Welder Fabricator, Sanitary A

Job Summary

The Stainless-Steel Welder/Fabricator is responsible for performing high-quality stainless steel welding, fabrication, installation, modification, and repair work throughout the facility. Supporting plant reliability by maintaining sanitary piping, process equipment, platforms, guards, structural components, and other stainless-steel systems. This position requires extensive experience with TIG welding stainless steel, sanitary fabrication practices, pipe fitting, layout, and field installation. All work must meet facility safety, quality, food-safety, and workmanship standards.

Essential Functions

• Perform TIG/GTAW welding on stainless steel piping, tubing, plate, and structural components.
• Fabricate and install sanitary stainless-steel piping and process systems.
• Perform high-quality sanitary welds suitable for food and dairy processing environments.
• Cut, fit, tack, weld, grind, polish, and finish stainless steel components.
• Fabricate equipment supports, platforms, brackets, guards, handrails, piping supports, and other plant components.
• Repair cracked, damaged, leaking, or failed stainless steel equipment and piping.
• Perform pipe fitting, measurements, offsets, layout, and field fabrication.
• Read and interpret drawings, blueprints, sketches, P&IDs, and fabrication specifications.
• Properly purge stainless steel piping when required to protect weld quality and prevent oxidation.
• Maintain proper fit-up, alignment, penetration, and weld appearance.
• Minimize distortion and heat damage during stainless steel fabrication.
• Perform sanitary finishing and polishing as required.
• Assist with equipment installations, modifications, shutdown projects, and plant improvement projects.
• Identify potential equipment or piping problems and communicate concerns before failures occur.
• Work closely with maintenance mechanics, supervisors, engineering, operations, sanitation, and contractors.
• Maintain welding machines, grinders, saws, purge equipment, fabrication tools, and related equipment.
• Maintain an organized and clean welding/fabrication work area.
• Properly account for and communicate material and spare-part usage.
• Follow all plant Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), hot-work, confined-space, fall-protection, PPE, and other safety requirements.
• Follow GMP, food-safety, sanitation, and contamination-control requirements.
• Complete assigned work orders and accurately document completed work.
• Maintain a high standard of workmanship and avoid repeat repairs or callbacks.
• Participate in root-cause identification when recurring equipment or piping failures occur.
• Support emergency repairs and production breakdowns when needed.

• Must have the ability to get along with co-workers, management personnel, customers, vendors, and employees in accordance with the company policies and working rules while ensuring a harmonious and conducive work environment.
• Maintain a positive attitude and contribute toward a quality environment.
• Excellent regular full-time attendance in support of company objectives.
• Stay on top of all update trainings and technical education.
• Use initiative and judgment in making decisions, keeping with California Dairies, Inc.’s best interests.
• Support and enforce SQF / QA, GMP, Safety policies and procedures, and production needs.  “Food Safety and Quality” are the responsibilities of this position.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Must work in a safe and efficient manner and follow all safety procedures including the use of safety equipment.
• Minimum 8 years of stainless steel TIG welding and fabrication experience in food processing, OR a recognized welding certification with a minimum of 5 years of stainless steel TIG welding and fabrication experience.
• Strong TIG/GTAW stainless steel welding skills.
• Experience welding stainless steel pipe and tubing.
• Experience with sanitary/process piping strongly preferred.
• Ability to perform accurate layout, measurement, cutting, and fit-up.
• Ability to read fabrication drawings, blueprints, and P&IDs.
• Knowledge of stainless steel preparation, purging, welding, grinding, and finishing techniques.
• Ability to safely operate grinders, band saws, chop saws, drills, plasma cutters, and other fabrication equipment.
• Ability to troubleshoot fabrication and piping problems in the field.

Education and/or Experience

• Industrial manufacturing experience preferred.
• Food, beverage, or dairy manufacturing experience strongly preferred.

• Experience with 304 and 316 stainless steel preferred.
• Experience with sanitary tubing and fittings preferred.
• Experience with orbital welding is a plus.
• Experience with process piping, valves, pumps, tanks, and production equipment preferred.
• Familiarity with sanitary welding standards and food-processing requirements preferred.
• A High School diploma or General Education Degree (GED) is required.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a production setting involving sanitary piping

Language Skills

English is required as the written and spoken language. 

Certificates, License, Registrations

• Must obtain and maintain a forklift license.
• Must obtain medical clearance to use respirator and maintain certification.
• Must maintain all safety training provided by California Dairies inc.
• Current welding certification in TIG/GTAW and/or sanitary stainless welding preferred.
• Obtaining and maintaining welding certifications in TIG/GTAW will maintain top pay status. 

Driving Requirements

• Must possess and maintain a valid California driver’s license. 

Equipment

• CIP (Clean-in-Place) systems, including supply/return piping and skids
• Milk, cream, whey, and product storage silos/tanks
• Pasteurizers and heat exchangers
• Evaporator systems and associated equipment, including vessels, piping, condensate systems, pumps, platforms, and structural components
• Spray dryer systems and associated equipment, including dryer chambers, ducting, cyclones, powder handling systems, hoppers, chutes, platforms, and structural components
• Butter processing and packaging equipment
• Sanitary centrifugal and positive-displacement pumps
• High-pressure pumps and associated stainless-steel piping systems
• Sanitary valves, manifolds, and valve clusters
• Homogenizers and separators
• Stainless-steel conveyors, chutes, hoppers, platforms, stairs, handrails, and guarding
• Sanitary fittings, including Tri-Clamp connections, ferrules, reducers, tees, elbows, and instrument ports
• Process piping for water, product, CIP chemicals, steam/condensate, and compressed air
• Stainless-steel drainage systems, floor drains, drip pans, and washdown-area fabricatio

Work Environment

The candidate will perform work throughout an active dairy and food-processing manufacturing facility, including production areas, maintenance shops, fabrication areas, utility areas, rooftops, platforms, and other industrial environments. Work may be performed indoors or outdoors and may require exposure to temperatures ranging from approximately 34°F to 100°F or greater, depending on the location and operating conditions. The candidate may work around or come into contact with ammonia refrigeration systems, acids, caustics, chlorine-based chemicals, cleaning and sanitation chemicals, paints, oils, lubricants, sealing compounds, steam, hot surfaces, pressurized piping, compressed air, pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, dust, powder, fumes, welding fumes, sparks, and other industrial or hazardous materials.

ADA/FEHA

The Company will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

EEO

The Company is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Physical Demands

The physical requirements outlined here represent those necessary for successful performance of this position's core responsibilities. Upon request, the company will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these fundamental job duties, provided such accommodations do not create an undue burden on the organization.

• Sitting/Standing/Walking: During the course of a workday, they will walk several hundred feet over uneven surfaces checking buildings and machines for needed repairs.
• Frequently stand and walk for extended periods throughout production, fabrication, maintenance, and processing areas.
• Frequently bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, squat, twist, reach, push, and pull while performing fabrication, welding, installation, and repair work.
• Regularly climb stairs, ladders, platforms, scaffolding, and access equipment as required to reach work locations.
• Perform work at various elevations and heights, including elevated platforms and aerial lifts, while utilizing required fall- protection equipment.
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• Lifting/Carrying: The engineer lifts up to 60 pounds on a frequent basis and 80 pounds on an occasional basis.
• Pushing/Pulling: Frequent pushing/pulling is done while using mechanic tools and equipment.
• Bending/Stooping: Both are done regularly during the course of a workday.
• Squatting/Kneeling/Crawling: Squatting and kneeling are done frequently. Crawling is done occasionally.
• Twisting/Turning: Frequent twisting and turning are done while doing regular maintenance duties.
• Climbing/Balancing: Some vertical ladder climbing required. Balancing on ladders and machinery required while doing maintenance and installation of equipment.
• Reaching: Frequently reaching from floor level to shoulder level done during workday.
• Grasping/Manipulating: Frequent use of hands and fingers while using hand tools and positioning of machine

• Work in confined, restricted, or difficult-to-access areas when required.
• Frequently use hands and fingers to grip, handle, position, assemble, and operate welding equipment, grinders, saws, drills, hand tools, power tools, sanitary fittings, and fabrication equipment.
•  Maintain the manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and steady hand control necessary to perform precision TIG/GTAW and sanitary stainless-steel welding.
• Frequently reach above shoulder level and work in overhead positions, including welding, grinding, fitting, and installing piping or structural components.
• Perform repetitive physical movements associated with cutting, grinding, fitting, welding, polishing, measuring, and assembling stainless-steel components.
• Maintain sufficient balance, coordination, mobility, and physical stamina to safely perform fabrication and welding activities throughout the work shift.
•  Have sufficient visual acuity, depth perception, and ability to distinguish details necessary for precision measurement, fit-up, welding, inspection, and identification of weld quality or fabrication defects.
•  Wear required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for extended periods, which may include welding helmets, safety glasses, face shields, hearing protection, gloves, protective clothing, fall-protection equipment, and other task-specific PPE.