Melt Technician
Position Summary
Set up, tend, and operate an induction melting furnace to melt and pour molten metal into preheated ceramic shell molds — charging the furnace with alloy and revert, monitoring melt temperature and chemistry, skimming and deoxidizing, pouring to specification, and maintaining furnace lining and pouring equipment — using any combination of electrical, electronic, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or computer technologies.
- Department: Production
- FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
- Job Type: Regular
- Work Schedule: First Shift (6:00 AM – 2:30 PM)
- Job Status: Full Time
- Reports To: Assistant Manager
- Amount of Travel Required: None
- Positions Supervised: None
- Pay Range: $18.00 – $24.00 per hour
Essential Functions
Reasonable Accommodations Statement
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Essential Function Statement(s)
- Adhere to all applicable regulations, policies, and procedures for health, safety, and environmental compliance.
- Inspect poured castings for fill, cold shuts, misruns, and surface condition, and for adherence to customer specifications.
- Set up and operate the induction melting furnace and pouring equipment — including charging, power control, and tilt or crucible handling — in accordance with current good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures.
- Calibrate or adjust equipment to ensure quality production, using tools such as immersion and optical pyrometers, thermocouples, scales, calipers, and micrometers.
- Set up and verify the functionality of melt deck safety equipment, including furnace cooling-water interlocks, ground-leak detection, guarding, and emergency stops.
- Monitor and adjust melt parameters — charge make-up, power input, melt and pour temperature, hold time, shell preheat temperature, and pour rate — for quality and productivity.
- Troubleshoot furnace power supply and cooling faults, crane or hoist problems, and casting defects such as misruns, cold shuts, shrinkage, or inclusions.
- Test products or subassemblies for functionality or quality.
- Plan and lay out work to meet production and schedule requirements.
- Start up and shut down the melt deck, including furnace cooling systems, fume ventilation, and shell preheat furnaces.
- Prepare and weigh charge materials, including virgin alloy, revert, and alloying additions.
- Provide advice or training to other technicians.
- Measure and record melt and pour temperatures, heat numbers, charge weights, and chemistry sample results on process control logs.
- Assist engineers in developing, building, or testing prototypes or new products, processes, or procedures.
- Prepare production documents, such as standard operating procedures, manufacturing batch records, inventory reports, or productivity reports.
- Install new equipment.
- Keep production logs.
- Clean production equipment and work areas, including removing slag and metal buildup from crucibles, launders, and pouring tools.
- Collect hazardous or non-hazardous waste in correctly labeled barrels or other containers and transfer them to collection areas.
- Provide production, progress, or changeover reports to shift supervisors.
- Select cleaning materials, tools, or equipment.
- Skim slag and dross from the melt and add deoxidizers or alloy corrections as directed.
- Take chemistry samples from each heat and submit them for spectrometer analysis before pouring.
- Maintain inventory of job materials.
- Repair, patch, and reline furnace refractory and crucibles, and maintain pouring shanks, cups, and tools.
- Package finished products.
- Clean scrap materials for recycling or reuse, such as preparing steel revert for the melting processes.
- Conduct environmental safety inspections in accordance with standard protocols to ensure production activities comply with environmental regulations or standards.
- Separate scrap or waste materials for recycling, reuse, or environmentally sound disposal.
- Transfer hazardous or non-hazardous waste materials to collection areas for disposal, recycling, or reuse.
Competency Statement(s)
- Analytical Skills – Ability to use thinking and reasoning to solve a problem.
- Adaptability – Ability to adapt to change in the workplace.
- Accuracy – Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
- Accountability – Ability to accept responsibility and account for his/her actions.
- Communication, Oral – Ability to communicate effectively with others using the spoken word.
- Communication, Written – Ability to communicate in writing clearly and concisely.
- Detail Oriented – Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.
- Honesty / Integrity – Ability to be truthful and be seen as credible in the workplace.
- Organized – Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.
- Patience – Ability to act calmly under stress and strain, and of not being hasty or impetuous.
- Persistence – Ability to complete tasks or continue in a course of action in spite of opposition or discouragement.
- Reliability – The trait of being dependable and trustworthy.
- Safety Awareness – Ability to identify and correct conditions that affect employee safety.
- Technical Aptitude – Ability to comprehend complex technical topics and specialized information.
- Time Management – Ability to utilize the available time to organize and complete work within given deadlines.
Skills & Abilities
- Education: High School Graduate or General Education Degree (GED): Preferred
- Experience: 1 plus years of experience in a foundry or high-temperature manufacturing environment; induction melting and pouring experience preferred
- Computer Skills: Ability to use furnace power supply controls, temperature controllers, HMI touchscreens, and manufacturing process hardware and software.
Physical Demands
N (Not Applicable): Activity is not applicable to this position.
O (Occasionally): Position requires this activity up to 33% of the time (0 – 2.5+ hrs/day)
F (Frequently): Position requires this activity from 33% – 66% of the time (2.5 – 5.5+ hrs/day)
C (Constantly): Position requires this activity more than 66% of the time (5.5+ hrs/day)
- Stand: F
- Walk: F
- Sit: O
- Manually Manipulate: F
- Grasp: F
- Reach Outward: F
- Reach Above Shoulder: F
- Speak: F
- Climb: O
- Crawl: O
- Squat or Kneel: O
- Bend: O
Lift/Carry
- 11-20 lbs: O
- 21-50 lbs: F
Push/Pull
- 13-25 lbs: O
- 26-40 lbs: F
Other Physical Requirements
- Vision (Near, Distance, Color, Peripheral, Depth)
- Sense of Sound – Must be able to hear instructions from supervisors and co-workers
- Ability to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Hearing, eye/face, and foot protection; aluminized or flame-resistant jacket, leggings, spats, and gloves; tinted face shield; and respiratory protection as required by the applicable safety data sheet
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.
The company has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee’s ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the company reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the company may deem appropriate.
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Unlock Your Potential
Precision casting is a highly specialized and rewarding field. If you take pride in your craftsmanship and have an eye for detail, apply now to become a part of our team. We look forward to hearing from you.
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