Pyrometry and Furnace Manager

Position Summary:

Leads and coordinates a team for Furnace metrology, pyrometry, heat treat conformity, and heat treat process control for over 25 furnaces. This person is knowledgeable on furnace design, refractory, combustion systems, controls, combustion safety, and industry regulations. Subject matter expert for the mechanical and electrical application and knowledge to prepare furnaces for survey and coordinates refractory repairs.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Other duties may be assigned.  In performing functions, duties or tasks, employees are required to know and follow safe work practices, and to be aware of Company policies and procedures related to job safety, including safety rules and regulations. All functions, duties or tasks are to be carried out in an honest, ethical and professional manner, and to be performed in conformance with applicable Company policies and procedures.  In the event of uncertainty or lack of knowledge of Company policies and procedures, employees are required to request clarification or explanations from superiors or authorized company representatives.

• Leads a team of Maintenance Technicians, Metrology Lead, and Heat Treat Process Engineer
• Ownership of comprehensive plan for all Shultz furnaces including the Capex budgeting and execution
• Audits to ensure all required training is completed for any participants of calibration, System Accuracy Tests (SAT), Alt SATs, and Temperature Uniformity Surveys (TUS)
• Audits 100% review of all instrument calibrations, system accuracy tests, and temperature uniformity surveys. May review and approve furnace calibration and survey data to ensure accuracy, traceability, and alignment with applicable thermal processing standards.
• Maintain a schedule for SAT, Alt SAT, and TUS for all furnaces and ensure compliance.
• Maintain a schedule of calibration of pyrometric instruments and equipment.
• Maintain compliance tracking and test management through the software platform, C3 Data.
• Involvement in all refractory and control repair decisions to determine testing requirements.
• Involvement in trouble shooting and determining proper repair procedures for furnaces.
• Involvement in any upgrade to equipment or purchase of new equipment to ensure compliance with specifications.
• Involvement in all audits, NCR reviews, corrective actions and product risk assessments involving furnaces.
• Works on special projects to improve the metrology department
• Audits and retains all documents submitted by technicians for surveys and tests for compliance with industry and company regulations. Manages and oversees program for writing of calibration, survey, other similar pyrometry and metrology reports per Shultz Work Instructions, submittal to Plant Engineering and Quality departments for final approval
• Leads and partners cross functionally all new and ongoing projects for the department
• Supports with revision of new forms and procedures required for the department
• Participates and prepare for all audits internally and externally including customer audits
• Works closely with Maintenance and Production Departments to evaluate problems encountered with the equipment and to assist with the solutions required to resolve the problems.
• Assists in implementation of controls for new equipment and the upgrade of controls for existing equipment; also, in the implementation of data collection projects.
• Oversees and assigns resources to interfaces with vendors to determine the best equipment to use to keep the company’s equipment at the forefront of technology.
• Conduct routine audits and maintain documentation to ensure compliance with NFPA86, and applicable pyrometry specifications (AMS2750)
• Other duties as assigned

Required Skills:

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, customers, and general public.
• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference, and fundamentals of plane and solid geometry and trigonometry including calculus. Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.  Excellent communication skills verbal and written.
• Able to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Able to communicate freely, make presentations and discuss controversial issues in a reasonable manner. Demonstrated ability to communicate with various levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of furnace design, refractory, combustion systems, controls.
• Knowledge of furnace combustion, burner tuning, and use of gas analyzers for emissions including oxygen content
• Thorough understanding of Aerospace Heat Treating and Forging Specifications including AMS2750, Nadcap, and Customer Specifications.
• Knowledge of combustion safety, NFPA 86
• Knowledge of environmental responsibility for furnace emissions, permit conditions
• Exposure to Theory of Constraints throughput and inventory management preferred

Experience & Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or similar
• 8+ years of experience in engineering in heavy industrial plant engineering management
• 8+ years of AMS2750 experience and/or training
• 8+ years of furnace combustion/design/control experience
• 5+ years managing Furnace technicians and Process Control Engineers

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit, and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles, extreme heat, risk of electrical shock, and vibration.  The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

Shultz Steel LLC is an equal opportunity employer. The company's policy and practice is to provide equal employment opportunities and to assure those opportunities, without regard to age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions, gender, race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation including gender identity or gender expression, religion, (including religious dress and religious grooming), mental or physical disability, legally protected medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, reproductive decision making, or any other status protected by applicable local, state or federal anti-discrimination laws. 

With more than 120 operations and approximately 20,000 employees worldwide, Precision Castparts Corp. is the market leader in manufacturing large, complex structural investment castings, airfoil castings, forged components, aerostructures and highly engineered, critical fasteners for aerospace applications. In addition, we are the leading producer of airfoil castings for the industrial gas turbine market. We also manufacture extruded seamless pipe, fittings, and forgings for power generation and oil & gas applications; commercial and military airframe aerostructures; and metal alloys and other materials for the casting and forging industries. With such critical applications, we insist on quality and dependability – not just in the materials and products we make, but in the people we recruit.

PCC is relentless in its dedication to being a high-quality, low-cost and on-time producer; delivering the highest value to its customers while continually pursuing strategic, profitable growth.

In 2016, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Chairman and CEO Warren E. Buffett, acquired Precision Castparts Corp.