Welding Engineer

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Wage

$112,000 – $150,000/yr

Employment Type

Full-time

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Posted on September 17, 2026

Job Description

Overview

Antares is on a mission to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt by developing mass-producible, inherently safe microreactors. As a Welding Engineer II, you will support the development and production of welded hardware for reactor systems, ensuring quality and compliance in a high-stakes environment.

Responsibilities

  • Develop, qualify, and maintain welding procedures, including WPS, PQR, and welder performance qualifications.
  • Select appropriate welding processes, filler metals, joint designs, shielding methods, and process parameters based on material requirements.
  • Provide design-for-welding guidance related to joint accessibility, distortion, residual stress, inspection, and manufacturability.
  • Support welded hardware from prototype development through production, inspection, testing, and final acceptance.
  • Work directly with welders, technicians, and suppliers to establish high-quality fabrication processes.
  • Create manufacturing work instructions, process controls, weld maps, inspection criteria, and technical specifications.
  • Develop and execute weld qualification plans, including destructive and nondestructive testing.
  • Review weld documentation, inspection results, material certifications, and supplier records for compliance.
  • Lead root-cause investigations for weld defects and fabrication nonconformances.
  • Develop repair and rework procedures and provide technical disposition of welding-related nonconformances.
  • Interface with design, materials, analysis, manufacturing, quality, and test engineers to ensure compliance.
  • Support the selection and qualification of welding suppliers and outside fabrication partners.
  • Promote a culture of safety, quality, documentation, and continuous process improvement.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
  • 2+ years of professional experience in welding engineering or welded hardware manufacturing.
  • Working knowledge of common fusion welding processes such as GTAW, GMAW, PAW, laser welding, or electron beam welding.
  • Experience developing or supporting welding procedures and welder qualifications.
  • Understanding of welding metallurgy, heat-affected zones, and common weld defects.
  • Experience interpreting engineering drawings, weld symbols, and inspection requirements.
  • Familiarity with destructive testing and nondestructive examination methods.
  • Ability to work hands-on with production personnel and resolve manufacturing challenges.

Additional Information

  • Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones.
  • The Antares HQ is located in Torrance, CA, featuring large open spaces for collaboration and easy access to major freeways.

How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $63/hr, this posting sits about 46% above the $43/hr median for welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA — toward the top of a $34–$58/hr middle band drawn from 60 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 80% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 87 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 59 different employers. 21 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 581 other active welding openings from 267 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Los Angeles, or widen the search to California.

Antares 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 (37), Vast (18), and Relativity Space (17). 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 Gardena at $73/hr, Redondo Beach at $72/hr, and Pasadena at $61/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

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.

Similar openings near Los Angeles, CA

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