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Job Description

Overview

We are seeking a detail-oriented Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) to join our Quality team and help ensure our fabricated crane structures and components meet the highest industry standards.

Responsibilities

  • Perform visual inspection of welds on fabricated crane structures, components, and assemblies in accordance with AWS D1.1 and company requirements.
  • Inspect incoming, in-process, and finished parts for dimensional conformance using precision measuring instruments.
  • Identify, document, and disposition nonconforming welds and components.
  • Interpret engineering drawings, weld symbols, and GD&T requirements to verify product compliance.
  • Verify welder qualifications, WPS compliance, and consumable control practices on the shop floor.
  • Record inspection results and nonconformance data within quality management systems.
  • Partner with Operations, Engineering, and suppliers to support root cause analysis and corrective actions.
  • Perform nondestructive testing (MT, UT, PT) when required.
  • Maintain calibration status and proper use of inspection equipment.
  • Support a culture focused on safety, quality, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

  • Current AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) certification.
  • High school diploma or GED.
  • Minimum of three (3) years of weld inspection experience in a fabrication, welding, or heavy manufacturing environment.
  • Working knowledge of AWS D1.1, AWS A2.4 weld symbols, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).
  • Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications.
  • Proficiency using precision measuring equipment such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, weld gauges, and tape measures.
  • Strong attention to detail and documentation skills.
  • Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and quality/ERP systems.

Benefits

  • PTO
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • This position works primarily in a manufacturing environment.
  • Frequent walking throughout the production facility.
  • Exposure to noise, welding operations, machinery, and industrial equipment.
  • Use of required personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • Ability to climb, bend, kneel, and work around large fabricated assemblies.
  • Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.

Benefits

PTO
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
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How this job compares in Hazel Crest, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $29/hr, this posting comes in about 13% below the $33/hr median for welding jobs across Illinois, where the middle half runs $27–$40/hr across 254 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 38% 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 Hazel Crest, IL

This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Hazel Crest, IL, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 354 other active welding openings from 213 employers. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.

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, Itasca at $36/hr, and Addison at $35/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

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.
  • CWI — the AWS Certified Welding Inspector credential. It is an inspection qualification rather than a welding one, requiring documented experience plus a three-part exam, and it is the usual route off the torch into QC.

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 Hazel Crest, IL

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