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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Welding Engineer

💰 $ - $

EngineeringWeldingManufacturing

🎯 Role Definition

A Welding Engineer designs, develops and validates welding processes and procedures to ensure safe, repeatable, and cost-effective joining of metals across fabrication, assembly and production environments. This role owns welding procedure specification (WPS) development and qualification (PQR/PQ), welding automation and robotic programming, welding metallurgy and heat-treatment strategies, non‑destructive testing coordination, quality assurance, and cross-functional support to manufacturing, quality and design teams. The Welding Engineer ensures compliance to industry codes and customer specifications (ASME Section IX, AWS D1.1, ISO 3834, API, etc.), drives continuous improvement in welding productivity and yield, and provides technical leadership on complex joining challenges.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Welding Technician / Senior Welder transitioning into engineering role
  • Manufacturing or Process Engineer with welding exposure
  • Quality Engineer or NDT Technician with welding process experience

Advancement To:

  • Senior Welding Engineer / Lead Welding Engineer
  • Welding Manager or Fabrication Engineering Manager
  • Materials/Metallurgy Engineer or Project Engineering Manager
  • Director of Manufacturing / Director of Engineering

Lateral Moves:

  • Process Engineer (welding specialization)
  • Quality Engineer (welding and NDT focus)
  • Robotics & Automation Engineer (welding automation programming)
  • Metallurgical/R&D Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, document and qualify welding procedure specifications (WPS) and procedure qualification records (PQR/PQ) in accordance with applicable codes and standards (ASME Section IX, AWS, ISO 3834, API), including test planning and witness/inspection coordination to ensure regulatory and customer compliance.
  • Design and implement welding processes (GMAW/MIG, GTAW/TIG, SMAW/stick, FCAW, resistance spot, laser and hybrid welding) tailored to material types, thickness ranges and production volumes, balancing quality, cycle time and cost.
  • Lead root cause analysis and failure investigations on weld defects or field failures using metallurgy, fractography, non‑destructive testing (UT/RT/MT/PT/VT) and mechanical testing to recommend corrective actions and preventive measures.
  • Specify and validate welding consumables, electrodes, filler metals and shielding gases; establish acceptance criteria for filler selection, preheat/interpass temperatures, and post‑weld heat treatment (PWHT) to control metallurgical properties and residual stress.
  • Develop and maintain weld inspection and NDT plans; coordinate third‑party inspectors, certify inspection techniques, interpret NDT results, and implement disposition for nonconforming welds in collaboration with Quality.
  • Own welding automation strategy: program and optimize robotic welding cells (Fanuc, ABB, KUKA), tooling and fixturing, seam tracking, sensor integration, and cycle time reduction to scale production while preserving weld integrity.
  • Create and maintain weld fixtures, tack tooling and clamping systems to ensure repeatable joint fit-up and positioning; collaborate with manufacturing and fabrication teams to reduce rework and improve first-pass yield.
  • Perform welding procedure trials, supervise mechanical testing (tensile, bend, impact/Charpy), and document qualification test results to validate WPS/PQR and support customer approvals and audits.
  • Provide hands‑on support and technical oversight for complex or critical welds during production ramp-ups, new product introductions (NPI), or field repairs; mentor welders and supervisors on best practices and code requirements.
  • Interface with design and product engineering to review drawings and propose weldable joint designs, tolerances, and material selections that minimize stress concentrations, distortion and post‑weld machining.
  • Establish and maintain welding quality systems, procedures and work instructions; generate control plans, FMEAs, process capability studies (Cp/Cpk) and statistical process control (SPC) for critical weld operations.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) focused on welding productivity, scrap reduction, rework elimination and throughput improvement; quantify ROI and implement corrective actions.
  • Manage supplier and subcontractor qualification for welding services and buy‑off welds, audit vendor controls, and ensure incoming parts meet weldability and specification requirements.
  • Provide technical input to cost estimating and manufacturing planning by evaluating welding cycle times, labor content, material usage and capital equipment needs (weld positioners, power sources, fume extraction).
  • Ensure a safe welding environment by enforcing welding safety standards, ventilation, PPE, hot work permits, and hazardous material handling; participate in safety reviews and incident investigations.
  • Maintain and update welding documentation package for production and quality (WPS, PQR, weld maps, inspection reports, traceability records) to satisfy internal and external audit requirements.
  • Conduct training programs and certifications for welders, welding supervisors and inspectors (visual inspection, NDT basics, code awareness, welding procedure discipline) to raise workforce competency.
  • Collaborate with R&D and materials teams to evaluate new joining technologies (laser welding, friction stir welding, additive welding, brazing) and recommend pilot programs for adoption.
  • Use CAD/CAE and simulation tools to analyze thermal effects, distortion and residual stress in welds; support finite element analysis (FEA) inputs and validate simulation against test data.
  • Drive product support and customer technical reviews for welded assemblies, attend customer audits, provide welding-related engineering change proposals (ECOs) and respond to technical requests on welding methods, qualifications and test evidence.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of welding codes, standards and industry best practices and participate in standards committees or professional bodies (AWS, ASME, API) as appropriate.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc technical requests from production, quality and customer service regarding weldability, repair methods and specification clarifications.
  • Assist procurement in developing technical specifications for welding equipment, power sources, gas distribution and consumable sourcing.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams (NPI, CAPEX, quality improvement) to integrate welding considerations early in the design and launch process.
  • Support continuous data collection for welding KPIs (first-time yield, rework rate, welding cycle time) and generate periodic performance reports to leadership.
  • Mentor junior engineers and interns; support development of internal welding standards, training materials and lessons‑learned repositories.
  • Coordinate laboratory testing scheduling and third‑party testing logistics for mechanical and metallurgical test requirements.
  • Provide backup technical coverage for related roles such as Materials Engineer, Quality Engineer or Process Engineer during staffing shortages or peak project phases.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep knowledge of welding codes and standards: ASME Section IX, AWS D1.1/D1.2/D1.6, ISO 3834, API welding standards, and ability to prepare compliant WPS/PQR documentation.
  • Hands-on experience with welding processes: GMAW (MIG), GTAW (TIG), SMAW (stick), FCAW, resistance spot welding, laser welding and hybrid processes.
  • Proficient in welding metallurgy: understanding phase transformations, heat-affected zone (HAZ) control, PWHT, grain structure, and how process parameters affect toughness and strength.
  • NDT/NDE expertise: interpretation and specification of UT, RT, MT, PT, VT results and integration of inspection plans into production.
  • Robotic welding and automation: programming and optimizing robotic weld cells (Fanuc/ABB/KUKA), seam tracking, vision systems, and PLC/HMI basics.
  • Welding test methods and mechanical testing: designing qualification tests, overseeing tensile, bend, hardness and impact testing; familiarity with laboratory test protocols.
  • Weld inspection and quality systems: GD&T, blueprint reading, weld symbols, acceptance criteria, control plans, SPC and process capability analysis (Cp/Cpk).
  • Materials and consumables selection: filler metal selection, compatibility, qualification testing and supplier management.
  • Root cause analysis and corrective action methodologies: 8D, Fishbone, 5 Whys, and implementing robust CAPAs for weld-related issues.
  • CAD and simulation tools: familiarity with SolidWorks/CATIA for weld joint design and FE thermal/distortion simulation tools for prediction and mitigation.
  • Welding equipment and power sources: knowledge of power source settings, waveform control, pulsed MIG/TIG parameters and maintenance best practices.
  • Quality management and audit readiness: preparing welding documentation for internal and external audits, traceability and documentation control.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication for clear WPS/PQR documentation and cross-functional collaboration with manufacturing, quality and customers.
  • Leadership and mentorship: ability to coach welders, technicians and junior engineers and lead cross-disciplinary teams.
  • Analytical problem-solving: methodical troubleshooting of weld failures using data, testing and metallurgical reasoning.
  • Project management: planning experiments and qualification runs, managing timelines, budgets and coordinating multiple stakeholders.
  • Attention to detail and documentation discipline to ensure compliance to codes and traceability of welded assemblies.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning to evaluate and implement new welding technologies and process improvements.
  • Customer-focused mindset to address inquiries, support audits and drive solutions that meet quality and delivery requirements.
  • Time management and prioritization in fast-paced production or development environments.
  • Collaborative approach with procurement, design and production to balance manufacturability, cost and performance.
  • Safety-first orientation with ability to drive safe welding practices and regulatory compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, or equivalent engineering discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Welding Engineering, Materials Science or related field, or professional certification (Certified Welding Engineer, CWI, CWS-IWE, ASME/ AWS course completions).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Welding Engineering
  • Materials Science & Metallurgy
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Manufacturing / Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–10+ years of progressive experience in welding engineering, fabrication or manufacturing with demonstrable experience in procedure development and code compliance.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of hands-on welding engineering experience including WPS/PQR qualification, weld automation programming, NDT coordination and experience working to ASME/AWS/API standards.
  • Experience in heavy fabrication, pressure vessel, piping, offshore, automotive or aerospace welding environments is highly desirable.
  • Proven record of implementing welding process improvements, automation projects and leading root-cause investigations.
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