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Vast

Welder and Fabrication Technician III

Location

Long Beach, CA

Wage

$29.17 – $41.41/hr

Employment Type

Full-time

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Posted on September 4, 2026

Job Description

Overview

At Vast, the mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people thrive in space by developing next-generation space stations. The Welder and Fabrication Technician III will support the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

Responsibilities

  • Weld the Haven Structure for Human spaceflight
  • Operate mechanized and robotic welding equipment
  • Quickly fabricate and weld tooling to support Haven
  • Inspect fabricated parts for geometry acceptance and weld conformance
  • Fit, form, and clean parts as required and setup welding equipment in preparation for welding
  • Perform Class A quality Aluminum weld
  • Diagnose weld defects and suggest corrective actions
  • Work with Engineering to improve tools and problem solve
  • Handle materials of raw goods and finished weldments
  • Use a variety of metal fabrication equipment such as vertical bandsaw and sanding equipment

Requirements

  • 4+ years of experience with Class A TIG
  • 4+ years of experience with fabrication and forming
  • Self-starter and highly motivated in a fast-paced department
  • Automated/robotic welding experience preferred
  • 5+ years with Class A aerospace welding preferred
  • Ability to follow written and verbal instructions
  • Familiarity with x-ray technicians and other NDT techniques
  • Experience reading engineering blueprints

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
  • Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
  • Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted
  • Full-time, non-exempt position located in Long Beach

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Long Beach, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $35/hr, this posting comes in about 28% below the $49/hr median for welding jobs in Long Beach, CA, where the middle half runs $31–$63/hr across 24 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 42% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

The local market in Long Beach, CA

We're tracking 27 other active welding openings in Long Beach, CA right now, from 12 different employers. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 461 other active welding openings from 225 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Long Beach, or widen the search to California.

Vast currently has 5 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (25), Aerotek (18), and Honeywell Aerospace (14). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Long Beach at $49/hr, Torrance at $43/hr, and Los Angeles at $38/hr. Long Beach is among them.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for TIG. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

See all welder fabricator openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near Long Beach, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Welder and Fabrication Technician III figures were last recalculated when this page was built.