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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. Launch pad technicians at Starbase, TX, will build, maintain, and upgrade structural and fluid systems to support various rocket testing campaigns.

Responsibilities

  • Complete welding assignments and procedures for construction and repair of site structural stands on time and safely.
  • Cut, trim, or scarf metal objects and fabricate metal components to dimensions for building test site structural forms.
  • Analyze engineering drawings and specifications to plan welding operations under the supervision of a lead welder.
  • Utilize hand welding and flame-cutting equipment to weld metal components and assemble structural forms.
  • Visually inspect own welds per AWS D1.1 and ASME B31.3 with proper training.
  • Obtain and maintain internal licenses, operator permits, or certifications as required.
  • Make continuous efforts to improve operations and streamline work processes.
  • Work in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 2+ years of experience with SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, or FCAW.
  • 5+ years of experience in FCAW, SMAW, GTAW, or GMAW preferred.
  • Experience as a combo welder with the ability to fabricate and weld carbon structure, carbon pipe, and stainless pipe.
  • Knowledge of standard tools, materials, motions, and practices of the welding trade.
  • Knowledge of occupational hazards and effective safety precautions of the trade.
  • Experience in overhead cranes and forklifts.
  • Use of precision measuring instruments.
  • Ability to rapidly change roles/responsibilities in a high-paced environment.

Additional Information

  • Ability to work multiple shifts and change shifts with minimal notice.
  • Ability to travel to different sites, up to 20% travel.
  • Ability to perform job duties that require physical activity in various positions.
  • Typically exposed to extreme outdoor environments.
  • Work performed in an environment requiring exposure to fumes, odors, and noise.

Benefits

Vision
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How this job compares in US, US

Pay in context

At roughly $28/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $29/hr median for welding jobs in US, US, whose middle half runs $22–$33/hr across 33 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 48% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in US, US

We're tracking 34 other active welding openings in US, US right now, from 26 different employers. 10 of them were added in the last week. Across US as a whole we're tracking 34 other active welding openings from 26 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in US.

SpaceX currently has 5 other openings live in US, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in US at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (5), AAON, Inc. (3), and Greenberry (2). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for Stick and Flux-Core work. Stick (SMAW) burns a flux-coated consumable rod and needs no shielding gas, so it works in wind, rain, and on dirty or rusted steel. That tolerance for bad conditions keeps it the default for field, structural, and repair work. Flux-cored (FCAW) runs a hollow wire filled with flux, combining MIG-like deposition rates with the outdoor tolerance of stick. It is the workhorse on heavy structural steel and shipbuilding, where thick sections and long welds reward speed.

See all welder fabricator 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.
  • 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 US, US

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