Welding Manufacturing Engineer

Opportunities; Hazel Crest (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Opportunities is seeking a Senior Welding Manufacturing Engineer to lead welding and fabrication for large structural steel assemblies. You will develop and optimize welding procedures, support capital equipment projects, and drive world-class quality, safety, and productivity.

You will provide technical leadership across multiple sites, collaborate with Product Engineering on DFM, and ensure compliance with AWS standards, ERP data, and manufacturing documentation.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Manufacturing Engineering experience in heavy industrial environments.
• 5+ years of direct experience in heavy structural steel fabrication and welding operations.
• Experience developing and implementing welding processes for large fabricated assemblies.
• Experience with capital equipment projects and manufacturing process improvements.
• Proven success driving improvements in quality, productivity, or cost.
• Strong knowledge of AWS welding standards and welding quality systems.
• Experience developing Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) and fabrication process documentation.
• Experience with ERP systems, Bills of Material, and manufacturing routings.
• Proficiency with engineering drawings, CAD systems, and manufacturing documentation.

Responsibilities

• Welding & Fabrication: act as SME for structural steel welding and fabrication processes.
• Develop, implement, and optimize welding procedures for large weldments and heavy components.
• Evaluate and improve welding processes including MIG, Flux-Core, TIG, submerged arc, and robotic welding.
• Support weld quality initiatives and standardization across manufacturing operations.
• Partner with quality teams to ensure AWS standards and welding best practices.
• Manufacturing Process Development: design and optimize fabrication and assembly workflows.
• Develop manufacturing standards, routings, work instructions, and process documentation.
• Improve throughput, labor efficiency, equipment utilization, and repeatability.
• Drive DFM initiatives with Product Engineering teams.
• Capital Equipment & Facility Expansion: lead equipment specification, selection, and implementation.
• Support facility expansion and manufacturing readiness initiatives.
• New Product Introduction (NPI): support transition from design to production, meet quality, cost, and delivery objectives.
• Participate in prototypes, process validation, and ramp-up activities.
• Quality & Compliance: establish welding quality control standards and inspection requirements.
• Develop and maintain WPS, standard work instructions, MBOMs, and process documentation.
• Support root cause investigations and corrective actions for weld quality.
• Multi-Site Technical Support: provide guidance to fabrication and welding operations across sites.
• Support training, process standardization, and improvements organization-wide.

Skills

Welding process development

AWS welding standards

ERP systems

CAD

Process documentation

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Welding, or related Engineering

Tools

CAD systems

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Welding Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for developing, implementing, and optimizing welding and fabrication processes for large structural steel assemblies. This role will provide technical leadership for welding operations, support facility expansion initiatives, drive capital equipment projects, and ensure world-class quality, safety, and productivity standards.

The ideal candidate combines extensive manufacturing engineering experience with deep expertise in structural steel fabrication, welding process development, weld quality systems, and production optimization.

What You'll Do

Welding & Fabrication:

• Serve as the subject matter expert for structural steel welding and fabrication processes.
• Develop, implement, and optimize welding procedures for large weldments and heavy fabricated components.
• Evaluate and improve welding processes including MIG, Flux-Core, TIG, submerged arc, and robotic welding applications as appropriate.
• Support weld quality initiatives, defect reduction, and process standardization across manufacturing operations.
• Partner with quality teams to establish and maintain compliance with AWS standards and welding best practices.

Manufacturing Process Development:

• Design and optimize fabrication and assembly workflows for large structural steel products.
• Develop manufacturing standards, routings, work instructions, and process documentation.
• Improve throughput, labor efficiency, equipment utilization, and process repeatability.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) initiatives in partnership with Product Engineering teams.

Capital Equipment & Facility Expansion:

• Lead the specification, selection, and implementation of fabrication and welding equipment.
• Support facility expansion and manufacturing readiness initiatives.

New Product Introduction (NPI):

• Support the transition of new products from engineering design through production launch.
• Develop manufacturing processes capable of meeting quality, cost, and delivery objectives.
• Participate in prototype builds, process validation, and production ramp-up activities.

Quality & Compliance:

• Establish welding quality control standards and inspection requirements. Develop and maintain: Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS), Standard work instructions, Manufacturing Bills of Material (MBOM), Process documentation
• Support root cause investigations and corrective action implementation related to weld quality and fabrication performance.

Multi-Site Technical Support:

• Provide technical guidance and best practices to fabrication and welding operations across multiple manufacturing locations.
• Support training, process standardization, and implementation of manufacturing improvements throughout the organization.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Welding, or related Engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of Manufacturing Engineering experience in heavy industrial, construction equipment, material handling equipment, agricultural equipment, transportation equipment, or similar manufacturing environments.
• 5+ years of direct experience in heavy structural steel fabrication and welding operations.
• Demonstrated expertise developing and implementing welding processes for large fabricated assemblies.
• Experience supporting capital equipment projects and manufacturing process improvements.
• Proven success driving measurable improvements in quality, productivity, capacity, safety, or cost.
• Strong knowledge of AWS welding standards and welding quality systems.
• Experience developing Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) and fabrication process documentation.
• Experience with ERP systems, Bills of Material, and manufacturing routings.
• Proficiency with engineering drawings, CAD systems, and manufacturing documentation.

Travel:

Approximately 10-15% travel to manufacturing locations, suppliers, and customer sites.

COMPENSATION/BENEFITS:

We foster a collaborative team environment that values innovation and encourages creative solutions to drive positive organizational impact. Our employees are the key to our success and help us stand out from our competitors. The final compensation offer may vary based on factors such as experience, education, skills, and location. We offer competitive pay, paid time off, and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan.

Lanco is an equal opportunity employer. All employment-related decisions, including but not limited to hiring, compensation, promotion, discipline (including termination), evaluation, training and development opportunities, etc., are made without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender-related identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, military status, protected disability, citizenship, genetic information or any other category protected by applicable law.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.