Manual Machinist – Turbine Repair Shop

Sulzer•La Porte, TX

29d•Onsite

About The Position

Sulzer is a leading engineering company with a proud heritage of innovation. Join our global team to grow your expertise and develop innovative solutions that enable a prosperous and more sustainable society. About the role Job Summary The Sr. Machine Operator is responsible for operating and maintaining production machinery, ensuring efficient and safe operations. This role performs advanced machine setup, monitors production quality, and may assist in training junior operators. This job profile is intended for experienced support-level staff that generally works autonomously and only requires closer supervision in non-routine situations. Machinist is responsible for machining and refurbishing turbine and rotating‑equipment components using conventional machine tools. This role requires hands‑on experience with manual lathes, HBM, VTL, 4‑jaw chuck setups, precision measuring tools, and the ability to consistently hold tight tolerances on critical turbine parts.

Requirements

Ability to work a 12‑day, 10‑hour minimum schedule with 12‑day, 12‑hour schedules during outage seasons.
3–5+ years of experience operating manual lathes, mills, and conventional machining equipment.
Strong proficiency with 4‑jaw chuck setups and precision indicating.
Skilled in the use of precision measuring instruments (micrometers, indicators, bore gauges, etc.).
Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, blueprints, and repair procedures.
Must supply basic personal hand tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience in turbine repair, power generation, or heavy‑industrial machining.
Knowledge of machining tolerances, fits, and GD&T.
Experience operating overhead cranes and/or forklifts.
Ability to machine large, heavy, and split turbine components.

Responsibilities

Set up and operate manual lathes, mills, horizontal boring mills (HBM), vertical turret lathes (VTL), and related machining equipment.
Perform advanced 4‑jaw chuck setups, indicating, and alignment of irregular, heavy, and split components.
Machine turbine components including IGVs, diaphragms, rings, shafts, sleeves, and split casings.
Achieve and verify tight machining tolerances (typically ±0.001" or as specified by drawings and procedures).
Conduct dimensional inspections using micrometers, dial indicators, calipers, bore gauges, and other precision instruments.
Read and interpret blueprints, repair drawings, travelers, and work instructions.
Select correct tooling, speeds, feeds, and machining methods for each job.
Safely handle large and heavy components using overhead cranes, lifts, and rigging equipment.