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Job Description

Overview

At OTC, being a Welder Lead means putting your welding expertise to work while helping others grow. If you're an experienced welder who takes pride in quality work, leads by example, and enjoys supporting a team, we want you on our team.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as a working lead, performing welding and fabrication while coordinating daily assignments and supporting the team in meeting production and project deadlines.
  • Read and interpret shop sketches, complex blueprints, and isometric drawings to lay out, fit, and fabricate structural components and piping systems.
  • Perform Stick, MIG, and TIG welding using appropriate equipment, filler materials, and welding procedures to meet job specifications.
  • Guide and train welders on fit-up, welding techniques, equipment operation, and safe work practices; troubleshoot fabrication issues and support skill development.
  • Check fit-up, dimensions, and weld quality throughout the job; identify defects and coordinate corrections before work moves forward.
  • Set up and operate welding and cutting equipment, including oxy-acetylene and handheld plasma systems, and support safe rigging and material handling.
  • Communicate job progress, material needs, and safety or quality concerns to the supervisor; maintain accurate job documentation and a clean, organized work area.

Requirements

  • 3–5 years of welding and fabrication experience with structural and pipe components, with demonstrated ability to perform complex work independently.
  • Proficiency in Stick, MIG, and TIG welding, blueprint interpretation, layout, and pipe fit-up; ability to select appropriate filler materials and follow welding procedures.
  • Previous lead experience or demonstrated ability to coordinate work, train others, and communicate clear expectations.
  • 6G qualifications preferred; ability to obtain the applicable D1.1 welding qualification upon hire.
  • Experience with rigging, overhead cranes, mobile cranes, or crane signaling is a plus; MSHA certification is a plus.
  • Strong attention to detail, sound problem-solving skills, and a dependable, safety-conscious approach to teamwork.
  • Ability to perform the essential physical duties of the role, including prolonged standing and lifting, pushing, or pulling objects up to 50 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
  • Ability to work in shop environments with heat, noise, dust, fumes, and other industrial hazards while following required safety precautions and using appropriate protective equipment.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO
  • 401k

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
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How this job compares in Baton Rouge, LA

Pay in context

At roughly $43/hr, this posting sits about 54% above the $28/hr median for welding jobs across Louisiana — toward the top of a $25–$35/hr middle band drawn from 29 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 Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA currently has 7 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 6 employers. 3 of them were added in the last week. Across Louisiana as a whole we're tracking 105 other active welding openings from 63 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Baton Rouge, or widen the search to Louisiana.

The most active employers in Louisiana at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Worley (6), Turner Industries (6), and GrayWolf (5). 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 MIG, TIG, and Stick 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 lead 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.
  • 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.

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 Baton Rouge, LA

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