Weld Engineer – Direct Hire

Location: Warsaw, Indiana
Employment Type: Direct Hire / Full-Time
Industry: Industrial Automation / Manufacturing

Position Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Weld Engineer to support automated welding operations in Warsaw, Indiana. This position requires someone who understands the complete welding process—not just how to identify a good or bad weld, but why the weld is performing the way it is and what adjustments are needed to correct it.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable working directly on the manufacturing floor, evaluating weld quality, performing coupon testing, cut-and-etch analysis, troubleshooting weld defects, and making process changes to achieve consistent, production-quality welds.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate automated weld quality and determine whether welds meet required specifications and quality standards.
• Perform and evaluate weld coupon samples to verify weld penetration, fusion, size, profile, and overall integrity.
• Perform cut-and-etch / macro-etch testing of weld samples to evaluate penetration and fusion.
• Identify good vs. bad weld characteristics and clearly determine the cause of unacceptable welds.
• Diagnose common weld defects, including:
  • Lack of penetration
  • Lack of fusion
  • Porosity
  • Undercut
  • Burn-through
  • Excessive or insufficient weld size
  • Spatter
  • Poor bead profile
  • Inconsistent weld appearance
• Make appropriate adjustments to welding parameters based on coupon and cut/etch results.
• Understand the relationship between welding variables and final weld quality.
• Adjust parameters such as:
  • Voltage
  • Amperage / wire feed speed
  • Travel speed
  • Torch angle and position
  • Contact-tip-to-work distance
  • Gas flow
  • Weld sequence
  • Robot speed and weld path
• Understand what happens when individual weld parameters are changed and how those changes affect penetration, heat input, bead profile, spatter, fusion, and overall weld quality.
• Troubleshoot weld issues and determine whether the root cause is related to weld parameters, tooling/part fit-up, material condition, consumables, equipment, or robot positioning.
• Work closely with robot programmers, controls engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality personnel, and production teams to optimize welding processes.
• Support weld process development, validation, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Document weld settings, test results, process changes, and corrective actions.
• Assist with establishing and maintaining repeatable welding processes for production.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on background in welding engineering, weld process development, or automated/robotic welding.
• Strong understanding of GMAW/MIG welding processes.
• Experience performing and interpreting weld coupon and cut-and-etch testing.
• Ability to visually inspect welds and recognize acceptable and unacceptable weld conditions.
• Strong understanding of cause and effect when changing welding parameters.
• Ability to troubleshoot weld quality issues and make effective process adjustments.
• Experience supporting robotic welding systems strongly preferred.
• Automotive, structural, fabrication, or high-volume automated manufacturing experience preferred.
• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to work hands-on with production equipment.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is someone who can look at a weld or cut-and-etched coupon, identify what is wrong with it, explain why it happened, and know exactly what process changes should be made to correct it. This is a hands-on position for someone who understands the science behind welding while also being comfortable making practical adjustments on the manufacturing floor.