Welder I
Location
Escondido, CA
Wage
$23.28 – $29.72/hr
Posted on August 2, 2026
Location
Escondido, CA
Wage
$23.28 – $29.72/hr
Posted on August 2, 2026
Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases is a leading provider of solutions for the liquefied natural gas, liquefied hydrogen, and industrial gases industries. They are seeking an experienced Welder/Pipefitter to work on alternative fuel station projects, which involve various welding and installation tasks.
At roughly $27/hr, this posting comes in about 17% below the $32/hr median for welding jobs across California, where the middle half runs $27–$38/hr across 313 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 25% 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.
Escondido, CA is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across California as a whole we're tracking 399 other active welding openings from 208 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across California.
Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases currently has 2 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 (20), Aerotek (17), and Volt (16). 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 Santa Ana at $48/hr, Los Angeles at $38/hr, and Hawthorne at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
This posting calls for MIG and TIG work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. 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.
Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Welder I figures were last recalculated when this page was built.