Heat Treatment Technicians
Heat treatment technicians operate specialized furnaces and heating equipment to strengthen and modify metal and plastic parts used in everything from car engines to smartphone components. You'll read technical schedules, precisely control temperatures and timing, and use thermal instruments and computerized controls to ensure materials meet exact specifications. The job involves teamwork with crane operators and other technicians, plus you'll train new workers on proper equipment operation. This hands-on manufacturing role combines technical skills with attention to detail in modern industrial facilities.
Did you know?
Workers must adhere to strict OSHA safety standards and undergo extensive safety training due to exposure to high temperatures, chemicals, and heavy machinery.
At a glance
Typical average pay
$47,900 Avg/yr
Growth
Stable
Top skill
Operation and Control
Things to consider
Technical Certification Requirements
Many employers prefer candidates with vocational training or apprenticeship completion, and ongoing education is often necessary to keep up with advancing heat treatment technologies.
Manufacturing Industry Stability
Job prospects are closely tied to the health of American manufacturing sectors, particularly automotive, aerospace, and construction industries.
Key responsibilities
Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
Set up and operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
Mount workpieces in fixtures, on arbors, or between centers of machines.
Determine types and temperatures of baths and quenching media needed to attain specified part hardness, toughness, and ductility, using heat-treating charts and knowledge of methods, equipment, and metals.
Mount fixtures and industrial coils on machines, using hand tools.