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Job Description

Overview

Valar Atomics is seeking a Senior Welder to fabricate precision components for modular nuclear reactor systems, emphasizing clean, high-temperature nuclear power. The role involves performing high-integrity welds and collaborating with engineering and quality teams to meet nuclear-grade specifications.

Responsibilities

  • Perform GTAW/TIG, GMAW, and SMAW welds on carbon steel, stainless steel, and nickel alloys to nuclear-grade specifications.
  • Read and interpret blueprints, weld symbols, and engineering drawings for pressure vessels and structural assemblies.
  • Perform in-process and final visual inspection of welds; coordinate with QC for NDE testing.
  • Maintain and calibrate welding equipment; select correct filler metals, shielding gases, and parameters per WPS.
  • Mentor junior welders and enforce shop safety, quality, and 5S standards on the floor.
  • Document weld travelers, certifications, and non-conformances in accordance with quality management procedures.

Requirements

  • 5+ years of professional welding experience in a manufacturing, aerospace, shipbuilding, or heavy industrial environment.
  • AWS Certified Welder (or equivalent) with demonstrated proficiency in GTAW (TIG) on stainless steel and exotic alloys.
  • Ability to read and work from complex engineering drawings, weld symbols, and WPS documentation.
  • Experience with pressure vessel or code welding (ASME Section IX, B31.3, or similar) strongly preferred.
  • Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup manufacturing environment with evolving processes.
  • Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, stand for extended periods, and work in a shop-floor setting with appropriate PPE.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Salary: $35 USD - $50 USD

Benefits

Health Insurance
PTO
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How this job compares in Torrance, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $43/hr, this posting comes in about 15% below the $50/hr median for welding jobs in Torrance, CA, where the middle half runs $42–$70/hr across 18 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 33% 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 Torrance, CA

We're tracking 48 other active welding openings in Torrance, CA right now, from 11 different employers. 11 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 553 other active welding openings from 252 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Torrance, or widen the search to California.

Valar Atomics currently has 13 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Honeywell Aerospace (21), and Aerotek (17). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $72/hr, El Segundo at $58/hr, and Torrance at $50/hr. Torrance is among them.

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.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

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 Torrance, CA

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