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Job Description

Overview

The Welder III is a highly skilled trades position at Wabtec responsible for performing complex welding operations and repairs on locomotive components. This role requires advanced knowledge of welding processes and aims to support safety, quality, and productivity in a collaborative production environment.

Responsibilities

  • Perform advanced welding operations on large and complex components using approved procedures.
  • Plan welding sequences and regulate welding parameters for proper quality.
  • Perform weld build-up repairs and other critical welding applications.
  • Read and interpret blueprints and technical drawings to ensure compliance.
  • Align, fit, and weld components while minimizing distortion.
  • Inspect completed welds and identify defects requiring corrective action.
  • Assist in training and mentoring less experienced welders.
  • Follow all safety procedures and maintain a clean work area.
  • Participate in cross-training activities as needed.

Requirements

  • Preferred Associate Degree (A.A.) or equivalent from a trade school in welding.
  • Minimum five years of welding experience for external candidates.
  • Minimum two years of welding experience for internal candidates with Level I and II training.
  • Must complete all local Welder I and Welder II training and qualification requirements.
  • Ability to communicate, read, and understand welding procedures and technical drawings in English.
  • Ability to work independently while maintaining safety and quality expectations.
  • Advanced knowledge of MIG, TIG, Stick, Flux-Core, and other welding processes.
  • Strong understanding of metal properties and welding effects.
  • Proficiency with fabrication tools like grinders and plasma cutters.
  • Ability to identify weld defects and pass relevant qualification tests.
  • Willingness to cross-train and support other production areas.

Additional Information

  • Work schedule is Monday - Thursday from 5:00am to 3:30pm, with potential overtime on Fridays and Saturdays.
  • Location: 4800 Deramus Ave, Kansas City, MO 64120.
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How this job compares in Kansas City, MO

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting sits about 27% above the $24/hr median for welding jobs across Missouri — toward the top of a $22–$30/hr middle band drawn from 33 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 76% 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 Kansas City, MO

Kansas City, MO currently has 4 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 1 employer. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across Missouri as a whole we're tracking 58 other active welding openings from 35 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Kansas City, or widen the search to Missouri.

The most active employers in Missouri at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are QPS Employment Group (5), Leonardo DRS (5), and Welding Shop in Kansas City, MO (5). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, and Flux-Core 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 Kansas City, MO

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