Back to Jobs

Job Description

Overview

Join our team as an Entry-Level Welder, where you will receive comprehensive training to become a skilled professional in the fabrication, assembly, and welding of metal/steel components on various utility bodies. No prior experience is required – just a strong work ethic, a commitment to learning, and a passion for producing quality work.

Responsibilities

  • Maintain all company Quality requirements and follow company guidelines utilizing a 'Stop and Fix' mindset.
  • Maintain a clean environment and follow company 5S + Safety Standards.
  • Read blueprints and drawings and take or read measurements to plan layout and procedures.
  • Determine the appropriate welding equipment, settings, and methods based on requirements.
  • Set up components for welding according to specifications.
  • Operate angle grinders to prepare the parts that must be welded.
  • Align components using fixtures, tape measure, levels, speed square, etc. and clamp pieces.
  • Weld components using manual or semi-automatic welding equipment in various positions (vertical, horizontal or overhead).
  • Prepare utility bodies and other components by welding pieces and filling gaps.
  • Test and inspect welded surfaces and structures to discover flaws.
  • Maintain equipment in a condition that does not compromise safety.
  • Assist other welders in the completing of work to ensure work is completed as efficiently as possible.
  • Maintain a safe and clean working environment by complying with procedures, rules, and regulations.

Requirements

  • No prior welding experience is required; comprehensive training will be provided.
  • Strong work ethic, willingness to learn, and a positive attitude.
  • Ability to work in a physically demanding environment, including lifting and working in awkward positions.

Additional Information

  • 1st Shift: 6am - 4:30pm
  • 2nd Shift: 4:25pm - 2:55am (earn additional $2/hour)
  • Fast-paced environment
  • Ability to lift 50 lbs. and work awkwardly while bending, stooping, kneeling, or standing to work overhead for 10 hrs.
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Watertown, SD

Pay in context

At roughly $27/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $25/hr median for welding jobs across South Dakota, whose middle half runs $23–$26/hr across 34 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 91% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Watertown, SD

Watertown, SD currently has 7 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 5 employers. None of them were added in the last week, so this is a slower-moving market. Across South Dakota as a whole we're tracking 51 other active welding openings from 28 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Watertown, or widen the search to South Dakota.

Dakota Bodies currently has 2 other openings live in South Dakota, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in South Dakota at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Terex (17), DeGeest Corporation (3), and B & G Industries Inc (2). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within South Dakota, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Huron at $26/hr, Watertown at $24/hr, and Sioux Falls at $23/hr. Watertown is among them.

Similar openings near Watertown, SD

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