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Job Description

Overview

K Metal Work & Design is seeking an experienced Welder / Metal Fabricator to join our growing fabrication team in Downey, California. We specialize in structural steel, miscellaneous metals, custom gates, railings, staircases, fences, and architectural metalwork for residential and commercial projects.

Responsibilities

  • Read and interpret shop drawings, blueprints, and fabrication details.
  • Perform accurate measuring, cutting, layout, fitting, and welding.
  • Fabricate structural steel components, gates, railings, stairs, and custom metalwork.
  • Perform MIG, FCAW, and stick welding as required by the project.
  • Operate fabrication equipment, including saws, grinders, drills, and welding machines.
  • Ensure proper fit-up, alignment, squareness, and dimensional accuracy.
  • Grind, clean, and prepare fabricated components for finishing.
  • Identify fabrication issues and resolve problems independently.
  • Maintain high standards of weld quality and workmanship.
  • Assist with loading, handling, and organizing materials.
  • Maintain a clean, organized, and safe working environment.
  • Coordinate with the shop foreman to meet production deadlines.
  • Assist with field installation when required.

Requirements

  • 3+ years of professional welding and metal fabrication experience required.
  • Strong MIG welding skills; FCAW and stick welding experience preferred.
  • Ability to read and understand fabrication drawings and blueprints.
  • Experience with structural steel and miscellaneous metal fabrication.
  • Must be capable of independently performing layout, fitting, and welding.
  • Knowledge of steel materials, measurements, angles, and tolerances.
  • Experience operating common metal fabrication tools and equipment.
  • Ability to produce clean, consistent, high-quality welds.
  • Ability to work efficiently with minimal supervision.
  • Reliable transportation and consistent attendance.
  • AWS welding certifications are a plus.
  • Experience with TIG welding or stainless steel is a plus.

Benefits

  • Flexible schedule

Additional Information

  • Location: Downey, CA (In Person Only)
  • Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Benefits

Flexible schedule
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How this job compares in Downey, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $29/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $30/hr median for welder fabricator jobs across California, whose middle half runs $25–$36/hr across 53 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 47% 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 Downey, CA

Downey, CA is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across California as a whole we're tracking 559 other active welding openings from 266 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across California.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (36), Relativity Space (21), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (16). 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 Redondo Beach at $65/hr, Pasadena at $61/hr, and Santa Ana at $48/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 welder fabricator openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near Downey, CA

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