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Job Description

Overview

A Sub Welder will join metal using tools that superheat welding materials into a liquid to create an unbreakable joint. The position is classified as non-exempt and involves a 10-hour shift from Monday to Thursday, with overtime as assigned.

Responsibilities

  • Read and understand blueprints prior to starting a project.
  • Source the materials to be used in the project.
  • Accurately measure and cut materials to specifications.
  • Use the correct welding materials to join the metals together.
  • Monitor the welding, burning, and fitting process to prevent overheating or damage.
  • Check finished work to ensure it meets tolerances on the blueprint.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • Knowledge of manual and mechanical welding techniques along with metallurgy.
  • Capable of using practices including TIG, MIG, arc, and oxy-fuel welding.
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
  • Ability to lift up to 50-100 lbs. with help.
  • Must be able to weld components that are vertical, flat, or overhead.
  • Dexterity and stability required for precision work.

Benefits

Additional Information

  • 10-hour shift, Monday – Thursday.
  • Overtime as assigned.
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How this job compares in Watertown, SD

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting sits about 20% above the $26/hr median for welding jobs across South Dakota — toward the top of a $25–$26/hr middle band drawn from 26 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 92% 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 Watertown, SD

Watertown, SD currently has 5 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 3 employers. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across South Dakota as a whole we're tracking 42 other active welding openings from 21 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.

The most active employers in South Dakota at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Terex (14), DeGeest Corporation (3), and Dakota Bodies (3). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

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 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. Sub Welder figures were last recalculated when this page was built.