Combustion Engineer

About the role

6123 Cunningham Rd Houston Texas 77041

A Brief Summary of This Position

The Combustion Engineer executes various projects associated with combustion systems in the hot dip galvanizing industry. The position is responsible for complex engineering projects from design to implementation in accordance with the company's standards, policies, and procedures. Additionally, this position supports reliability by providing technical guidance and engineering recommendations.

This includes initiating or updating documentation such as standard work instructions, procedures, and other relevant documentation. The position requires the ability to plan and apply the practices of engineering and project management.

The ideal candidate combines strong engineering fundamentals with practical field experience and enjoys working directly with equipment, contractors, and operations personnel to improve safety, reliability, efficiency, and product quality. This position reports to the NA Coatings Engineering Director.

Essential Functions

• Responsible for the design, implementation, optimization, and troubleshooting of combustion systems used throughout our production facilities
• Initiate and maintain procedures for combustion tuning, optimization, and performance testing to improve fuel efficiency, product quality, and equipment reliability
• Troubleshoot combustion, process heating, and thermal system issues in a manufacturing environment
• Troubleshoot combustion control loops, burner management systems (BMS), flame supervision equipment, and process instrumentation
• Develop engineering designs, equipment specifications, P&IDs, calculations, and project documentation
• Configure and validate control devices including thermocouples, pressure transmitters, flow meters, control valves, VFDs, and oxygen analyzers.
• Configure, and optimize furnace control systems to ensure safe, stable, and efficient operation
• Manage combustion-related capital projects from concept through commissioning, including budgeting, scheduling, vendor coordination, installation, and startup
• Work closely with operations, maintenance, production, and safety teams to identify and implement process improvements
• Support preventive maintenance programs and establish best practices for combustion equipment reliability
• Ensure compliance with applicable safety, environmental, and industry standards related to combustion systems
• Coordinate with equipment suppliers, contractors, and engineering consultants during project execution
• Provide technical support and training to operations and maintenance personnel
• Evaluate and implement upgrades to legacy furnace control systems, improving reliability, maintainability, and operational performance
• Identify energy efficiency opportunities
• Assist the engineering team with additional capital projects, equipment upgrades, process improvements, and plant initiatives as needed; this includes projects beyond combustion-based equipment or initiatives
• Collaborative team player with the ability to work across departments.
• Comfortable balancing office-based engineering work with field support and equipment commissioning.
• This role requires up to 50% travel (internationally/domestically), including overnight stays

Required Qualifications of Every Candidate

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field
• 3 years of work experience in a manufacturing/industrial engineering position.
• Experience with PLC-based combustion control systems and industrial automation
• Capable of performing energy balances, mass balances, and related thermodynamic or heat transfer calculations
• Enjoys working directly with equipment, contractors, and operations personnel to improve safety, reliability, efficiency, and product quality
• Strong oral and written communication skills to clearly and concisely present information to management
• Work effectively alone and as a member of a team within various functional areas of the division
• Demonstrated accuracy in working with information in a fast-paced environment
• Passion and integrity with the drive to excel and deliver exceptional results

Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess These Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering qualification
• 5+ years of work experience in a manufacturing/industrial engineering position is preferred
• Knowledge of energy efficiency initiatives and emissions reduction strategies
• A background with Lean methodology
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification is a plus.
• Experience with combustion analyzers, process instrumentation, and data collection
• Working knowledge in the following areas is preferred:
• AutoCAD/SolidWorks
• Microsoft office Excel, Word, Access and Outlook

Working Environment and Physical Efforts

Normal office environment makes up approximately 65% of the job while around 35% of the work is located out in the storage, shipping and production areas of the manufacturing site. When working in the production areas the employee will be subjected to welding smoke, noise, seasonal temperature changes, dirt, oil, coolant, and many other conditions found in a production environment.

Working extended hours may be required to meet the demands of the business (e.g., support for production, troubleshooting, meeting project deadlines). Approximately 50% of the time is related to travel which can include both domestic and international trips.

Benefits

Valmont offers employees and their families a comprehensive Total Wellbeing benefit package to ensure their individual and family's overall wellness needs are met. Some offerings are dependent upon the role, work schedule, or location and can include the following:

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off
• Employer paid life insurance
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability including maternity leave
• Work Life Support
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year
• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, mortgage services and more