Contractual Downstream Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

The Role:

We are seeking a driven and technically capable Senior Quality Engineer to support a custom engineered-to-order manufacturing environment serving the oil & gas, chemical, and industrial markets. This role is responsible for ensuring customer, contractual, technical, and regulatory requirements are clearly understood, aligned with manufacturing capabilities, and proactively managed throughout complex projects.

The ideal candidate has strong experience reviewing customer specifications, identifying compliance risks before production, improving quality processes, and supporting inspection readiness throughout manufacturing. This position also requires strong collaboration, structured communication, technical manufacturing knowledge, and the ability to lead quality initiatives and personnel in a fast-paced environment.

Your Responsibilities:

Contract, Specification, and Compliance Review

• Quality review customer contracts, specifications, and compliance requirements for complex engineered-to-order products.
• Interpret and compare customer specifications against internal procedures, manufacturing capabilities, and production processes.
• Identify contradictions, gaps, unrealistic requirements, or compliance risks prior to release to production.
• Work directly with customers, engineering, project management, and operations teams to resolve conflicting requirements.
• Ensure all Inspection & Test Plans (ITPs), procedures, travelers, and quality documentation are accurate and approved prior to release to production.
• Support development, revision, and implementation of procedures and quality processes required to meet customer and regulatory requirements.

Manufacturing Quality & Process Control

• Establish proactive quality controls that move compliance verification upstream in the manufacturing process.
• Develop systems and checkpoints that identify issues early.
• Reduce final inspection surprises and prevent downstream non-compliance issues.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing teams to ensure inspection readiness throughout production.
• Verify manufacturing processes align with customer specifications, workmanship standards, and contractual requirements.

Inspection & Customer Interface Management

• Coordinate and control customer, third-party, and outside inspector access to manufacturing areas and products.
• Ensure inspections are planned, organized, and communicated through the quality organization.
• Prepare production teams for customer inspections and ensure readiness prior to inspector arrival.
• Direct project management in customer interactions related to NCRs, deviations, corrective actions, technical clarifications, inspection concerns.
• Maintain professional, disciplined, and transparent communication with customers, inspectors and project management.

Quality Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Establish structured order review and order readiness processes with quality and operations teams.
• Improve cross-functional communication and compliance accountability throughout production.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring quality issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve procedures, manufacturing controls, and compliance systems.
• Support development of a proactive quality culture focused on prevention rather than detection.

Leadership & Team Management

• Support quality inspectors and shop floor quality personnel.
• Provide coaching, and knowledge transfer to quality team members.
• Build strong collaborative relationships with operations, engineering, project management, customers, and inspectors.
• Promote professionalism, integrity, ownership, and accountability within the quality organization.

Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or related technical field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of technical education and relevant experience may be considered.

Experience (Preferred)

• 7+ years of progressive quality engineering experience in engineered-to-order manufacturing.
• Background in reviewing and interpreting customer specifications and developing effective control plans.
• Experience in leading complex compliance-driven projects in oil & gas, chemical, industrial, pressure vessel, or related industries.
• Established experience supporting engineered-to-order or highly customized manufacturing projects
• Demonstrated success implementing proactive quality systems and preventing non-compliance issues before production or final inspection.
• Experience leading quality personnel and driving cross-functional accountability.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, fabrication, welding, inspections, and quality controls.
• Ability to identify conflicts between customer specifications and manufacturing capability.
• Strong ability to interpret and navigate large, complex customer specifications and contractual requirements.
• Experience with Inspection & Test Plans (ITPs), NCR management, Corrective actions, Welding documentation, MTRs and material traceability, Quality procedures and work instructions, Customer audits and inspections
• Knowledge of quality systems, compliance controls, and manufacturing readiness processes.
• Project management and coordination experience preferred.

Leadership

• High integrity and accountability.
• Structured, disciplined, and professional communicator.
• Strong relationship-building and collaboration skills.
• Ability to challenge issues constructively and professionally.
• Proactive mindset with strong attention to detail.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills