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Job Description

Overview

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking experienced Pipe Welders Journeyman to join their global team, focusing on creating sustainable communities through innovative work. The role involves MIG and TIG welding, general fabrication, and operating heavy machinery while ensuring high-quality standards.

Responsibilities

  • Weld according to part drawings and execute tasks efficiently.
  • Assist peers and lower-level welders while maintaining productivity.
  • Perform open root welding and handle complex parts.
  • Provide direction and feedback to other welders.
  • Check own work and that of lower-level fabricators for conformance.
  • Prepare materials for jobs as necessary.
  • Participate in Lean Continuous Improvement projects.
  • Comply with environmental, health, and safety regulations.

Requirements

  • Must be able to recognize and avoid hazards and unsafe operations.
  • Proficient in GMAW (MIG), DC/AC GTAW (TIG), FCAW (Flux Core), and GMAW-P (Pulse MIG).
  • Must be able to certify on pipe 6G position.
  • High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent required.
  • Annual eye and hearing conservation exams required.
  • Successful completion of a welding hands-on assessment required.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO
  • 401k
  • Health Savings Account
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Career Development
  • Disability benefits
  • Life Insurance
  • Parental leave
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Sign on Bonus

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
Health Savings Account
Flexible Spending Accounts
Employee Assistance Program
Career Development
Disability benefits
Life Insurance
Parental leave
Tuition Reimbursement
Sign on Bonus
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in San Diego, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $41/hr, this posting sits about 16% above the $35/hr median for welding jobs in San Diego, CA — toward the top of a $27–$37/hr middle band drawn from 18 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 83% 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 San Diego, CA

We're tracking 19 other active welding openings in San Diego, CA right now, from 15 different employers. 2 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 594 other active welding openings from 272 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in San Diego, or widen the search to California.

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

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (37), Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (17), and Honeywell Aerospace (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 Pasadena at $51/hr, Santa Ana at $48/hr, and El Segundo 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, 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 pipe welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • 6G — a pipe test welded on a joint fixed at a 45-degree incline. Because the torch has to travel through flat, vertical, and overhead angles in a single pass, passing 6G qualifies you for every position on pipe — which is why it is the ticket that separates pipe welders from plate welders on pay.

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 San Diego, CA

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