welders while bridging Engineering, Quality, and Production.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of welding/manufacturing experience, AWS CWEng/CWI preferred, and will travel up to 50% while allowing some

Qualifications

• 5+ years hands-on welding/manufacturing engineering experience.
• Experience developing or implementing welding procedures, work instructions, or process standards.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, weld symbols, and manufacturing documentation.
• Strong communication and training skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop, document, and improve welding processes and specifications (WPS/PQR/WPQ).
• Establish welding parameters and review drawings to ensure manufacturability.
• Lead root-cause analysis for weld defects and implement corrective actions.
• Create SOPs and visual work instructions; standardize practices across shifts.
• Train welders and develop training materials for a multilingual workforce.

Skills

Welding engineering

Root-cause analysis

Training welders

Reading drawings

Tools

GMAW/MIG

GTAW/TIG

FCAW

Job description

A rapidly growing Solar Utility EPC with manufacturing sites all over Houston that specializes in BESS Projects is hiring a Welding/Manufacturing Engineer who can join the team working ideally out of Houston, TX or traveling to Houston approximately 50% of the time. This is a contract-to-hire or full-time opportunity, and a qualified candidate can work remotely as well.

Compensation - $60/hr.+

Scope of responsibilities:

We are actively recruiting a hands‑on Welding/Manufacturing Engineer to support manufacturing operations at its Houston facility. This individual will work directly with the welding team to improve weld quality, consistency, productivity, and adherence to established manufacturing requirements.

The engineer will be responsible for developing and implementing welding processes, procedures, work instructions, quality controls, and training programs for a diverse workforce of welders. A significant component of the role will involve working directly on the manufacturing floor with welders, identifying root causes of quality issues, demonstrating proper techniques, and developing easy‑to‑understand visual and written instructions.

The ideal candidate combines a strong engineering background with practical welding and fabrication experience and is comfortable serving as the technical bridge between Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and the welding workforce. Additional responsibilities include:

Welding Process Development

• Develop, document, and improve welding processes used in manufacturing.
• Develop and maintain Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS), Procedure Qualification Records (PQR), and Welder Performance Qualifications (WPQ), as applicable to the site's requirements.
• Establish appropriate welding parameters, including amperage, voltage, travel speed, wire/feed settings, shielding gas, preheat/interpass temperatures, and other relevant variables.
• Review engineering drawings and specifications to ensure welding requirements can be consistently achieved in production.
• Evaluate welding processes, tooling, fixtures, materials, and equipment to improve weld quality and repeatability.
• Work with Engineering and Quality to establish appropriate weld acceptance criteria.

AWS specifically identifies WPS development and welder performance qualification as core areas of welding engineering, and its B2.1 specification covers procedure and performance qualification requirements.

Quality Improvement & Troubleshooting

• Investigate weld defects, rework, scrap, and recurring quality issues.
• Perform root‑cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Identify issues involving weld penetration, porosity, cracking, undercut, distortion, fit‑up, contamination, and other weld‑quality problems as applicable.
• Analyze production data and quality trends to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Work closely with Quality personnel to establish inspection checkpoints and process controls.
• Support destructive and nondestructive testing activities when required.
• Develop standardized troubleshooting procedures for common welding problems.

Standard Work & Documentation

• Create clear, practical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Standard Work Instructions for welding operations.
• Develop visual work instructions using photographs, diagrams, weld examples, and step‑by‑step instructions.
• Standardize welding practices across shifts and production teams.
• Establish inspection checklists and process‑control documentation.
• Maintain welding documentation and ensure revisions are communicated to production personnel.
• Partner with Engineering and Quality to ensure procedures accurately reflect design requirements.

This would be an especially important part of the role at the Houston facility.

• Train welders on proper welding procedures, techniques, parameters, and quality expectations.
• Conduct hands‑on demonstrations at the workstation.
• Develop training materials that can be understood by employees with varying levels of English proficiency.
• Use visual demonstrations, photographs, diagrams, videos, translated materials, and hands‑on training to supplement written instructions.
• Work with supervisors and interpreters, where appropriate, to ensure technical instructions are understood.
• Evaluate welder competency and identify additional training requirements.
• Establish standardized training and qualification processes for new and existing welders.
• Coach welders individually when quality problems are identified.
• Develop a "train‑the‑trainer" approach so supervisors and experienced welders can reinforce the standards.
• Identify opportunities to reduce weld defects, rework, scrap, and production downtime.
• Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, or other continuous‑improvement methodologies.
• Participate in Kaizen and process‑improvement initiatives.
• Improve welding cycle times while maintaining required quality standards.
• Evaluate new welding equipment, consumables, fixtures, and technologies.
• Establish measurable process‑improvement goals and track results.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands‑on welding/manufacturing engineering experience, preferably in a high‑volume manufacturing environment.
• Strong practical understanding of welding processes and manufacturing operations.
• Experience developing or implementing welding procedures, work instructions, or process standards.
• Experience troubleshooting welding defects and performing root‑cause analysis.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, weld symbols, specifications, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience working directly with production welders and manufacturing personnel.
• Strong communication and training skills.
• Ability to work primarily on the manufacturing floor and spend significant time observing and improving actual welding operations.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Certified Welding Engineer (CWEng), Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), or similar welding credential.
• Experience with GMAW/MIG, GTAW/TIG, FCAW, or other processes relevant to the facility.
• Experience with welding inspection and NDE.
• Experience with stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, or other materials used in industrial manufacturing.
• Experience in energy storage, battery manufacturing, electrical equipment, industrial equipment, automotive, heavy equipment, or similar manufacturing environments.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or demonstrated continuous‑improvement experience.
• Experience working with multicultural and/or multilingual manufacturing teams.