Manager – Welding & Process Improvement

Loenbro•Phoenix, AZ

19h

About The Position

The Manager – Welding & Process Improvement advances welding technology, manufacturing processes, equipment standardization, automation, and continuous improvement across Loenbro's Fabrication & Manufacturing operations. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, the role supports Loenbro's strategic plan by establishing and implementing scalable best practices across its fabrication network, with a focus on safety, quality, productivity, throughput, cost, and manufacturing capability. The manager assesses fabrication practices, welding and cutting technologies, equipment, facility workflows, and manufacturing methods; develops practical standards; and provides technical leadership for capital planning and equipment selection. The role combines welding and fabrication expertise with manufacturing, automation, operational-excellence, and continuous-improvement capabilities to help Loenbro safely and efficiently produce high-quality fabricated and manufactured products at scale. The position involves frequent travel among Loenbro fabrication and manufacturing facilities, approximately 40–60% based on business needs. It also requires regular presence on manufacturing shop floors, with exposure to typical fabrication conditions such as noise, heat, fumes, dust, and moving equipment. Appropriate PPE and compliance with safety regulations and Loenbro EH&S policies are required.

Requirements

At least 8 years of progressive experience in welding, fabrication, manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, process improvement, or related industrial operations.
Extensive practical knowledge of industrial welding and fabrication processes, equipment, cutting systems, material preparation, fit-up, positioning, and workflow.
Experience evaluating or implementing manufacturing equipment and capital projects.
Demonstrated success improving fabrication productivity, quality, throughput, or manufacturing processes.
Ability to interpret engineering and fabrication drawings, welding symbols, specifications, and applicable requirements.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to turn shop-floor observations and production data into practical improvements.
Ability to collaborate effectively with craft personnel, supervision, engineering, quality, safety, vendors, and executive leadership.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Willingness to travel regularly among Loenbro facilities.
Compliance with applicable safety regulations, PPE requirements, and Loenbro EH&S policies.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Welding Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Welding Technology, or a related discipline; equivalent extensive industry experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), Certified Welding Engineer (CWEng), or another relevant AWS credential.
Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar continuous-improvement certification.
Experience with robotic, mechanized, orbital, or automated pipe welding; CNC, laser, or plasma cutting; automated material handling; or other advanced manufacturing technologies.
Experience with ASME, AWS, API, or other applicable fabrication codes and standards.
Experience supporting mission-critical/data centers, power generation, semiconductor, advanced manufacturing, energy, mining, water/wastewater, or related industrial markets.
Experience in both project-based fabrication and high-volume or repeatable manufacturing environments.
Experience developing equipment ROI analyses and multi-year capital-investment plans.

Responsibilities

Assess welding, cutting, fitting, assembly, material handling, and fabrication practices across facilities; identify opportunities for standardization and improvement.
Develop and implement scalable company-wide fabrication and manufacturing best practices, including processes, methods, equipment recommendations, workstation concepts, tooling, production practices, standard work, and technical guidance.
Ensure manufacturing processes align with applicable codes, specifications, customer requirements, and quality programs.
Serve as a technical resource for welding processes and fabrication methodologies; evaluate technologies based on materials, joint configurations, production volume, quality requirements, labor availability, and total cost.
Partner with Quality and Welding Engineering on WPS/PQR requirements, welder qualifications, code compliance, inspection requirements, and weld quality.
Analyze weld productivity, repair rates, deposition efficiency, arc-on time, and rework; evaluate emerging welding technologies.
Assess and optimize cutting, beveling, coping, drilling, forming, preparation, and material-processing methods and equipment.
Develop standardized approaches to improve dimensional accuracy, throughput, fit-up quality, material utilization, and downstream welding productivity; identify opportunities to integrate digital fabrication data with equipment.
Identify and evaluate welding automation, robotics, mechanized and orbital welding, automated cutting, positioning, material handling, CNC systems, and other advanced manufacturing opportunities.
Develop automation business cases that consider production demand, labor savings, throughput, quality, safety, utilization, payback, maintainability, and scalability.
Work with Engineering & Productization to optimize products and assemblies for automated manufacturing and repeatable production.
Lead or support technical evaluation of capital expenditures; develop evaluation criteria, capital business cases, recommendations, and a multi-year equipment roadmap.
Identify opportunities to standardize equipment platforms across facilities and participate in trials, vendor demonstrations, factory acceptance testing, commissioning, and performance validation.
Lead improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, throughput, cost, schedule, and capacity.
Assess workflows from material receipt through shipment; identify bottlenecks, excessive movement, waiting, rework, and other waste.
Apply Lean manufacturing, 5S, value-stream mapping, standard work, visual management, and root-cause analysis where appropriate; recommend improvements to layout, production cells, and material flow.
Partner with Operations to implement improvements, validate benefits, and sustain results.
Establish standardized productivity metrics and track measures such as labor hours per unit, weld/diameter inches, arc-on time, deposition rates, repair and rejection rates, fit-up productivity, machine utilization, uptime, cycle time, rework, and scrap.
Benchmark performance across facilities and against relevant industry practices, using operational data to prioritize improvements and validate results.
Participate in facility assessments; evaluate welding, cutting, equipment, layout, material flow, productivity, automation, quality, safety, and manufacturing maturity.
Develop prioritized facility improvement roadmaps, facilitate adoption of internal best practices, and support decisions about facility capabilities and future-state concepts.
Collaborate with the Director of Engineering & Productization on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), product development, design reviews, prototypes, pilot production, first-article builds, production-readiness assessments, and scalable production processes.
Partner with Quality and Safety leadership to maintain or enhance compliance and reduce ergonomic exposure, manual handling, fumes, heat exposure, repetitive work, and other fabrication-related risks.
Ensure equipment recommendations address guarding, ventilation, ergonomics, training, maintenance, and safe operation.
Participate in root-cause investigations involving significant welding, fabrication, equipment, or process failures, and support reductions in defects, repairs, rework, and quality escapes.
Identify training needs for standardized processes, new equipment, automation, and manufacturing technologies; partner with relevant teams to develop training and operator competency expectations.
Develop welding and fabrication subject-matter experts and facilitate knowledge sharing among facilities.