Back to Jobs

Job Description

Overview

PALA Interstate, LLC is seeking a Structural Welder who will lay out, fit, and weld metal components for various products including pipelines, boilers, and structural steel. The role requires reading and interpreting specifications and blueprints, and performing welding tasks with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

  • Reads and studies layout, blueprints, diagrams, work orders, and welding procedures to determine work to be done.
  • Plans work in logical sequence and determines tools/equipment needed.
  • Lays out, positions, aligns, and fits components together.
  • Bolts, clamps, and tack welds parts to secure in position for welding.
  • Obtains specified electrode and inserts it into portable holder or threads electrode wire through portable welding gun.
  • Connects cables from welding unit to obtain specified amperage, voltage, slope, and pulse.
  • Starts power supply to produce electric current.
  • Strikes arc to generate heat to melt and deposit metal from electrode to work piece and joint edges.
  • Manually guides electrode or gun along weld line, maintaining length of arc and speed of movement.
  • Welds in flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead positions and examines weld for bead size and other specifications.
  • Manually applies filler rod to supply weld metal.
  • Cleans or degreases weld joint or work piece using wire brush, grinder, or chemical bath.
  • Chips off excess weld, slag, and spatter.
  • Preheats work piece using torch or heating furnace.
  • Repairs products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts.

Requirements

  • Minimum four years’ experience in welding with SMAW, GTAW, and/or Flux Core process.
  • Or 2 years + 2 years ABC or equivalent training.
  • Must pass required welding test as required by the specific job site.
  • High School or GED preferred but not required.
  • Trade School program preferred but not required.
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Hammond, LA

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs across Louisiana currently run a median of $30/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $25–$36/hr across 33 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Hammond, LA

Hammond, LA is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Louisiana as a whole we're tracking 102 other active welding openings from 65 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Louisiana.

PALA Interstate currently has 6 other openings live in Louisiana, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Louisiana at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Worley (8), Savard Group (7), and PALA Interstate (6). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Louisiana, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Walker at $37/hr and New Orleans at $27/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for TIG, Stick, and Flux-Core 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.

See all structural welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near Hammond, LA

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