Job Description
AKER by MAAX
AMERICAN BATH GROUP
Maintenance Technician - Welding & Fabrication
JOB DESCRIPTION
Machinery Repair, Structural/Fabrication Support & Hot Work
COMPANY / BRAND
AKER by MAAX / American Bath Group
PLANT LOCATION
Martinsburg, West Virginia | Onsite
DEPARTMENT
Maintenance / Engineering Support
PRIMARY FOCUS
Machinery and equipment repair, modification, installation, and fabrication support
ROLE FAMILY
Maintenance Technician
SCHEDULE
Onsite; schedule may include overtime, shutdown, weekend, and on-call coverage based on operational needs
Position Summary
A specialized hands-on maintenance technician who uses welding, cutting, fitting, and fabrication methods to restore or improve production machinery and plant equipment. The role combines maintenance judgment with fabrication skill and must work within strict hot-work, guarding, design-change, and return-to-service controls.
The role performs maintenance welding and fabrication for machinery and plant equipment. Code-governed structural, pressure, pipe, lifting, or other specialized welding is performed only when the technician holds the required qualification and the work is covered by the applicable procedure and inspection requirements.
Position Purpose
Provide durable, safe repair and fabrication capability so damaged, worn, or missing machine components and supports can be restored or replaced without relying on unsafe temporary methods or excessive outside-vendor delay.
Complete approved machine repair and fabrication work to required dimensions, fit, strength, and function.
Support equipment installation, guarding, platforms, brackets, fixtures, carts, chutes, frames, and maintenance modifications within approved design authority.
Escalate code-critical, engineered, pressure-containing, structural, or design-change work that requires engineering approval or external certification.
Manufacturing Process Context
Welding/fabrication maintenance commonly sits between breakdown response and planned improvement work. A broken bracket, cracked frame, damaged guard, worn chute, failed cart, misaligned support, or new installation may require measurement, material selection, cutting, fit-up, welding, grinding, and reinstallation before the equipment can return to service.
The role must coordinate closely with maintenance and production because repair geometry, machine alignment, guarding, heat input, contamination, access, and post-work inspection can all affect safety, reliability, and product quality.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Review work order, equipment condition, repair objective, drawing/sketch, measurements, material, access, and safety requirements before beginning work.
Establish hazardous-energy control and hot-work controls before cutting, grinding, heating, or welding on or near equipment.
Measure, mark, cut, bevel, drill, fit, clamp, tack, weld, grind, finish, and install fabricated parts using the approved method.
Repair cracked, broken, worn, or damaged machine frames, guards, brackets, stands, carts, chutes, supports, platforms, handrails, fixtures, and other approved plant equipment.
Fabricate replacement parts or simple assemblies from approved dimensions, samples, sketches, drawings, or engineering instructions.
Control distortion, fit, clearance, alignment, fastener access, guarding, and movement so repaired equipment functions correctly after installation.
Inspect completed welds and fabrication for obvious defects and dimensional fit using the site’s approved acceptance method.
Coordinate any required machining, coating, heat treatment, outside vendor work, NDT, engineering review, or replacement-part purchase.
Restore guards, labels, covers, hoses, wiring protection, and other affected machine features before return to service.
Document materials, repair location, work performed, failure cause if known, and follow-up requirements in the CMMS.
Assist with general maintenance needs and other maintenance activities when additional support is required, consistent with training, qualifications, and safe-work authorization.
Typical Work Sequence
Review prioritized welding/fabrication and maintenance work; identify jobs requiring hot-work permits, fire watch, ventilation, equipment shutdown, or production coordination.
Inspect the failed component and confirm whether repair is permitted or replacement/engineering review is required.
Prepare work area, isolate hazards, remove combustibles or protect them, stage fire protection, establish screens/barricades, and verify ventilation.
Prepare material and joint; complete fit-up, tack, weld, cut, grind, drill, or fabricate according to the approved method.
Allow safe cooling, clean the area, inspect the repair, reassemble equipment, restore guarding, and support operational test.
Close the permit/work order only after post-hot-work inspection and documentation are complete; hand off unresolved risk or follow-up work.
Tools, Equipment, Machinery, and Materials
Welding and fabrication assignments are governed by the site's documented qualification matrix and approved processes.
Use welding power sources and feeders assigned to the role, which may include GMAW/MIG, GTAW/TIG, SMAW/stick, FCAW, resistance, or other approved processes.
Oxy-fuel, plasma, saw, shear, grinder, drill press, magnetic drill, band saw, cutoff tools, beveling tools, clamps, fixtures, tables, and layout tools as applicable.
Measuring tapes, squares, levels, calipers, angle finders, straightedges, templates, and other dimensional tools.
Hoists, rigging, lifts, forklifts, carts, positioners, or jacks with required authorization.
Common fabrication materials may include carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, sheet, angle, channel, tube, plate, fasteners, wire/rod, shielding gas, abrasives, and anti-spatter products.
Portable fume extraction, welding curtains/screens, fire extinguishers, spark containment, and hot-work protection equipment as required.
Production and Efficiency Expectations
Prioritize repairs that create safety, production, quality, or reliability risk based on approved maintenance priorities.
Plan fabrication to reduce repeated fit-up, rework, machine downtime, and unnecessary material waste.
Use permanent, documented repair methods when feasible; temporary weld repairs should be clearly controlled and followed by planned permanent correction when required.
Maintain consumables, gas cylinders, filler material, common stock, and fabrication tools in serviceable condition.
Performance measures may include turnaround time, backlog, downtime, material usage, rework, preventive maintenance support, and project completion.
Quality Responsibilities
Confirm dimensions, alignment, clearances, hole locations, fit, orientation, and machine function before final welding or installation.
Use approved base material and filler metal for the application; do not substitute materials without technical approval.
Control heat input and weld sequence to reduce distortion or damage to adjacent components.
Identify visible defects such as undercut, porosity, incomplete fusion indications, cracks, excessive spatter, poor profile, or inadequate fit using the plant’s approved acceptance criteria.
Perform code-critical structural, pressure, lifting, or other regulated welds only when appropriately qualified and when required procedures and inspection controls are in place.
Support post-repair operational checks and quality verification when the repaired component can influence the manufacturing process.
Safety Responsibilities
Follow LOTO and verify the equipment is in a safe energy state before welding, cutting, grinding, or fabrication on machinery.
Use the site hot-work permit process, fire watch, combustible control, welding screens, spark containment, and post-work fire inspection where required.
Secure, store, separate, transport, and use compressed-gas cylinders in accordance with site rules and applicable requirements.
Control welding fumes and gases with source capture/ventilation and respiratory protection where the exposure assessment requires it.
Use appropriate welding hood/lens, face shield, FR clothing, gloves, hearing protection, and other task PPE.
Treat confined-space welding/cutting, painted/coated/galvanized material, stainless, unknown metals, tanks/containers, and enclosed equipment as high-risk work requiring specific review before starting.
Use rigging and lifting devices only within qualification and never weld on lifting devices or load-bearing components without approved procedure and authority.
Physical Requirements
The role requires significant posture variation and material handling during welding and fabrication work.
Frequent standing, walking, bending, kneeling, crouching, reaching, gripping, and sustained hand/arm control during fabrication.
Potential work at floor level, overhead, on platforms, or in restricted machine areas after energy control.
Handle plate, tube, angle, guards, fixtures, tools, cables, grinders, cylinders, and fabricated assemblies using appropriate lifting and mechanical-assist methods.
Visual acuity for fit-up, weld-pool control, defect recognition, dimensional measurement, and safe work around sparks/heat.
Tolerance for heat, noise, vibration, welding hood use, and task-specific PPE.
Work Environment and Environmental Conditions
Manufacturing floor and maintenance/fabrication area with noise, sparks, hot metal, grinding dust, welding fume, shielding gases, oils, and normal industrial traffic.
May work beside or inside machinery after energy control, near elevated platforms, in outdoor equipment areas, or during shutdown periods.
Environmental conditions depend heavily on ventilation, metal/coating type, booth/shop design, hot-work location, and whether work occurs inside enclosed equipment.
Follow site welding-fume exposure controls, ventilation requirements, noise controls, respiratory protection program, fire-protection requirements, and combustible-control procedures.
Required Personal Protective Equipment
Safety glasses with side protection and safety-toe footwear as required by plant baseline.
Welding helmet/hood with task-appropriate lens, welding gloves, flame-resistant protective clothing, and protective footwear for hot work.
Face shield and hearing protection for grinding/cutting as required.
Respiratory protection, supplied air, special gloves, leather sleeves/apron, fall protection, or confined-space equipment as required by the hazard assessment and written program.
PPE selection must reflect the actual welding process, amperage, metal/coating, position, ventilation, and location.
Required Skills and Qualifications
Demonstrated welding and fabrication ability on the processes/materials the plant actually uses.
Ability to read and work from dimensions, sketches, fabrication drawings, equipment drawings, work orders, and repair instructions.
Ability to measure, lay out, cut, fit, tack, weld, grind, and assemble parts to required fit and function.
Understanding of joint preparation, distortion control, heat effects, filler/base material compatibility, and safe hot-work practices appropriate to the role.
Mechanical maintenance judgment sufficient to understand how the fabricated or repaired part interfaces with moving equipment, guarding, alignment, and service access.
Maintain certification, qualification test status, WPS/WPQ qualification, or other formal welding credentials when assigned work is governed by those requirements.
Preferred Experience
Industrial maintenance welding/fabrication in a manufacturing, warehouse, heavy-equipment, process, or fabrication environment.
Experience repairing conveyors, guards, machine frames, brackets, platforms, carts, chutes, duct/support components, or production-equipment structures.
Multiple welding processes or materials where the plant actually uses them.
Experience with machining, precision layout, rigging, alignment, mechanical repair, or shutdown installation work as applicable to the assigned area.
Experience documenting work in CMMS and coordinating with Engineering on equipment modifications.
Key Working Relationships
Maintenance leadership and technicians - work priority, diagnosis, disassembly, access, installation, testing, and handoff.
Production - equipment symptoms, downtime window, cleanup, restart, and safe release.
Engineering - drawings, load/structural decisions, material specification, machine modification, guarding, change control, and commissioning.
EHS / Safety - hot-work permit, fire watch, ventilation, fumes, gas cylinders, confined spaces, fall protection, and incident prevention.
Quality - when equipment repair can affect process capability, product fit, contamination, or inspection systems.
Purchasing / Stores / Vendors - steel stock, gases, filler, abrasives, outsourced fabrication, NDT, machining, or specialized repair.
Training and Qualification Requirements
Site orientation, LOTO, machine safety, hazard communication, PPE, and emergency response.
Hot-work permit, fire-watch, extinguisher, combustible control, compressed-gas, ventilation, and post-work inspection procedures.
Documented process/material/position qualification for the welding assignments the plant actually requires.
Grinding, cutting, plasma/oxy-fuel, saw, drill, rigging, hoist, forklift/lift, fall protection, confined space, and respiratory training as applicable.
Drawing interpretation, measurement, fit-up, distortion control, and plant-specific repair acceptance standards.
CMMS documentation and engineering/change-control boundaries.
Requalification triggers after process change, extended nonuse, quality concern, incident, or failed performance assessment.
Pay: $21.62 - $35.72 per hour
Expected hours: 40.0 per week
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Experience:
- Welding: 1 year (Required)
- Manufacturing maintenance: 1 year (Required)
- Fabrication: 1 year (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Martinsburg, WV 25404 (Required)
Work Location: In person
