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Job Description

Overview

The Welder II position at Kovalus involves performing MIG and TIG welding, polishing, metal finishing, and assembly under the supervision of the Production Manager. This full-time role requires adherence to safety protocols and the ability to read and interpret complex drawings.

Responsibilities

  • Follow and mentor safety procedures and PPE.
  • Perform MIG and TIG welding on intermediate level projects with minimal rework.
  • Conduct basic purge welding.
  • Understand and execute safe lifting and rigging with crane and forklifts.
  • Consistently complete projects within expected timeframes.
  • Read and interpret complex drawings, recognizing occasional deviations.
  • Effectively train lesser experienced coworkers.
  • Work under limited supervision.

Requirements

  • GED or high school diploma required.
  • Welding certificate is a plus.
  • 2–5+ years of related TIG welding experience.
  • Experience performing basic purge welding.
  • 2-5 years experience reading and interpreting complex drawings.
  • 2 years experience executing safe lifting and rigging with crane and forklifts.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Location: Willmar, MN
  • Onsite position

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
PTO
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How this job compares in Willmar, MN

Pay in context

At roughly $32/hr, this posting sits about 19% above the $27/hr median for welding jobs across Minnesota — toward the top of a $23–$30/hr middle band drawn from 75 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 85% 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 Willmar, MN

This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Willmar, MN, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across Minnesota as a whole we're tracking 103 other active welding openings from 64 employers. Browse welding jobs across Minnesota.

The most active employers in Minnesota at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Minnesota Jobs (9), Express Employment (4), and Aerotek (4). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Minnesota, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Anoka at $30/hr, Minneapolis at $28/hr, and Owatonna at $24/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

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 Willmar, MN

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Welder 2 figures were last recalculated when this page was built.