Metallurgical Engineer - Heat Specialist

Auburn Hills, MI, United States (On-site)

Contract (1 month 16 days)

Published 2 days ago

Laboratory & Materials Characterization

Work orientation

Supplier Quality & Capability

failure analysis

The Metallurgical Engineer – Heat Treat Specialist is a science focused technical expert within the Materials Engineering organization.

Acting as an internal consultant, this role provides advanced heat treatment and metallurgical expertise in support of long term product reliability, forensic failure analysis, and strategic value engineering.

This position emphasizes deep scientific assessment, global collaboration, the development of robust material and process solutions.

This is not production responsible position.

The engineer will serve as the North American heat treatment subject matter expert, supporting engineering, supplier quality, production facilities, and suppliers while partnering closely with global metallurgy and heat treating groups.

Facilitate the knowledge transfer of Heat Treating core competence across the enterprise via coordination and providing technical training.

• Serve as the North America Region heat treatment subject matter expert, providing technical consultation to engineering, supplier quality, manufacturing, and suppliers.
• Close collaboration with the other global regions on metallurgic matters.
• Lead metallurgical failure investigations, including root cause determination, laboratory assessment, metallographic analysis, and closure of corrective actions.
• Drive long term product reliability improvements through advanced materials engineering, heat treat science, and process optimization.
• Collaborate with global metallurgy and heat treat teams to develop harmonized procedures, specifications, and technical standards.
• Support warranty reduction initiatives by applying rigorous forensic analysis and providing science based containment and corrective action recommendations.
• Review global supplier assessments, evaluations, and capability approvals for heat treatment and metallurgical processes.
• Participate in value engineering efforts to identify cost reduction opportunities without sacrificing performance, durability, or reliability.
• Lead and support drawing reviews, GD&T considerations, and technical sign offs requiring heat treat and metallurgical expertise.
• Scout, evaluate, and develop advanced materials solutions to support vehicle energy demands, light weighting strategies, quality targets, and new feature requirements.
• Facilitate enterprise knowledge transfer by developing training materials, conducting workshops, and coaching teams in heat treating fundamentals and best practices.
• Provide guidance on CQI 9 compliance, heat treat audit readiness, and process robustness.
• Drive innovation in heat treatment technologies, digital material characterization, and emerging metallurgical methods.

• Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering or a related engineering field from an ABET accredited university.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in a heat treating engineering role.
• Demonstrated leadership capability and project management experience.
• Broad technical expertise across multiple heat treating processes (e.g., carburizing, carbonitriding, induction, quenching, tempering, solution heat treatment).
• Deep understanding of how heat treat processes influence microstructure and performance of steel and aluminum alloys.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with all organizational levels.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven record of success in cross functional environments.
• Experience with AIAG CQI 9 heat treat…