Entry-Level Process or Mechanical Engineer
About The Position
Spokane Industries manufactures steel castings for large earth-moving equipment, aggregate, and other mining applications. The Entry-Level Process Engineer works on foundry metallurgy from melting through pouring and heat treatment, helping ensure the metal chemistry and casting processes meet requirements. This is a hands-on foundry-floor role involving collaboration with melting, molding, heat treat, and quality teams. The role investigates process variation, chemistry misses, casting defects, and field performance, and supports trials and process improvements. New graduates are welcome. In the first year, the engineer will learn melting, pouring, and heat treatment processes, support investigations, and begin owning process improvement projects. Strong performers may progress into a Process Engineer or Metallurgist role with responsibility for a process area.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related engineering or science discipline; new graduates are welcome.
- Coursework or working knowledge of physical metallurgy, phase diagrams, and heat treatment of steel.
- Strong interest in foundry work and willingness to work hands-on on the foundry floor, including around furnaces and molten metal.
- Comfort working with data in Microsoft Excel.
Nice To Haves
- Internship, co-op, or project experience in a foundry, steel mill, or heavy manufacturing.
- Exposure to steelmaking or melting practice, solidification, or casting process design.
- Laboratory experience with metallography, hardness testing, or spectrometry.
- Exposure to root cause analysis or statistical process control.
- Interest in wear-resistant materials and mining applications.
Responsibilities
- Support melting operations to achieve target chemistry on every heat, including charge calculations, alloy additions, and review of spectrometer results.
- Investigate heats that miss chemistry and help identify root causes in raw materials, furnace practice, or additions.
- Track process data across melting, pouring, and heat treatment to identify trends and sources of variation.
- Investigate casting defects, including shrinkage, porosity, cracking, and inclusions, and help develop corrective actions.
- Support heat treatment processes and review hardness and mechanical test results against requirements.
- Work with quality on nonconforming castings and customer field-performance feedback.
- Write and update process instructions, work standards, and floor checklists.
- Run trials and small experiments to improve casting yield, quality, and wear life.
- Follow plant safety practices around molten metal, furnaces, and heavy equipment.
Benefits
- Competitive wage with growth potential.
- Medical coverage through an ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement).
- Dental and vision coverage.
- 401(k) with company matching.
- Generous PTO allowance.
- Life and short-term disability insurance.
- AFLAC supplemental policy options.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
