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Job Description

Overview

We're partnering with a well-established, industry-leading manufacturer seeking an experienced Industrial Welder / Setup Operator to join its second-shift team. This is an excellent opportunity for welders who enjoy challenging setups, complex industrial components, precision fabrication, and taking ownership of their work.

Responsibilities

  • Set up and operate manual, semi-automatic, and automatic welding equipment.
  • Perform arc and gas welding on complex industrial components and assemblies.
  • Read and interpret blueprints, engineering drawings, welding symbols, and welding procedure specifications (WPS).
  • Independently plan, lay out, fit, tack, and weld components.
  • Select filler metals and adjust welding parameters to control distortion and shrinkage.
  • Set up fixtures, jigs, positioning equipment, and workholding devices.
  • Perform cutting, grinding, trimming, and finishing operations.
  • Maintain tight dimensional tolerances and meet established welding quality standards.
  • Inspect completed welds and identify potential defects.
  • Troubleshoot welding setups, equipment, and fabrication challenges.
  • Work with ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
  • Understand welding procedures, filler metals, and distortion control.
  • Use precision measuring instruments, including calipers and micrometers.
  • Demonstrate strong mechanical aptitude and troubleshooting ability.
  • Work independently with minimal supervision.

Requirements

  • Previous hands-on industrial welding experience.
  • Strong experience with welding setups, fit-up, and fabrication.
  • Ability to independently read blueprints and welding specifications.
  • High school diploma or GED required; technical welding training preferred.

Benefits

  • 401k
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Starting Pay: $30–$38/hr (estimated based on tenure and experience)
  • Shift: Monday–Friday, 3:00 PM–11:30 PM
  • Training: Initial training completed on 1st shift
  • Overtime: Opportunities may be available
  • Competitive union wages and job stability
  • Opportunities for overtime
  • Long-term advancement and skill development
  • Stable, established manufacturing environment

Benefits

401k
PTO
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How this job compares in Rockford, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $34/hr, this posting sits about 10% above the $31/hr median for welding jobs across Illinois — toward the top of a $26–$41/hr middle band drawn from 184 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 61% 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 Rockford, IL

Rockford, IL is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 242 other active welding openings from 146 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.

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

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (12), S&C Electric Company (9), and Crash Champions (9). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $38/hr, Elk Grove Village at $34/hr, and Bedford Park at $30/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for TIG. 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 Rockford, IL

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