Senior Specialist Welding Engineer

Position Overview

You are an experienced professional engineer, recognized within industry as a subject matter expert in the field of welding with a broad understanding of corporate risk and business impacts when making technical decisions. 

In this role, you will tackle unique and complex problems which require reaching across the organization to inspire change and engagement for a revitalized welding program. You will be responsible for the long-term technical objectives of the FortisBC welding program including the development and management of FortisBC’s welding procedures, specifications, standards and quality assurance for our Transmission, Intermediate and Distribution pipeline systems.

In this role, you will:

• Provide strong technical leadership for shop and field welding activities to ensure staff are knowledgeable of required procedures and standards and ensure work is compliant with industry regulations and best practices
• Guide expert consultants and internal staff on all technical matters relating to welding and quality
• Make recommendations in the absence of code requirements
• Act as company representative with government agencies such as the British Columbia Energy Regulator (BCER) and Technical Safety BC (TSBC) to ensure FortisBC maintains compliance with industry regulations and regulatory filings
• Develop welding techniques, procedures, and application of welding equipment, using knowledge of applicable codes and standards, properties and characteristics of metals and metal alloys, and welding engineering principles
• Develop and lead weld development for new scopes of work and improving current processes based on field conditions and ongoing continuous improvement initiatives
• Maintain a regular job-site presence to continuously monitor and oversee in-process welding activities
• Create and review technical documents such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Work Instructions, Technical Specifications and forms to ensure compliance with welding standards
• Perform failure analysis as required and provide solutions to welding problems with a high degree of complexity
• Review subcontractors’ welding procedures, processes and documentation including welding inspections reports, ensuring alignment with required standards and quality
• Develop short and long-term plans with executable goals for the FortisBC welding program which will encompass welding procedures, inspection and testing requirements, training and quality assurance
• Engage internal stakeholders including Distribution and Transmission Operations, the Project Management Office,
• Engineering and Training to ensure alignment on those short and long-term plans
• Mentor and guide other technical services staff on welding and related quality matters
• Provide technical recommendations to the various FortisBC Operations departments for field welding activities and emergency support

What it takes:

• Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university in a relevant field (such as welding engineering, metallurgy/materials engineering or mechanical engineering)
• Fifteen (15) years of experience in welding and/or materials engineering
• Ten (10) years of experience in the oil and gas industry
• Registration as a Professional Engineer with EGBC, or eligibility for registration as a Professional Engineer with EGBC
• Valid BC drivers license

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong understanding of welding codes such as CSA Z662, ASME Section IX, API STD 1104 and ASME B31
• Extensive knowledge of welding metallurgy, as well as different welding processes (such as SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW & OAW) and applicable quality assurance procedures
• Extensive experience in producing welding procedures (PQR, WPS, WPDS) and demonstrated competence in evaluating welding test specimens including bend tests, macro-etch specimens, tensile tests, charpy V-notch etc.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite of programs (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and Outlook)
• Previously demonstrated dedication to safety
• Proactive, self-propelled individual that can find ways to deliver the expected results in the most efficient way
• Exceptional creative thinking skills and a proactive approach for devising practical and economical solutions to technical problems with minimal direction
• Demonstrated superior organizational skills and proven ability to manage projects within scope and budget
• Demonstrated technical leadership skills with the ability to provide clear focus and directions to engineering and operational teams for the successful implementation of projects
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for working collaboratively with a team of engineers and professionals to deliver desirable results in a high-paced and demanding environment
• Ability to work closely with field teams, management, third party resources/vendors and coordinate work with other appropriate stakeholders
• Ability to handle rapidly shifting priorities and multiple projects concurrently, requiring resolution of complex problems in a rapidly evolving and stressful situations
• Able to work in multitasking mode, using design thinking principles and handling multiple projects at the same time with high efficiency
• Proven leadership of diverse and well functioning teams
• Business acumen – Ability to adapt FortisBC’s strategic business plan and risk tolerance into department level goals and plans
• Comprehensive understanding of working within a regulated utility with deep understanding of interconnectedness of FortisBC’s gas business
• Strategic thinking for short term and long term planning
• Ability to make difficult decisions

Additional Information:

• Master’s degree in  welding engineering is considered an asset
• Certified Welding Engineer (CWE), International Welding Engineer (IWE) or equivalent is considered an asset
• ABSA Welding Examiner designation or equivalent experience with welder examination is considered an asset
• Excellent working knowledge of typical NDE techniques such as VT, PT, MT, RT and UT
• Extensive knowledge of specialized UT techniques such as Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) and Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) is considered an asset
• Experience in welding and inspection of pressure vessels, rotating equipment, valves and other fittings, both at the workshop level and from the office is considered an asset