Job Description

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Quality Engineer to lead and execute quality assurance and inspection activities for welded pressure-retaining and structural components. The role focuses on ensuring products and processes comply with ASME codes, welding inspection requirements, and customer specifications.

Responsibilities

  • Develop, implement and maintain quality control plans, inspection procedures, and work instructions for welded components and assemblies.
  • Perform welding inspections, review welding procedures, and verify welder qualifications to ensure compliance with ASME, AWS and customer requirements.
  • Apply ASME code requirements to inspection, documentation and acceptance criteria for pressure vessels and related components.
  • Conduct and coordinate nondestructive testing including radiography, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, and dye penetrant testing; review results and ensure proper disposition of indications.
  • Act as CWI or work closely with Certified Welding Inspectors to validate welding processes, materials, and repairs; maintain weld documentation and reports.
  • Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action activities for quality issues; implement process improvements and track effectiveness.
  • Create and maintain quality records, inspection plans, FMEAs, control plans, and SPC charts; support internal and external audits.
  • Provide training and guidance to production and inspection staff on welding quality, inspection techniques, and code requirements.
  • Collaborate with engineering, production, purchasing and customers to resolve quality issues, approve deviations, and ensure first-pass yield and on-time delivery.

Requirements

  • Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Metallurgy or equivalent technical field preferred.
  • 3+ years of hands-on quality engineering or welding inspection experience in pressure vessel, heavy fabrication, or welded component manufacturing.
  • Working knowledge of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, particularly Section VIII.
  • Certified Welding Inspector certification preferred or demonstrated equivalent experience working with CWIs.
  • Proficient in welding processes, welding procedure specifications and welder qualifications.
  • Experience with nondestructive testing methods and ability to interpret NDT reports and radiographs.
  • Familiarity with quality management systems and tools such as root cause analysis, 8D, FMEA, SPC and corrective action systems.
  • Strong documentation skills and experience preparing inspection reports, NCRs, and maintaining traceability of materials and weld records.
  • Excellent communication, problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications and welding symbols.

Additional Information

  • You must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship for a non-immigrant visa.
  • This is a new role.
  • Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled or closed.

How this job compares in Houston, TX

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Houston, TX currently run a median of $32/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $23–$41/hr across 75 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Houston, TX

We're tracking 321 other active welding openings in Houston, TX right now, from 178 different employers. 80 of them were added in the last week. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,132 other active welding openings from 497 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Houston, or widen the search to Texas.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Zachry Group (33), Austin Industries (30), and Welding Shop in Austin, TX (21). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Arlington at $40/hr, Dallas at $39/hr, and Pasadena at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.
  • CWI — the AWS Certified Welding Inspector credential. It is an inspection qualification rather than a welding one, requiring documented experience plus a three-part exam, and it is the usual route off the torch into QC.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Houston, TX

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Quality Engineer figures were last recalculated when this page was built.