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Job Description

Overview

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company focused on building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems. They are seeking a Senior Weld Engineer to lead the development and improvement of welding processes for the Archimedes Engine at their Engine Development Center in Long Beach, CA.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and implement procedures and process improvements for all welding activities used in the production of the Archimedes Engine.
  • Author welding process specifications and PQR’s for each welding process on the Archimedes Engine.
  • Define welding acceptance criteria in accordance with AWS D17.1 and other relevant NASA standards.
  • Improve welding processes by conducting root cause analyses on weld related nonconformances.
  • Provide expert guidance on weld repair rework, repair, and dispositioning.
  • Support production operations on full scale welded assemblies, providing direction to manufacturing engineers and welders.
  • Work closely with design, tooling, and manufacturing engineers to improve welded designs for manufacturing.
  • Develop and execute welding qualification test campaigns and interpret mechanical testing and NDE results.
  • General support of M&P related projects.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Welding, Mechanical Engineering or a relevant STEM field.
  • 5+ years of experience in weld engineering working with TIG, Laser, MIG, or EBEAM for aerospace applications.
  • Hands-on fabrication, manufacturing, or testing experience of welded assemblies.
  • Working experience with Laser Welding, GTAW, GMAW, and Orbital GTAW welding processes with a variety of materials.
  • Working knowledge of carbon / stainless-steel / Nickel based metallurgy.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Location: Long Beach, CA
  • Total Compensation (base and equity): $156,275 USD - $171,675 USD
  • Base Salary: $108,800 USD - $149,000 USD

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Long Beach, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $62/hr, this posting sits about 44% above the $43/hr median for welding jobs in Long Beach, CA — toward the top of a $30–$54/hr middle band drawn from 26 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 81% 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 Long Beach, CA

We're tracking 35 other active welding openings in Long Beach, CA right now, from 17 different employers. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 417 other active welding openings from 205 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Long Beach, or widen the search to California.

Rocket Lab currently has 2 other openings 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 (27), Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (16), and Honeywell Aerospace (15). 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 Santa Ana at $48/hr, Long Beach at $43/hr, and Los Angeles at $42/hr. Long Beach is among them.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and TIG 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.

Similar openings near Long Beach, CA

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