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Job Description

Overview

The Environmental Development Technician III position at JPL involves working in the Mechanical and Control Systems Division, focusing on the fabrication, assembly, and testing of electro-mechanical hardware. This role supports environmental testing and requires a commitment to safety and precision in a unique work environment located in Pasadena, California.

Responsibilities

  • Prepare, configure, and support thermal test equipment including vacuum chambers.
  • Assist with setup and operation of vacuum and thermal chambers.
  • Install, route, and verify thermocouples and temperature sensors.
  • Troubleshoot vacuum, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems.
  • Perform chamber leak checks, pump-down operations, and system readiness checks.
  • Monitor thermal vacuum testing and respond to test anomalies.
  • Support test article installation, chamber closeout, and post-test hardware removal.
  • Perform routine chamber maintenance and repairs.
  • Coordinate with engineers and technicians for environmental testing.
  • Handle xenon arc lamps and operate solar simulators.
  • Rebuild cryo pumps and follow safety and contamination control practices.
  • Fabricate, terminate, label, route, and troubleshoot instrumentation and signal cables.

Requirements

  • High School diploma with 8 years of related experience, or an Associates degree with 4 years of experience, or a Bachelor’s degree with 1 year of experience.
  • Experience operating and maintaining vacuum chambers.
  • Experience operating solar simulators and handling xenon arc lamps.
  • Ability to interpret engineering drawings, schematics, and test procedures.
  • Demonstrated troubleshooting skills for instrumentation and thermal vacuum test equipment.
  • Ability to work independently and communicate effectively.
  • Ability to work in a cleanroom environment with appropriate protective gear.
  • Availability to work day and night shifts, overtime, weekends, and holidays.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Position is safety-sensitive and subject to random drug testing.
  • Located in Pasadena, California.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Pasadena, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $47/hr, this posting sits about 34% above the $35/hr median for welding jobs across California — toward the top of a $28–$48/hr middle band drawn from 449 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 74% 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 Pasadena, CA

Pasadena, CA currently has 7 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 3 employers. 5 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 600 other active welding openings from 271 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Pasadena, or widen the search to California.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory currently has 5 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 (37), Vast (18), and Relativity Space (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 Gardena at $73/hr, Redondo Beach at $72/hr, and Long Beach at $54/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Pasadena, CA

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