Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Structural Welder for Stage 0 Ground Fabrication will work on complex structural launch hardware and test stands at Starbase, TX, contributing to vehicle testing and historic Starship launches.

Responsibilities

  • Complete welding assignments for the construction and repair of site structural weldments on time, safely, and in a professional manner.
  • Cut, trim, fit, and fabricate metal components to dimensions for building and assembling test and launch hardware.
  • Analyze engineering drawings and specifications to plan welding operations where procedural information is unavailable.
  • Utilize manual and semi-automatic welding processes to fit and weld complex structural weldments.
  • Visually inspect own welds per American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1.
  • Obtain and maintain internal licenses, operator permits, or certifications as required.
  • Make a continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, and streamline work processes.
  • Work in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities based on program needs.
  • Perform other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring an efficient and effective work environment.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 2+ years of experience with Flux-Cored Arc Welding - Gas-shielded (FCAW-G), experience from a vocational welding program qualifies.
  • 5+ years of experience using FCAW-G welding preferred.
  • Ability to read welding symbols per AWS 2.4.
  • Experience as a combo welder with the ability to fit and weld carbon structure using FCAW, SMAW, GTAW, or GMAW processes.
  • 3+ years of blueprint reading experience directly related to structural weldments.
  • Knowledge of standard tools, materials, welding techniques, and practices of the welding trade.
  • Knowledge of occupational hazards and effective safety precautions of the trade.
  • Experience with precision measuring instruments such as theodolite, total station, or laser levels.
  • Experience in overhead cranes, forklifts, and rigging.
  • Ability to rapidly change roles/responsibilities while working in a high-paced, challenging work environment.

Additional Information

  • Ability to work multiple shifts and change shifts with minimal notice; flexibility required.
  • Ability to travel to different sites, as needed, up to 20% travel.
  • Ability to perform job duties that require standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting the upper body, working in cramped positions in small openings, and climbing hand-over-hand.
  • Typically exposed to work in extreme outdoor environments – heat, cold, rain.
  • Work performed in an environment requiring exposure to fumes, odors, and noise.
  • Stand: Up to 10 hours per day.
  • Sit: Up to 10 hours per day.
  • Push/Pull: Up to 75lbs. (unassisted) between 1 to 2 hours per day.
  • Overhead reach: Up to 10 hours per day.
  • Walk: Up to 10 hours per day.
  • Lift/Carry: Up to ≤ 50 lbs. (unassisted) between 1 to 2 hours per day.
  • Climb (ladder/stairs): Up to 6 hours per day.
  • Kneel/Crouch: Up to 10 hours per day.
  • Upper body twist: Up to 6 hours per day.
  • Ability to work in temperatures over 80 degrees for 6 hours or greater per day.
  • Candidate must be capable of safely working at heights (up to 500ft), in confined spaces, operating heavy equipment and machinery, and performing the physical requirements of the job listed in the job description.

How this job compares

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, structural welder jobs across Texas currently run a median of $31/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $28–$35/hr across 28 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market

This posting doesn't specify a city. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,256 other active welding openings from 597 employers. 322 of them were added in the last week. Browse welding jobs across Texas.

SpaceX currently has 10 other openings live in Texas, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Austin Industries (29), Welding Shop in Austin, TX (27), and Zachry Group (23). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Midlothian at $38/hr, Irving at $38/hr, and Pasadena at $37/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, Stick, 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.

See all structural welder 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

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Structural Welder, Stage 0 Ground Fabrication (Starship) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.