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Job Description

Overview

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Fabrication Shop Foreman to lead our metal fabrication team in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This role offers an exciting opportunity for a motivated professional eager to contribute to innovative fabrication projects and develop their leadership skills within a collaborative setting.

Responsibilities

  • Supervise and coordinate daily fabrication shop activities, ensuring production schedules are met efficiently and safely.
  • Lead and mentor fabrication team members in welding, grinding, powder coating, cutting, assembly, and use of hand tools and power tools.
  • Review technical drawings, blueprints, and mechanical blueprints to interpret fabrication requirements accurately.
  • Ensure all work complies with safety protocols, OSHA regulations, and project specifications.
  • Oversee the operation of machinery such as press brake machines, machining equipment and powder coating while maintaining proper safety procedures.
  • Facilitate training on welding techniques including MIG, TIG and SMAW (stick welding).
  • Maintain accurate documentation of production activities, inspection reports, and safety records.
  • Collaborate with project managers to interpret technical drawings for installation of fabricated product.

Requirements

  • Proven experience in construction site environments or metal fabrication shops with hands-on expertise in welding and fabrication processes.
  • Strong knowledge of blueprint reading, mechanical blueprint interpretation, shop math, and basic math skills necessary for precise measurements.
  • Proficiency with measuring instruments such as calipers, micrometers, and other precision tools for quality control.
  • Skilled in operating fabrication machinery including press brakes, plasma cutters, machining tools, powder coating, grinding and power tools.
  • Extensive experience with various welding techniques including MIG, TIG, SMAW (stick welding).
  • Ability to interpret technical drawings related to sheet metal fabrication and assembly processes.
  • Mechanical knowledge with an understanding of safety protocol adherence on manufacturing floors.
  • Leadership skills to manage a team effectively while maintaining high standards of quality and safety standards.

Additional Information

  • Job Type: Full-time
  • Work Location: In person
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How this job compares in Ashland, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $29/hr median for welding jobs across Virginia, whose middle half runs $25–$34/hr across 96 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 57% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Ashland, VA

Ashland, VA is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 139 other active welding openings from 78 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Virginia.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Mission Technologies, a division of HII (7), Colonna's Shipyard (7), and Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII (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 Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $38/hr, Norfolk at $32/hr, and Virginia Beach at $30/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.

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

Similar openings near Ashland, VA

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