Quality Technician / Manufacturing Quality Inspector – Structural Steel & Fabrication
Location: Hanover, PA – 100% Onsite at Supplier Facility
Employment Type: Contract/ Full Time -Permanent
Pay Rate: $34–$41/hour, based on experience
Reports To: Vendor Relations Manager / Corporate Quality
Level: Quality Technician / Inspector
Position Overview
We are seeking a hands-on Quality Technician / Manufacturing Quality Inspector with direct experience working in a metal fabrication, structural steel, welding, or similar manufacturing environment.
This position will work full-time on the supplier’s manufacturing floor and serve as the day-to-day quality representative responsible for verifying that fabricated components and welded assemblies meet engineering drawings, dimensional requirements, workmanship standards, and customer specifications before shipment.
This is not primarily a supplier audit, procurement, or desk-based quality position. The successful candidate must be comfortable working directly in a fabrication shop, inspecting manufactured parts and weldments, reading drawings, taking dimensional measurements, identifying defects, documenting nonconformances, and working with production personnel to resolve quality issues.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform first-piece, in-process, and final inspections of fabricated metal components, structural steel parts, welded assemblies, and finished products.
- Inspect weld quality and workmanship, identifying visible weld defects, fabrication issues, dimensional discrepancies, and other nonconforming conditions.
- Read and interpret engineering drawings, manufacturing prints, dimensions, tolerances, weld symbols, specifications, and inspection requirements.
- Perform dimensional inspections using calipers, micrometers, tape measures, gauges, and other standard inspection equipment.
- Verify fabricated components against drawings and specifications, including dimensions, hole locations, part orientation, fit-up, assembly, and overall workmanship.
- Monitor welding, fabrication, cutting, punching, forming, stamping, assembly, painting, and/or powder-coating operations, as applicable.
- Conduct final quality inspections before products are released for shipment.
- Identify, document, and communicate nonconforming material, weld defects, fabrication defects, dimensional issues, scrap, and rework requirements.
- Initiate or support NCRs, corrective actions, root-cause investigations, 5-Why, 8D, Fishbone, and other problem-solving activities.
- Analyze scrap, rework, defect, and production-quality trends to identify recurring manufacturing problems.
- Work directly with production supervisors, welders, fabricators, engineering, and quality personnel to resolve manufacturing-quality concerns.
- Support ISO 9001 quality-system requirements, inspection documentation, traceability, calibration, and audit readiness.
- Maintain accurate inspection records, photographs, quality reports, and supporting documentation.
- Verify finished products prior to shipment, including part identification, quantity, labels, packing documentation, and product condition.
- Monitor production progress and promptly escalate significant quality, schedule, or manufacturing concerns.
- Support Lean, Kaizen, 6S, and continuous-improvement initiatives focused on reducing defects, scrap, rework, and production waste.
- Serve as the company’s onsite quality representative while maintaining a productive working relationship with supplier manufacturing and quality personnel.
Required Qualifications
- 2+ years of hands-on manufacturing quality inspection experience, preferably within a fabrication or metal-manufacturing environment.
- Direct experience working in a fabrication shop, structural steel operation, welding environment, or similar heavy manufacturing setting.
- Experience inspecting fabricated parts and welded assemblies/weldments.
- Ability to identify common weld and fabrication quality issues through shop-floor inspection.
- Ability to independently read and interpret engineering drawings and manufacturing prints.
- Hands-on dimensional inspection experience using calipers, micrometers, gauges, tape measures, and related measurement equipment.
- Experience performing first-piece, in-process, and final inspections.
- Familiarity with NCRs, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, scrap/rework investigation, and manufacturing-quality documentation.
- Comfortable spending the majority of the workday on the manufacturing/shop floor.
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to identify and escalate manufacturing discrepancies.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Basic Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and quality-reporting/documentation skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with structural steel fabrication, weld inspection, GD&T, weld symbols, welding processes, stamping, punching, forming, assembly, powder coating, painting, SPC, FMEA, ISO 9001, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and 6S is highly desirable.
Formal welding inspection certification is a plus but is not required if the candidate can demonstrate strong practical experience inspecting weldments and fabricated components.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate resembles a Quality Technician, Quality Inspector, Fabrication Quality Inspector, Manufacturing Quality Technician, Weld Quality Inspector, or Quality Engineer who remains highly hands-on on the shop floor.
Candidates whose experience is primarily in supplier audits, procurement, supply chain, documentation, incoming material administration, or general visual inspection without fabrication/weld inspection experience will not be a strong match.
The successful candidate should be able to walk onto a fabrication floor, review a drawing, inspect a fabricated or welded component, take the appropriate measurements, identify workmanship or dimensional problems, document the issue, and work with manufacturing personnel to drive resolution.