Machine Operator I - Trimmer-Driller 1st Shift
Location
Cedar Grove, NJ
Wage
$18 – $21/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on September 14, 2026
Location
Cedar Grove, NJ
Wage
$18 – $21/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on September 14, 2026
The Machine Operator I is responsible for performing essential manufacturing steps of part trimming and drilling, ensuring daily production needs are met while maintaining quality standards. This role does not have supervisory responsibilities and requires adherence to safety procedures.
At roughly $20/hr, this posting comes in about 46% below the $36/hr median for welding jobs across New Jersey, where the middle half runs $29–$40/hr across 131 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 1% 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.
Cedar Grove, NJ is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across New Jersey as a whole we're tracking 198 other active welding openings from 118 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across New Jersey.
MW Components currently has 1 other opening live in New Jersey, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.
The most active employers in New Jersey at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are gpac (15), Rhoads Industries (12), and Gpac (10). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
Within New Jersey, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Camden at $41/hr, Northvale at $40/hr, and Newark at $35/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Machine Operator I - Trimmer-Driller 1st Shift figures were last recalculated when this page was built.