Student Employee

About U. S. Steel Tubular Products U. S. Steel Tubular Products manufactures seamless pipe and premium connections that support energy and industrial customers across the United States.

Position Summary

The Metallurgical / Mechanical Process Engineering Co-op is a 2–3 consecutive-term development opportunity designed to provide engineering students with progressive, hands-on experience in a steel manufacturing environment. The Co-op will work alongside engineering, operations, quality, and maintenance teams to support manufacturing processes, troubleshoot production issues, analyze process and product performance, and identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, reliability, productivity, and cost.

Unlike a traditional summer internship, this program is structured across multiple consecutive work terms, allowing the Co-op to build deeper technical knowledge, take on increasing responsibility, and see longer-term engineering projects through multiple stages of development and implementation.

Responsibilities

• Follow all safety requirements and actively support a safe work environment.
• Work directly with engineering and operations teams to understand manufacturing processes, equipment, product requirements, and production challenges.
• Support metallurgical and mechanical process engineering activities within plant operations.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret process, equipment, quality, and production data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Assist with troubleshooting manufacturing and process-related issues and support development of practical corrective actions.
• Support process improvements focused on safety, product quality, equipment performance, productivity, yield, and cost.
• Participate in root cause analysis related to process variation, equipment issues, quality concerns, and production performance.
• Support trials, testing, process changes, and implementation of engineering improvements.
• Develop and maintain technical reports, process documentation, data analysis, and project updates.
• Work cross-functionally with operations, maintenance, quality, engineering, and other plant teams.
• Take on increasingly complex assignments and project ownership as technical knowledge develops across consecutive Co-op terms.
• Present project results, findings, and recommendations to engineering and plant leadership. Potential Co-op Assignments Assignments may include:
• Manufacturing process optimization and troubleshooting.
• Metallurgical process and product performance analysis.
• Mechanical equipment and process improvement.
• Quality and defect reduction projects.
• Root cause analysis and corrective action development.
• Process capability and production performance analysis.
• Yield, productivity, and cost improvement projects.
• Equipment reliability and operating performance improvements.
• Development and evaluation of process trials.
• Data analysis and reporting to support engineering and operational decisions.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Ability to participate in a 2–3 consecutive-term Co-op program.
• Strong analytical, technical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Interest in manufacturing, steelmaking, industrial operations, and process engineering.
• Ability to analyze data and apply engineering principles to real-world manufacturing problems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with engineering, operations, maintenance, and quality teams.
• Ability to work onsite at the Fairfield, Alabama facility.
• Authorization to work in the United States.
• Ability to meet plant safety and PPE requirements and work in an industrial manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous manufacturing, engineering, laboratory, technical, or hands-on project experience.
• Familiarity with metallurgical principles, mechanical systems, manufacturing processes, materials, or process control.
• Experience with engineering data analysis, statistical methods, or technical problem-solving.
• Strong academic achievement and demonstrated aptitude in engineering coursework.
• Experience participating in engineering design teams, student organizations, research, or technical projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical findings to different audiences.
• Initiative, curiosity, and a strong interest in continuous improvement and manufacturing operations.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced industrial environment. What You Will Gain The Co-op program provides progressively deeper hands-on engineering experience across 2–3 consecutive terms. Co-ops will develop an understanding of steel manufacturing processes, gain experience solving real production and engineering challenges, work directly with experienced engineers and plant professionals, and build technical and leadership skills through meaningful project ownership. Each term is intended to build on the previous experience, providing increased responsibility and exposure to increasingly complex engineering and operational challenges.