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Job Description

Overview

Koch Finishing Systems is a custom engineering and fabrication company serving the Aerospace and Automotive industries. They are seeking an experienced Welder/Fabricator to join their Caledonia team, where the role involves welding and fabricating metal structures and custom assemblies according to engineered fabrication drawings.

Responsibilities

  • Weld and fabricate finished metal products and custom assemblies
  • Read and interpret blueprints and welding symbols for fabrication
  • Verify specifications through material measurements and calculations
  • Conduct tests to evaluate weld quality and tolerance
  • Assemble, weld, and finish structures and sub-assemblies, including filing and burring
  • Set up and operate fabricating machines (cutting, forming, punching, drilling)
  • Maximize material usage while meeting production schedules
  • Collaborate with team members to meet quality and delivery goals
  • Operate and maintain MIG welding equipment independently
  • Safely operate shop equipment including hoists, cranes, and forklifts
  • Maintain a clean and safe work environment

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • 2+ years of welding and fabrication experience, or formal technical training
  • Ability to read and interpret blueprints, welding symbols, and fabrication drawings
  • Proficiency with MIG welding and common shop tools (grinders, saws, drills, etc.)
  • Ability to safely operate cranes, hoists, and forklifts (training provided if needed)
  • Commitment to workplace safety and quality workmanship
  • AWS D1.1 or equivalent structural welding certification (preferred)
  • Experience welding structural tube and pipe (preferred)
  • Familiarity with TIG welding and other advanced techniques (preferred)
  • Prior experience in a custom fabrication or equipment manufacturing environment (preferred)
  • Strong troubleshooting skills and ability to work from limited direction (preferred)

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Location: Caledonia, MI (Kent County — approx. 15 minutes from Grand Rapids, Cascade, and Byron Center)
  • Schedule: Day Shift, Monday – Friday, 6:00 AM – 2:30 PM

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
PTO
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How this job compares in Caledonia, MI

Pay in context

At roughly $28/hr, this posting sits about 10% above the $25/hr median for welder fabricator jobs across Michigan — toward the top of a $22–$29/hr middle band drawn from 15 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 60% 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 Caledonia, MI

Caledonia, MI is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Michigan as a whole we're tracking 120 other active welding openings from 85 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Michigan.

The most active employers in Michigan at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Workbox Staffing (7), Welding Shop in Detroit, MI (7), and Advanced Blending Solutions (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 Michigan, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Detroit at $32/hr and Holland at $25/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.

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

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.

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 Caledonia, MI

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