Position Summary
The Structural Steel Shop Manager runs the steel side of DSI's fabrication operation - the frames, skids, racks, stands, and support structures that carry our modular mechanical assemblies. This is a floor-first leadership role accountable for safety, throughput, weld quality, schedule adherence, and labor productivity. The Shop Manager owns the production line from raw material receipt through weld-out, finishing, and release to the mechanical assembly stations.
Key Responsibilities
Safety
• Own shop safety performance. Enforce DSI and Quanta safety programs, lead daily huddles and JHAs, and maintain hot work, fall protection, crane/rigging, and PPE compliance.
• Investigate incidents and near-misses to root cause; implement corrective actions and verify they hold.
• Maintain machine guarding, LOTO, ventilation and fume extraction, and housekeeping standards.
Production Management
• Schedule and load the shop against the module delivery plan - station assignments, crew balancing, shift planning, and overtime decisions.
• Drive takt and throughput against production targets; identify and clear bottlenecks in cutting, fitting, welding, and finishing.
• Manage work-in-process, staging, and material flow so mechanical assembly is never waiting on a frame.
• Track daily production metrics: units complete, hours per unit, rework rate, on-time release.
Quality & Welding
• Own weld quality on the floor. Ensure welding is performed to approved WPS, that welders are qualified and continuity is current, and that filler metal and consumable control is maintained.
• Manage in-process inspection, visual weld inspection, dimensional checks, and NDE coordination.
• Maintain welder qualification records, WPS/PQR documentation, and material traceability/MTRs.
• Enforce AWS D1.1 (and D1.6 where stainless applies) and AISC fabrication requirements; support third-party and owner inspections.
People Leadership
• Hire, train, schedule, evaluate, and develop shop personnel. Build a bench - cross-train fitters and welders across stations.
• Set and hold performance expectations; handle discipline and corrective action in coordination with HR
• Coordinate apprentice and welder qualification/upskilling programs.
Materials & Equipment
• Manage steel procurement requisitions, receiving inspection, inventory levels, and drop/remnant utilization.
• Own shop equipment reliability - preventive maintenance schedules for saws, ironworkers, drill lines, welding machines, cranes, and forklifts.
• Manage consumables, tooling, and shop supply spend within budget.
Coordination & Continuous Improvement
• Interface daily with OSM engineering and detailing on drawings, RFIs, and shop deviations; resolve buildability issues before they hit the floor.
• Coordinate with project management on delivery dates, load-out sequencing, and shipping/rigging plans.
• Drive lean improvement - 5S, standard work, fixture and jig development, setup reduction, and rework root-cause elimination.
• Report shop labor and cost performance; support job cost accuracy and productivity analysis.
Required Qualifications
• Minimum 7 years in structural steel or heavy metal fabrication, with at least 3 years in a supervisory or management role running a shop floor or production department.
• Demonstrated command of structural steel fabrication methods: layout, cutting, fitting, welding processes (SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, GTAW), and finishing.
• Working knowledge of AWS D1.1 and AISC 303/360 fabrication and tolerance requirements.
• Ability to read and interpret structural and shop drawings, weld symbols, and bills of material.
• Proven safety leadership record in an industrial fabrication environment; OSHA 30 (or ability to obtain within 90 days).
• Experience managing production schedules and labor against budgeted hours.
• Proficiency with ERP/production tracking systems and standard business software.
Preferred Qualifications
• AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) or Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS).
• AISC Certified Fabricator shop experience; familiarity with AISC certification audit requirements.
• Experience in modular/off-site construction or skid fabrication supporting MEP trades.
• Experience with Vista by Viewpoint, Tekla, SDS/2, or comparable fabrication and ERP platforms.
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or industrial engineering training.
• Certified rigger/signalperson or overhead crane train-the-trainer credential.
• Stainless steel fabrication experience (AWS D1.6, cleanliness and contamination control).
Competencies
• Floor presence. Leads from the shop, not the office. Knows what every station is doing without asking.
• Schedule discipline. Treats the delivery date as fixed and works the plan backward from it.
• Quality intolerance for drift. Catches the bad weld at the station, not at final inspection.
• Builds people. Develops fitters into leadmen and leadmen into foremen.
• Straight communication. Escalates problems early with a proposed fix attached.
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