Fabrication Engineer job at Soleil Power

About the job

Job Description: Fabrication Engineer

Job Title: Fabrication Engineer

Department: Production

Reports to: Production Supervisor

Supervises: Fabrication Technicians

Location: Kirolo Production Site, Wakiso District

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

The Fabrication Engineer will be responsible for leading and supporting fabrication activities for metal components, enclosures, battery cases, cabinets, mounting structures, and related fabricated products. The role requires hands-on experience with CNC fabrication machinery, including press brakes and laser cutters, as well as practical welding knowledge and the ability to guide a small team of fabrication technicians. This is a practical engineering role requiring both technical execution and day-to-day supervision of fabrication work.

Key Responsibilities

Fabrication Operations

• Lead and participate in cutting, bending, welding, drilling, grinding, finishing, and assembly of metal components.
• Operate and supervise the use of fabrication equipment, including CNC press brake, CNC fiber laser cutter, welding machines, grinders, drill press, pressfit machine and other workshop tools.
• Create, edit, and interpret engineering drawings, CAD files, bend drawings, flat patterns, and fabrication specifications.
• Ensure fabricated parts meet dimensional, structural, and finishing requirements.

CNC Machine Operation and Programming Support

• Set up and operate CNC fabrication machines, especially press brake and laser cutting equipment.
• Prepare or review machine parameters, including bend angles, bend allowance, tooling selection, cutting parameters, nesting, and material settings.
• Troubleshoot basic machine operation issues and coordinate with maintenance or manufacturer’s technical support where required.
• Ensure CNC machines are operated safely, correctly, and efficiently by trained personnel.

Welding and Metal Joining

• Apply and supervise appropriate welding techniques for mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and other relevant materials where applicable.
• Ensure weld quality, strength, alignment, and appearance meet product requirements.
• Identify and correct common welding defects such as poor penetration, distortion, porosity, undercutting, and misalignment
• Guide technicians on correct welding preparation, fit-up, clamping, heat control, grinding, and finishing.

Team Supervision

• Supervise a small team of fabrication technicians and allocate daily work assignments.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance, coaching, and quality oversight to fabrication staff.
• Monitor technician performance, workmanship, safety discipline, and productivity.
• Support training of junior technicians in machine operation, welding, measurement, drawing interpretation, and workshop safety.
• Coordinate with the Production Supervisor to ensure fabrication work aligns with production schedules and priorities.

Quality Control and Inspection

• Inspect fabricated components against drawings, tolerances, fitment requirements, and quality standards.
• Identify fabrication defects and ensure corrective action before parts move to assembly, powder coating, or final production.
• Maintain accurate records of nonconformities, rework, scrap, and quality issues where required.
• Work with Engineering and Production to improve designs for manufacturability, strength, accuracy, and ease of assembly.

Equipment Care and Maintenance

• Ensure fabrication equipment is cleaned, maintained, and used in accordance with maintenance plans and operating procedures.
• Conduct basic preventive maintenance checks on CNC machines, welding equipment, air compressors, hand tools, and workshop equipment.
• Report equipment malfunctions, tooling damage, abnormal machine behavior, or maintenance needs promptly.
• Maintain proper organization of tools, consumables, welding accessories, fixtures, dies, lenses, nozzles, and machine spares.
• Support safe storage and handling of metal sheets, profiles, welding gases, consumables, and fabricated parts.

Production Coordination and Continuous Improvement

• Coordinate with Engineering, Production, Assembly, and Quality teams to resolve fabrication-related issues.
• Support prototype fabrication, product improvement, and design validation activities.
• Recommend process improvements to improve quality, reduce waste, improve repeatability, and increase workshop efficiency.
• Help develop standard fabrication procedures, machine settings, jigs, fixtures, templates, and work instructions.

Qualifications and Experience

Required

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, or a related technical field, or equivalent in working experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of practical fabrication experience.
• Hands-on experience operating CNC fabrication equipment, especially press brake and laser cutting machines.
• Experience with CAD/CAM workflows, flat pattern preparation, nesting software, and CNC programming.
• Strong practical knowledge of welding techniques and metal fabrication processes.
• Experience with mild steel sheet metal parts and fabrication.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, fabrication drawings, dimensions, tolerances, and technical specifications.
• Ability to work with CAD software, specifically including Solid works.
• Experience supervising or guiding technicians, apprentices, or workshop staff.
• Strong understanding of workshop safety and fabrication quality control.

Preferred

• Experience with battery enclosures, electrical cabinets, sheet metal fabrication, industrial frames, or precision metal products.
• Experience with stainless steel and aluminum fabrication.
• Basic knowledge of powder coating preparation, surface finishing, and enclosure assembly.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001 quality systems or structured production environments.

Technical Skills

• CNC press brake and laser cutter setup and operation.
• Welding, cutting, bending, drilling, grinding, and finishing.
• Sheet metal layout and fabrication.
• Reading engineering drawings and CAD outputs.
• Measuring, inspection, and dimensional verification.
• Machine setup, tooling selection, and basic troubleshooting.
• Fabrication process planning and workflow organization.
• Basic equipment maintenance and fault reporting.

Soft Skills

• Strong attention to detail and quality.
• Practical problem-solving ability.
• Ability to supervise and train junior technicians.
• Good communication with production and engineering teams.
• Ability to work under production deadlines.
• Strong safety discipline.
• Hands-on leadership style.
• High work ethic and accountability.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand for extended periods in a workshop environment.
• Ability to lift and move metal materials and fabricated parts safely.
• Manual dexterity and precision when using tools and machines.
• Ability to work around fabrication noise, heat, sparks, fumes, and machinery while using appropriate PPE.

• Lead and participate in cutting, bending, welding, drilling, grinding, finishing, and assembly of metal components.
• Operate and supervise the use of fabrication equipment, including CNC press brake, CNC fiber laser cutter, welding machines, grinders, drill press, pressfit machine and other workshop tools.
• Create, edit, and interpret engineering drawings, CAD files, bend drawings, flat patterns, and fabrication specifications.
• Ensure fabricated parts meet dimensional, structural, and finishing requirements.
• Set up and operate CNC fabrication machines, especially press brake and laser cutting equipment.
• Prepare or review machine parameters, including bend angles, bend allowance, tooling selection, cutting parameters, nesting, and material settings.
• Troubleshoot basic machine operation issues and coordinate with maintenance or manufacturer’s technical support where required.
• Ensure CNC machines are operated safely, correctly, and efficiently by trained personnel.
• Apply and supervise appropriate welding techniques for mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and other relevant materials where applicable.
• Ensure weld quality, strength, alignment, and appearance meet product requirements.
• Identify and correct common welding defects such as poor penetration, distortion, porosity, undercutting, and misalignment
• Guide technicians on correct welding preparation, fit-up, clamping, heat control, grinding, and finishing.
• Supervise a small team of fabrication technicians and allocate daily work assignments.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance, coaching, and quality oversight to fabrication staff.
• Monitor technician performance, workmanship, safety discipline, and productivity.
• Support training of junior technicians in machine operation, welding, measurement, drawing interpretation, and workshop safety.
• Coordinate with the Production Supervisor to ensure fabrication work aligns with production schedules and priorities.
• Inspect fabricated components against drawings, tolerances, fitment requirements, and quality standards.
• Identify fabrication defects and ensure corrective action before parts move to assembly, powder coating, or final production.
• Maintain accurate records of nonconformities, rework, scrap, and quality issues where required.
• Work with Engineering and Production to improve designs for manufacturability, strength, accuracy, and ease of assembly.
• Ensure fabrication equipment is cleaned, maintained, and used in accordance with maintenance plans and operating procedures.
• Conduct basic preventive maintenance checks on CNC machines, welding equipment, air compressors, hand tools, and workshop equipment.
• Report equipment malfunctions, tooling damage, abnormal machine behavior, or maintenance needs promptly.
• Maintain proper organization of tools, consumables, welding accessories, fixtures, dies, lenses, nozzles, and machine spares.
• Support safe storage and handling of metal sheets, profiles, welding gases, consumables, and fabricated parts.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Production, Assembly, and Quality teams to resolve fabrication-related issues.
• Support prototype fabrication, product improvement, and design validation activities.
• Recommend process improvements to improve quality, reduce waste, improve repeatability, and increase workshop efficiency.
• Help develop standard fabrication procedures, machine settings, jigs, fixtures, templates, and work instructions.

• CNC press brake and laser cutter setup and operation.
• Welding, cutting, bending, drilling, grinding, and finishing.
• Sheet metal layout and fabrication.
• Reading engineering drawings and CAD outputs.
• Measuring, inspection, and dimensional verification.
• Machine setup, tooling selection, and basic troubleshooting.
• Fabrication process planning and workflow organization.
• Basic equipment maintenance and fault reporting.
• Strong attention to detail and quality.
• Practical problem-solving ability.
• Ability to supervise and train junior technicians.
• Good communication with production and engineering teams.
• Ability to work under production deadlines.
• Strong safety discipline.
• Hands-on leadership style.
• High work ethic and accountability.

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, or a related technical field, or equivalent in working experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of practical fabrication experience.
• Hands-on experience operating CNC fabrication equipment, especially press brake and laser cutting machines.
• Experience with CAD/CAM workflows, flat pattern preparation, nesting software, and CNC programming.
• Strong practical knowledge of welding techniques and metal fabrication processes.
• Experience with mild steel sheet metal parts and fabrication.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, fabrication drawings, dimensions, tolerances, and technical specifications.
• Ability to work with CAD software, specifically including Solid works.
• Experience supervising or guiding technicians, apprentices, or workshop staff.
• Strong understanding of workshop safety and fabrication quality control.
• Experience with battery enclosures, electrical cabinets, sheet metal fabrication, industrial frames, or precision metal products.
• Experience with stainless steel and aluminum fabrication.
• Basic knowledge of powder coating preparation, surface finishing, and enclosure assembly.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001 quality systems or structured production environments.