Metallurgist / Quality Lab Incharge

Job Description – Senior Metallurgist / Heat Treatment Manager

Position

Senior Metallurgist / Heat Treatment Manager

Location

APS Industries, Derabassi, Punjab

Purpose of the Role

To lead and control all heat treatment and metallurgical laboratory activities, ensuring compliance with customer specifications, international standards, and internal quality requirements for threaded rods, studs, fasteners, and related products.

Key Responsibilities

Heat Treatment Operations

• Develop, monitor, and optimize heat treatment processes for carbon steel and alloy steel fasteners and threaded rods.
• Establish and maintain process parameters for quenching, tempering, annealing, stress relieving, and normalizing operations.
• Monitor furnace temperature uniformity, quench media condition, and process capability.
• Investigate and resolve heat treatment-related quality issues.
• Ensure consistent achievement of mechanical properties as per customer and standard requirements.

Metallurgical Laboratory Management

• Manage metallurgical testing activities including:
• Hardness testing (Rockwell, Vickers, Brinell)
• Microstructure evaluation
• Decarburization assessment
• Failure analysis
• Maintain laboratory equipment calibration and records.
• Prepare metallurgical reports and customer submissions.
• Develop testing procedures and work instructions.

Quality & Compliance

• Participate in customer audits, process audits, and certification audits.
• Support APQP, PFMEA, Control Plan, SPC, and MSA activities.

Failure Analysis & Customer Support

• Lead root cause analysis for:
• Thread stripping failures
• Low proof load failures
• Hardness variation
• Decarburization issues
• Cracking and quench-related defects
• Hydrogen embrittlement concerns
• Plating-related failures
• Prepare 8D reports and corrective action plans.
• Interface with customers and third-party laboratories.

Production Support

• Work closely with Production, Quality, Maintenance, and Plating departments.
• Improve productivity, energy efficiency, and process consistency.
• Train operators, inspectors, and laboratory personnel.
• Develop standard operating procedures and training modules.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive reduction in heat treatment defects and customer complaints.
• Improve process capability and metallurgical consistency.
• Implement best practices in heat treatment and laboratory operations.

Educational Qualification

• B.E./B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering / Materials Engineering
• OR
• M.Sc. Metallurgy / Materials Science

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience.
• Experience in fasteners, automotive components, forging, heat treatment, or steel processing industries preferred.
• Hands-on experience in metallurgical laboratory operations is mandatory.

Technical Competencies

• Heat treatment of medium carbon and boron steels.
• Metallography and microstructure interpretation.
• Mechanical testing and metallurgical failure analysis.
• Understanding of fastener standards and customer specifications.
• Statistical analysis and quality tools.
• Audit handling and technical documentation.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Customer complaints related to heat treatment.
• First-pass acceptance rate.
• Heat treatment rejection percentage.
• Laboratory turnaround time.
• Audit compliance score.
• Furnace process capability.
• On-time completion of failure investigations.

Preferred Industry Background

• Fasteners
• Threaded Rods
• Automotive Components
• Forging Industry
• Bearing Industry
• Commercial Heat Treatment Facilities
• Steel Processing Industry