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Job Description

Overview

HII is seeking an experienced Welder to support the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Berthing and Messing Program, which operates duty crew berthing barges. This position involves performing maintenance and repairs on metal components aboard barges, ensuring compliance with safety and operational standards.

Responsibilities

  • Maintain, repair, fabricate, and replace metal components for barges and installed equipment.
  • Perform welding tasks on light, heavy gauge, and hardened metals using various positions.
  • Apply welding processes including preheating, brazing, bead welding, tack welding, flame cutting, pressure welding, and heat treating.
  • Provide adequate fire watch and fire extinguishing equipment during welding operations.
  • Inform COR/ACOR prior to any welding, burning, or open flame work and obtain required approvals.
  • Complete work in accordance with OEM specifications, NAVSEA Standard Items, and safety requirements.

Requirements

  • Must have High School education, Trade School, or equivalent.
  • Must have 6+ years of experience in welding and metal fabrication in marine or industrial environments.
  • Must provide own hand tools as designated per trades specialty.
  • Must show proficiency in multiple welding positions and processes (SMAW, GMAW, GTAW) and fabrication.
  • Must have the ability to read and interpret technical drawings and OEM specifications.
  • Must have the ability to work in shipyard/barge environments and comply with OSHA, NAVSEA, and program safety requirements.
  • Must have the ability to conduct torch cutting, hammer forging, grinding, sawing, and fitting of metal parts as required.
  • Must support machinist tasks such as drilling, tapping, boring, reaming, and grinding of metal components.
  • Must have general mechanic knowledge and ability to operate various tools in support of additional tasking.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Regular work hours are Monday–Friday, 0700–1530.
  • Overtime, weekends, and federal holidays may be required for urgent/emergency work.
  • Periodic travel to Kittery, ME and Groton/New London, CT for site inspections and coordination.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
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How this job compares in Virginia Beach, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $28/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $29/hr median for welding jobs in Virginia Beach, VA, whose middle half runs $24–$32/hr across 11 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 36% 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 Virginia Beach, VA

We're tracking 16 other active welding openings in Virginia Beach, VA right now, from 13 different employers. None of them were added in the last week, so this is a slower-moving market. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 171 other active welding openings from 118 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Virginia Beach, or widen the search to Virginia.

Mission Technologies, a division of HII currently has 4 other openings live in Virginia, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are HII (6), Colonna's Shipyard (6), and Aerotek (5). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $41/hr, Portsmouth at $37/hr, and Norfolk at $32/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, and Stick 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.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • NAVSEA — the Naval Sea Systems Command welding standards used on US Navy shipbuilding and repair. Qualification is yard-specific and typically comes with a background check.

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 near Virginia Beach, VA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. (Welder) Mastertradesperson 4-27313 figures were last recalculated when this page was built.