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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Orbital Tube Welder (Dragon) position involves operating welding systems and ensuring quality in aerospace manufacturing.

Responsibilities

  • Follow established procedures to setup and operate the orbital welding system
  • Work from blueprints and approved drawings
  • Cut and prepare all tubing and fittings used in the welding operation
  • Perform setup of the welding system
  • Assemble and calibrate liquid controllers and systems as required
  • Inspect all completed assemblies using the borescope inspection system
  • Maintain an adequate supply of spare parts for the welding system
  • Maintain a clean work area
  • Maintain a file of all work records

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate
  • 1+ year of welding, machining or manufacturing experience OR certificate from an accredited trade skills program in A&P, manufacturing, welding, and/or electronics
  • Certification from a formal orbital weld training program (preferred)
  • 3+ years of orbital welding experience (preferred)
  • Airframe and powerplant (A&P) license (preferred)
  • TIG welding and clean room experience (preferred)
  • Experience working in an aerospace manufacturing environment (preferred)

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Must be able to work all shifts, overtime, and/or weekends as needed
  • Able to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted
  • Able to stand for extended periods – 8 hours min
  • Able to stoop, bend, crawl, and being able to maneuver in tight spaces

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Hawthorne, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting comes in about 15% below the $36/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA, where the middle half runs $31–$60/hr across 24 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 0% 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 Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 24 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 4 different employers. None of them were added in the last week, so this is a slower-moving market. Across California as a whole we're tracking 399 other active welding openings from 208 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.

SpaceX currently has 19 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 (19), 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. Hawthorne 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.

Similar openings near Hawthorne, CA

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