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Job Description

Overview

ProMach is seeking a Welder to join Sentry Equipment, a subsidiary known for its conveyor equipment and container handling machinery. The Welder will be responsible for fitting, assembling, and welding metal components to meet engineering specifications and quality standards.

Responsibilities

  • Read and interpret blueprints, work orders, and welding symbols to determine project specifications.
  • Measure, cut, and prepare metal components for fitting and welding.
  • Fit and tack-weld parts together according to design specifications before final welding.
  • Set up and operate welding equipment, including MIG, TIG, and stick welders.
  • Select appropriate welding rods, wires, and shielding gases for various materials.
  • Prepare metal surfaces by cleaning, grinding, and ensuring proper alignment.
  • Perform high-quality welds on a variety of metals, including steel, aluminum, and stainless steel.
  • Inspect and test completed welds to ensure structural integrity and compliance with specifications.
  • Use precision measuring tools to verify dimensions and tolerances.
  • Work with fabrication teams to assemble welded components into finished products.
  • Maintain welding and fitting equipment and perform routine maintenance as needed.
  • Follow all workplace safety procedures and wear required protective equipment.
  • Maintain production goals and contribute to continuous process improvements.
  • Assist with material handling and setup using forklifts or other lifting equipment.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalent; welding certification or technical training is a plus.
  • Experience in MIG, TIG, and stick welding in a manufacturing or fabrication environment preferred.
  • Experience in fitting and assembling metal components prior to welding.
  • Understanding blueprint reading, weld symbols, and precision measurement tools.
  • Familiarity with conveyor and machinery components is a plus.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • PTO
  • 401k

Benefits

Health Insurance
PTO
401k
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How this job compares in Forest, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $25/hr, this posting comes in about 15% below the $29/hr median for welding jobs across Virginia, where the middle half runs $25–$33/hr across 121 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 26% 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 Forest, VA

This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Forest, VA, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 194 other active welding openings from 113 employers. Browse welding jobs across Virginia.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are HII (10), Colonna's Shipyard (8), and Mission Technologies, a division of HII (7). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $34/hr, Verona at $33/hr, and Norfolk at $32/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, and Stick 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 Forest, VA

  • Structural Welder — Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. · Lyndhurst, VA
  • Pipe Welder — Atlantic Constructors, Inc. · Richmond, VA
  • Welder — Old Dominion Brush Company · Richmond, VA · $20–$25/hr
  • Welder (Shop) — Shirley Contracting Company, LLC · Richmond, VA · $20–$35/hr
  • Structural Welder 1/C — Ameri-Force · Norfolk, VA · $50K–$50K/yr
  • Welder - 28275 — HII's Mission Technologies division · Chesapeake, VA · $53K–$65K/yr

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