Field Installation Technician - Heavy Industrial Environments

Location: Austin, TX

Compensation: $60,000–$70,000 annually, depending on experience

Travel: Approximately 50%

Type: In-office (no remote or hybrid)

Overview

We build AI technology for the heavy industries. We are a real-world AI company: our AI systems are in factories right now making billions of dollars of decisions per year.

We are growing rapidly through the seed-series A stage, being on track to increase bookings 5x YoY. We aim to take most of our initial market (steelmaking) in the next two years while launching in new industries at the same time.

We are a world-class product and engineering org: our engineers work directly with customers and across the whole technology stack to iterate quickly in a fun, high-trust, but intense environment.

Role

We are seeking a detail-oriented Field Installation Technician to support equipment assembly, quality checks, inventory management, and field installations for heavy industrial client sites. This role is based in our Austin, TX office when not traveling and requires regular travel to customer facilities, approximately 50% of the time.

This role is ideal for someone with hands-on experience in steel mills, manufacturing plants, or other demanding industrial environments. The technician will help prepare equipment for deployment, assemble and QA systems in our Austin office, manage inventory usage, and travel to customer sites to install and support equipment.

Experience with camera systems, IT/networking equipment, industrial instrumentation, sensors, or similar field-installed technologies is highly valuable. A college degree is not required. We are looking for someone practical, reliable, safety-conscious, and comfortable working directly with customers in industrial settings.

As we grow our field deployment technician team, there will be opportunities for advancement into more senior field, deployment, or team leadership roles.

Responsibilities

  • Travel to client sites to install, configure, and support equipment in heavy industrial environments.

  • Assemble equipment and perform equipment QA checks in the Austin, TX office before field deployment.

  • Prepare field deployment kits for personal site visits and for forward deployed engineers traveling to customer sites.

  • Receive incoming inventory and equipment shipments.

  • Track equipment, parts, tools, and inventory usage accurately.

  • Assist with installation of camera systems, networking/IT hardware, industrial instrumentation, sensors, mounts, cabling, and related equipment.

  • Follow installation drawings, work instructions, checklists, and safety procedures with strong attention to detail.

  • Perform basic troubleshooting of hardware, cabling, connectivity, and field equipment issues.

  • Coordinate with engineering, operations, forward deployed engineers, and customer teams during installations and site visits.

  • Document completed work, site conditions, QA results, inventory usage, issues encountered, and follow-up actions.

  • Maintain tools, equipment, inventory areas, and deployment materials in an organized and professional manner.

  • Represent the company professionally while working at customer facilities.

  • Follow all customer site safety requirements, including PPE, lockout/tagout procedures where applicable, and plant-specific rules.

Qualifications

  • 2–3+ years of hands-on experience working in heavy industrial environments.

  • Experience in steel mills, metals processing, manufacturing plants, refineries, mining, utilities, or similar environments strongly preferred.

  • Experience installing, assembling, or supporting one or more of the following:

  • Camera or vision systems

  • IT/networking equipment

  • Industrial instrumentation

  • Sensors, cabling, mounts, or control-related hardware

  • Field-installed industrial technology systems

  • Comfortable working at customer sites and traveling approximately 50% of the time.

  • Able to work from the Austin, TX office when not traveling.

  • Strong attention to detail and ability to follow technical instructions, QA procedures, and checklists carefully.

  • Basic mechanical and electrical aptitude.

  • Comfortable using hand tools and basic diagnostic tools.

  • Ability to receive, organize, track, and prepare equipment and inventory.

  • Ability to work safely in industrial environments with heat, noise, dust, moving equipment, and required PPE.

  • Strong communication skills and a professional customer-facing attitude.

  • Valid driver’s license required.

  • College degree not required.

Nice to Have

  • Prior experience in steel mills or metals manufacturing.

  • Familiarity with Ethernet networking, IP cameras, PoE switches, industrial PCs, or similar equipment.

  • Experience with inventory tracking, warehouse organization, kitting, or deployment logistics.

  • OSHA 10, OSHA 30, MSHA, or other safety training.

  • Experience reading basic electrical drawings, installation diagrams, or mechanical layouts.

  • Experience with lifts, ladders, cable routing, conduit, or industrial mounting hardware.

Physical Requirements

  • Ability to stand, walk, bend, climb stairs/ladders, and work in industrial environments for extended periods.

  • Ability to lift and carry equipment or tools up to 50 lbs.

  • Ability to wear required PPE, including hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves, steel-toe boots, and site-specific protective equipment.

  • Comfortable working around heavy machinery, elevated platforms, heat, dust, and noisy environments.

Growth Opportunity

This is an early role on a growing field deployment function. The right candidate will have the opportunity to take on increasing responsibility as the team expands, including ownership of deployment preparation, field installation standards, equipment QA processes, inventory workflows, and future technician team leadership.

What we’re looking for

The ideal candidate is dependable, hands-on, organized, and careful. They take pride in doing installation and preparation work correctly, can stay organized while managing equipment and travel, and are comfortable working around industrial equipment and customer personnel. This person does not need to be an engineer, but they should be technically capable, safety-minded, and able to learn new systems quickly.

Apply

  • Email careers@scrapchef.ai. Please include - in your CV or in the body of the email - a list of 3-5 things you have done that you are proud of and that are relevant to the attributes we are looking for. Where possible, please include links to your work, such as GitHub, YouTube, or portfolios.

  • We will do two or more telephone screenings. At least one will be with the CEO.

  • You will work on something real with the team.