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Job Description

Overview

A Quality Assurance (QA) Inspector III in aerospace machining ensures that precision machined parts meet strict aerospace standards, customer specifications, and regulatory requirements. This role is critical for safety, compliance, and product reliability in aerospace manufacturing. Howmet Aerospace Inc. is a leading global provider of advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries.

Responsibilities

  • Inspect machined components using precision tools (calipers, micrometers, height gauges, bore gauges, CMM)
  • Verify dimensions, tolerances, and surface finishes against engineering drawings and specifications
  • Read and interpret complex aerospace drawings (GD&T per ASME Y14.5)
  • Ensure compliance with customer and industry standards (AS9100, NADCAP, FAA requirements)
  • Complete inspection reports, First Article Inspections (FAI) per AS9102
  • Maintain accurate quality records and traceability documentation
  • Document nonconformances and support corrective actions
  • Perform in-process inspections during machining operations
  • Verify setups, tooling, and process parameters
  • Check material certifications, heat treatment records, and special process documentation
  • Ensure full traceability of aerospace components
  • Identify defects and segregate nonconforming parts
  • Participate in root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA)

Requirements

  • High school diploma or GED
  • 5+ years in machining inspection experience within a manufacturing environment (aerospace preferred)
  • 1+ years of using precise measurement equipment including calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, height gauges, surface plates, optical comparators, thread gauges, plug gauges, surface roughness testers
  • ASQ certification (CQI) preferred
  • Experience with FAI (AS9102) strongly preferred
  • Strong understanding of GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing)
  • Aerospace quality standards (AS9100, AS9102)
  • Proficiency with CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machines)
  • Knowledge of machining processes (CNC milling, turning, grinding)
  • Knowledge of materials used in aerospace (aluminum, titanium, Inconel, etc.)
  • Attention to detail and high level of accuracy
  • Ability to read complex blueprints and specs

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • Manufacturing or machine shop floor
  • Controlled environments
  • Requires standing, handling parts, and working with precision instruments

Benefits

Health Insurance
401k
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How this job compares in Fullerton, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting comes in about 10% below the $34/hr median for welding jobs across California, where the middle half runs $27–$43/hr across 498 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 37% 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 Fullerton, CA

Fullerton, CA currently has 4 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 3 employers. 2 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 650 other active welding openings from 315 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Fullerton, or widen the search to California.

Howmet Aerospace currently has 4 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Honeywell Aerospace (16), and Aerotek (13). 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 $53/hr, Redondo Beach at $51/hr, and Long Beach at $42/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Fullerton, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Quality Inspector III - 1st Shift figures were last recalculated when this page was built.