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Job Description

Overview

The Shop Welder is responsible for assembling and welding metal structures for drilling platforms and rigs, ensuring they are robust enough for heavy-duty work. Preference is given to local job seekers within 60 miles of the Axis Gainesville, TX facility.

Responsibilities

  • Reading and interpreting technical drawings and blueprints of industrial equipment.
  • Welding the mast, derrick, and other support infrastructures.
  • Welding metal pipes, plates, and other materials to build new structures like storage tanks.
  • Inspecting welds to ensure strength and compliance with specifications.
  • Assembling and repairing pipelines for oil and natural gas companies.
  • Welding large structures like boilers, oil platforms, and ships.
  • Maintaining and properly storing welding equipment.
  • Testing and inspecting vessels and piping systems for leaks or defects.
  • Installing, repairing, troubleshooting, and replacing broken valves, joints, or pipes.
  • Performing welding duties using GMAW or SMAW processes.
  • Ensuring LDAR repair and compliance assurance.
  • Operating computerized welding tools, including plasma cutters and arc welders.
  • Studying blueprints, sketches, or specifications and calculating dimensions.
  • Cleaning shop/work sites and keeping shop records as specified by the supervisor.

Requirements

  • High School Diploma, GED or equivalent; Certification from trade or technical school.
  • 2-3 years of proven work experience with oil field equipment.
  • Experience with Hot Wire Auto Tig Machine/Process GTAW-P.
  • Experience using a cutting torch and plasma torch.
  • Familiarity with SMAW, SAW, and GTAW welding processes.
  • Competence in reading and interpreting fabrication blueprints.
  • Ability to maintain proper organization of documentation and work areas.
  • Attention to detail and accuracy.
  • Proficiency with computers, Microsoft Word, Excel, and other applications.
  • Positive attitude, decision-making, interpersonal skills, conflict management, and coaching skills.
  • Ability to work in a factory environment with temperature changes.
  • Ability to stand, walk, bend, stoop, push/pull, and perform repetitive movements up to 12 hours daily.
  • Ability to lift weights up to 50 lbs. regularly.

Additional Information

  • Preference to qualified local job seekers within 60 miles of the Axis Gainesville, TX facility.
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How this job compares in Gainesville, TX

Pay in context

At roughly $18/hr, this posting comes in about 32% below the $26/hr median for welding jobs across Texas, where the middle half runs $22–$34/hr across 340 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 5% 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 Gainesville, TX

Gainesville, TX is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 914 other active welding openings from 518 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Texas.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Welding Shop in Houston, TX (21), Zachry Group (20), and Austin Industries (20). 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 $82/hr, Dallas at $35/hr, and La Porte at $32/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for TIG and Stick 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. Stick (SMAW) burns a flux-coated consumable rod and needs no shielding gas, so it works in wind, rain, and on dirty or rusted steel. That tolerance for bad conditions keeps it the default for field, structural, and repair work.

Similar openings near Gainesville, TX

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