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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Pipe Welder (Night Shift) position involves completing welding assignments and procedures for the construction and repair of structural stands in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

  • Complete welding assignments and procedures for the construction and repair of all site structural stands on time, safely, and in a professional manner.
  • Cut, trim, or scarf metal objects, fit and fabricate metal components to dimensions for building and assembling test site structural forms.
  • Under the supervision of a lead welder, analyze engineering drawings and specifications to plan welding operations where procedural information is unavailable.
  • Utilize hand welding and flame-cutting equipment to weld together metal components and parts to assemble structural forms.
  • Visually inspect own welds per American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1 and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31.3 with proper training.
  • Obtain and maintain internal licenses, operator permits, or certifications as required.
  • Make a continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively.
  • Work in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities based on program needs.
  • Perform other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring an efficient and effective work environment.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 2+ years of experience with tungsten inert gas (TIG) or gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) welding.
  • 5+ years of experience using shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), oxy-acetylene, fitting, and arc gouging related to the trade.
  • Knowledge of welding techniques, metallurgy, AWS/ASME codes, and engineering requirements.
  • Experience with standard tools, materials, motions, and practices of the welding trade.
  • Knowledge of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in relation to welding and brazing.
  • Knowledge of occupational hazards and effective safety precautions of the trade.
  • Knowledge of arc air procedures and equipment.
  • Experience with precision measuring instruments.
  • Ability to rapidly change roles and responsibilities while working in a high-paced, challenging work environment.

Additional Information

  • Typical hours for this position are 6:00 pm – 6:00 am.
  • Must be available for overtime and weekends as the schedule varies depending on site operational needs; flexibility is required.
  • Valid driver’s license is required.
  • Typically exposed to work in extreme outdoor environments – heat, cold, rain.
  • Work performed in an environment requiring exposure to fumes, odors, and noise.
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How this job compares

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, pipe welder jobs across Texas currently run a median of $35/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $35–$37/hr across 30 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market

This posting doesn't specify a city. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,424 other active welding openings from 737 employers. 506 of them were added in the last week. Browse welding jobs across Texas.

SpaceX currently has 11 other openings live in Texas, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Zachry Group (26), Welding Shop in Houston, TX (25), and Austin Industries (23). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Pasadena at $40/hr, San Angelo at $39/hr, and Midlothian at $38/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, Stick, and Flux-Core 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.

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

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.
  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

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.

Similar openings

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