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Job Description

Overview

The HVAC Mechanic position at Ferrara in Itasca is a critical role focused on maintaining HVAC systems to ensure efficient and reliable candy manufacturing operations. This 2nd Shift role requires flexibility in working hours and the ability to respond to production needs.

Responsibilities

  • Maintain and optimize HVAC systems to ensure consistent temperature and humidity conditions.
  • Troubleshoot and service air compressors, blowers, and filtration systems to minimize production downtime.
  • Support humidity control by maintaining dehumidifiers and related components.
  • Monitor and maintain chiller systems for efficient cooling performance.
  • Perform preventive and corrective maintenance on steam systems to maximize reliability.
  • Conduct water quality testing to protect equipment and support safe operations.
  • Manage water treatment chemical programs for system integrity and compliance.
  • Inspect and repair thermal oxidizer components for emissions control.
  • Maintain industrial heating equipment to ensure dependable process heat.
  • Identify opportunities for equipment performance improvement and energy reduction.
  • Respond quickly to equipment issues to maintain uninterrupted manufacturing schedules.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or GED; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Minimum of 1 year experience with chillers and HVAC systems required.
  • Experience with SAP or similar, Microsoft Word and Excel.
  • Experience troubleshooting and repairing heat pumps and HVAC equipment.
  • Experience maintaining boiler room equipment and associated controls.
  • Experience performing welding repairs and fabrication work on industrial equipment.
  • Experience repairing and maintaining steam traps and distribution components.
  • Strong skills in brazing, soldering, and HVAC ductwork installation.
  • Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and mechanical drawings.
  • Knowledge of EPA refrigerant handling requirements.

Benefits

  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Work Location: Itasca
  • 2nd Shift position, core hours are Mon-Fri 2:30pm-11:00pm.
  • Ability to work overtime and varying hours based on business needs.

Benefits

PTO
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How this job compares in Itasca, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $40/hr, this posting sits about 24% above the $32/hr median for welding jobs across Illinois — toward the top of a $27–$40/hr middle band drawn from 254 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 Itasca, IL

Itasca, IL currently has 5 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 5 employers. 2 of them were added in the last week. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 354 other active welding openings from 214 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Itasca, or widen the search to Illinois.

Ferrara currently has 1 other opening live in Illinois, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Staff on Site (13), Gerber Collision & Glass (12), and S&C Electric Company (9). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $38/hr, Addison at $35/hr, and Skokie at $35/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Itasca, IL

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. HVAC Mechanic-2nd Shift figures were last recalculated when this page was built.