SHEET METAL MECHANIC (AIRCRAFT/PAINTER)
Location
Travis AFB, CA
Wage
$82,478 – $96,064/yr
Apply for This Position
Posted on August 25, 2026
Job Description
Overview
The primary purpose of the Sheet Metal Mechanic (Aircraft/Painter) position is to plan, lay out, fabricate, modify, repair, assemble, and install complex aircraft sheet metal parts while also performing a full range of painting tasks.
Responsibilities
- Plans and lays out work from blueprints, sketches, drawings, specifications, and work orders.
- Examines aircraft sheet metal structures to locate cracks, breaks, holes, bulges, dents, and loose or missing rivets.
- Prepares various surfaces of aircraft sheet metal structures by removing old paint and rust, filling cracks, sanding, and applying fillers and base coats.
- Uses and maintains basic hand and power tools such as hammers, chisels, hand snips, and saws.
- Utilizes safety practices and procedures while maintaining a safe and clean work environment.
How this job compares in Travis AFB, CA
Pay in context
At roughly $43/hr, this posting sits about 34% above the $32/hr median for welding jobs across California — toward the top of a $27–$38/hr middle band drawn from 313 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 84% 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 Travis AFB, CA
This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Travis AFB, CA, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across California as a whole we're tracking 399 other active welding openings from 207 employers. Browse welding jobs across California.
The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (20), Aerotek (17), and Volt (16). 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 Santa Ana at $48/hr, Los Angeles at $38/hr, and Hawthorne at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
Similar openings near Travis AFB, CA
- Aerospace Welder (2nd Shift) — Precision Castparts · Los Angeles, CA · $25–$50/hr
- Aerospace Welder - 2nd Shift — Precision Castparts · Los Angeles, CA · $25–$50/hr
- MIG & TIG Welder — Immediate Start — Haig Precision Mfg. Corp · San Jose, CA
- L.A Certify welder with experience or Journeyman level — Banks Welding and Fabrication · Inglewood, CA · $20–$25/hr
- Welder — Aerotek · Rancho San Diego, CA · $57K–$57K/yr
- Mig Welder — Aerotek · Brea, CA · $34K–$34K/yr
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. SHEET METAL MECHANIC (AIRCRAFT/PAINTER) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.