The Metallurgical Lab Technician supports daily metallurgical laboratory operations for aerospace manufacturing, heat treat verification, and customer-required laboratory testing. This position is responsible for preparing test specimens, controlling test-piece flow, performing defined laboratory checks, maintaining records, and supporting metallurgical evaluations in accordance with internal procedures, customer requirements, applicable ASTM/AMS standards, and Nadcap Materials Testing Laboratory expectations.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Perform daily check-in of product received from Heat Treat, including review of work order books, verification of part counts, confirmation of test-piece or sectioned-piece quantities, and update of applicable operations.
• Manage test pieces, coupons, carbon bars, v-notches, and other laboratory samples, including procurement, tracking, stamping, routing, staging, retrieval, and control of samples needed for current work orders and future testing.
• Stamp or sign off assigned operations only when work has been completed in accordance with the applicable router, work instruction, customer requirement, and internal authorization.
• Support product movement through the metallurgical lab and onward to the next operation, ensuring that parts, test pieces, and paperwork remain properly identified and traceable.
• Enter MS1 splits, close out assigned operations in Visual or other production systems and maintain accurate status visibility for jobs requiring metallurgical laboratory processing.
• Perform routine FOD removal, maintain laboratory cleanliness, and ensure that work areas, test pieces, containers, saws, and support equipment are kept in a condition suitable for aerospace product handling.
• Perform designated Rockwell hardness testing, including daily verification, verification record completion, proper scale selection, part support, test location control, and escalation of suspect or invalid results.
• Review, file, retrieve, and organize certifications, heat treat records, x-ray records, test records, and other supporting documentation required for product traceability and customer shipment packages.
• Collect and archive test coupons, heat treat certs, x-ray material & reports according to work order numbers, label boxes, organize records, and archive documentation so that records can be retrieved efficiently during audits, investigations, or customer reviews.
• Operate the automatic cut-off saw for approved sectioning activities, including setup, part identification, controlled cutting, coolant checks, swarf removal, and cleaning after use. Perform routine saw maintenance and housekeeping, including weekly cleaning, coolant filling, and removal of accumulated swarf or debris.
• Section customer, or internal test parts in accordance with approved instructions, maintaining orientation, location, identification, and traceability of all metallurgical samples.

Duties/Responsibilities Continued

• Prepare metallographic samples for evaluation, including mounting, grinding, polishing, cleaning, and preservation of areas of interest such as case depth, IGO/IGA, white layer, nitrided layers, carburized/decarburized regions, and coating or near-surface features. Maintain proper sample identification throughout preparation, testing, evaluation, storage, and disposal.
• Conduct white layer removal, IGO/IGA sample evaluations on site at vendor location, then perform customer-specific metallurgical cut-up evaluations on said samples. Document actual test readings, verification results, specimen preparation details, etchants used when applicable, equipment identification, and other required information on laboratory forms or electronic systems.
• Assist with certificate generation, customer documentation, and material verification activities for customer-specific work packages.
• Support internal audits, NADCAP self-audits, customer audits, job audits, and observation-of-test activities by maintaining complete, organized, and retrievable laboratory records. Participate in training, qualification, competency checks, internal round robin testing, proficiency testing support, and other activities required to demonstrate laboratory competence.
• Escalate nonconforming conditions, suspect data, damaged samples, missing paperwork, equipment concerns, calibration issues, traceability breaks, or unclear requirements to the Metallurgical Engineer, Quality, or supervision before proceeding.
• Assures product quality and manufacturing accuracy by properly using inspection equipment
• Maintains product quality documentation by keeping accurate records and files, such as Material Certifications, First Article Inspection Reports (AS9102), Inspection Method Sheets (IMS), First Piece Inspection
• Contributes to cost-effective operations by troubleshooting equipment and makes recommendations for new or replacement parts and/or equipment
• Train other inspectors (or operators) as required in inspection methods
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical certificate, associate degree, or relevant manufacturing/laboratory experience preferred.
• Experience in aerospace manufacturing, heat treat, materials testing, quality inspection, machining, or metallurgical sample preparation preferred.
• Ability to follow written work instructions, laboratory procedures, customer specifications, and ASTM/AMS-based test methods.
• Ability to maintain accurate records, perform basic shop math, understand part traceability, and work within production systems such as Visual, Job Tracker and Visual Plus.
• Ability to handle customer hardware carefully and maintain FOD control, cleanliness, sample identity, and work order discipline.
• Ability to use or learn laboratory equipment such as automatic cut-off saws, mounting equipment, grinders/polishers, Rockwell hardness testers, Vickers microhardness equipment, microscopes, and related measuring equipment.
• Formal metallurgical laboratory training and documented qualification are required before independently performing higher-level technical tasks such as hardness testing, microhardness verification, metallographic preparation, white layer preparation, IGO/IGA preparation/evaluation, or other NADCAP-controlled laboratory activities. Training will be provided.
• Must be able to recognize when a result, sample condition, or process condition is abnormal and stop work or escalate the issue before product acceptance is affected.
• Read and interpret aerospace blueprints and geometrical tolerancing

Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain seated for long periods of time while working on a computer or documentation, etc.
• Must have manual dexterity to operate computer keyboard and standard office equipment
• Must be capable of withstanding long period of viewing data on a computer screen and/or paper format

Triumph Offers Outstanding Benefits, Including:

• 19 Days Paid Time Off (annual allotment), Prorated PTO based on date of hire
• Company Paid Holidays
• 2nd Shift hourly positions receive 15% shift Premium
• Health Insurance starting on your first day
• Company Paid Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance, Accidental Death, and Dismemberment (AD&D)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k) Match (75% match up to 6%)
• Recognition and Service Award Programs
• Educational Assistance Program
• Employee Referral Program
• Onsite Fitness Center – Free!
• Climate controlled environment