Utility Mechanic
Location
Plainfield, NJ
Wage
$29.44/hr
Posted on October 12, 2026
Location
Plainfield, NJ
Wage
$29.44/hr
Posted on October 12, 2026
The Utility Mechanic position at American Water involves performing various responsibilities related to the operation and maintenance of water distribution systems. The role offers competitive pay and opportunities for professional growth within the company.
At roughly $29/hr, this posting comes in about 11% below the $33/hr median for welding jobs across New Jersey, where the middle half runs $27–$40/hr across 101 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 32% 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.
This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Plainfield, NJ, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across New Jersey as a whole we're tracking 174 other active welding openings from 130 employers. Browse welding jobs across New Jersey.
American Water currently has 1 other opening live in New Jersey, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.
The most active employers in New Jersey at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are gpac (8), Valcor Engineering Corporation (6), and Xylem (3). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
Within New Jersey, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are South Plainfield at $38/hr and Cherry Hill at $31/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Utility Mechanic figures were last recalculated when this page was built.