Job Description

Overview

The Press Brake Operator position involves operating press brake machines and performing metal fabrication tasks in Kenosha & Somers, WI. The role requires a strong understanding of metal forming practices and the ability to read blueprints and specifications.

Responsibilities

  • Review job/production orders and interpret accompanying prints and drawings to determine job requirements.
  • Run bend and forming operations using standard and custom punches.
  • Use a CNC controller to input information into the machine.
  • Adjust ram and back gauge locations per process control instructions and blueprints.
  • Check height, depth, and thickness using tape measure, calipers, gauges, and other precision-measuring instruments.
  • Perform complex programming using all features of the press brake.
  • Produce parts for assembly operations.
  • Program the CNC to produce new parts meeting specifications.
  • Perform spot inspections of parts.
  • Configure bend allowances for sheet metal and plate steel.
  • Ensure the machine is calibrated and cleaned.
  • Perform all required routine and minor maintenance activities according to procedures.
  • Prepare and clean product surfaces as necessary for desired operation.
  • Monitor machine performance and output during production to ensure proper results.
  • Clean and maintain work area, fabricating equipment, and other tools of the trade.
  • Work in a safe manner at all times.
  • Ensure that all work adheres to ISO and Quality standards.

Requirements

  • High School Diploma required.
  • Five or more years of specific fabricating machine experience.
  • Working knowledge of metal fabricating/forming practices and processes.
  • Working knowledge of operating procedures for press brake and Ring Roller.
  • Ability to read and understand job specifications, shop drawings, and blueprints.
  • Ability to perform intermediate math computations associated with metal fabrication.
  • Knowledge of properties of structural metals and related items.
  • Skill in using and maintaining fabricating equipment and related tools.
  • Knowledge of occupational hazards and the ability to follow safe work practices.
  • Ability to communicate and work effectively with others.
  • Formal apprenticeship training is desirable but not essential.
  • Forklift operator certification required.

Additional Information

  • 5 openings available.
  • Starting date dependent on interviewing, typically set up within a week.
  • Temp-Hire employment term.
  • Full-time employment type.
  • First Shift from 5:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. and Second Shift from 1:30 P.M. to Midnight (Monday-Thursday).
  • Work location is in person.

How this job compares in Kenosha, WI

Pay in context

At roughly $28/hr, this posting sits about 11% above the $25/hr median for welding jobs across Wisconsin — toward the top of a $22–$30/hr middle band drawn from 106 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 68% 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 Kenosha, WI

Kenosha, WI is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Wisconsin as a whole we're tracking 167 other active welding openings from 114 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Wisconsin.

Service First Staffing currently has 1 other opening live in Wisconsin, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Wisconsin at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are QPS Employment Group (17), API Heat Transfer (4), and Kewaunee Fabrications (4). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Wisconsin, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Marinette at $32/hr, Manitowoc at $30/hr, and Neenah at $23/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Kenosha, WI

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