NDT Development Engineer – UT/PAUT &… at NOV · Houston

NDT Development Engineer – UT/PAUT & Electromagnetic Inspection

Location: Houston, TX, United States

NOV is seeking an NDT Development Engineer to support the development, testing, validation, and continuous improvement of nondestructive inspection technologies used in steel and tubular-product applications.
This is a hands-on engineering and technology-development position for someone with experience applying ultrasonic and electromagnetic NDT methods to detect flaws in steel, combined with a strong engineering or physics foundation.

Responsibilities

• Develop, evaluate, validate, and improve NDT inspection technologies for steel, steel pipe, tubular and related metallic products.
• Apply Ultrasonic Testing (UT), Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT), and Electromagnetic Inspection (EMI) to real-world flaw-detection problems.
• Perform or support direct flaw detection in steel, including solid or hollow steel components and steel pipe.
• Develop and optimize inspection techniques, scan plans, procedures, calibration methods, and inspection parameters.
• Analyze ultrasonic and electromagnetic inspection data to characterize defects and improve detection capability.
• Support laboratory and production testing of NDT equipment, probes, sensors, transducers, electronics, and data-acquisition systems.
• Investigate inspection-system performance, sensitivity, repeatability, false calls, and defect detectability.
• Troubleshoot technical issues involving NDT equipment, instrumentation, acquisition systems, and inspection processes.
• Apply physics, materials, mechanical, electrical, and mathematical principles to solve NDT problems.
• Support development and validation of NDE systems and inspection components from concept through implementation.
• Perform analytical and experimental studies and document findings through engineering reports, technical procedures, and recommendations.
• Work with engineering, manufacturing, software, quality, and operations teams to implement inspection improvements.
• Use programming, simulation, modeling, signal processing, or data-analysis tools to support technology development.

Required Qualifications

• 3–5 years of relevant experience preferred; consideration may be given to candidates outside this range when the technical background is highly relevant.
• Hands-on experience in Nondestructive Testing / Nondestructive Evaluation.
• Experience with Ultrasonic Testing (UT).
• Experience with Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT).
• Experience with Electromagnetic Inspection (EMI) or closely related electromagnetic NDT technologies such as Eddy Current, MFL, EMAT, or similar.
• Demonstrated experience with flaw detection in steel, preferably steel pipe, tubular products, or comparable solid/hollow steel components.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials/Metallurgical Engineering, Mathematics with relevant NDT specialization, or a related technical field.
• Strong engineering problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to work hands-on with inspection equipment, instrumentation, and experimental systems.

• Strong technical communication and documentation skills.

  Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with tubular products, OCTG, steel mills, pipe manufacturing, aerospace metal inspection, railroad inspection, or other steel inspection applications.
• Experience developing or validating NDT inspection systems or inspection methodologies.
• Experience with signal processing, image processing, data acquisition, sensors, probes, transducers, or instrumentation.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, C/C++, C#, LabVIEW, or similar tools.
• Experience with finite-element modeling or simulation, particularly involving ultrasound or electromagnetism.
• Experience with defect characterization, probability of detection, inspection sensitivity, calibration, or system validation.
• Familiarity with ASNT, ASTM, ASME, API, or comparable NDT standards.
• Research, product development, advanced manufacturing, or laboratory experimentation experience.