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Job Description

Overview

Central Moloney is seeking a hands-on Production Team Lead for their Welding & Metal Fabrication team in Panama City, FL. This role focuses on leadership and team motivation rather than requiring extensive welding experience.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and coordinate daily welding and metal fabrication operations to meet production schedules and customer requirements.
  • Monitor weld quality and fabrication output to ensure compliance with CMI standards, blueprints, and specifications.
  • Train and onboard new welders and fabricators, sharing best practices and reinforcing proper technique.
  • Conduct on-the-floor coaching and provide performance feedback to team members in real time.
  • Identify and communicate production bottlenecks, equipment issues, or quality concerns to the Production Supervisor promptly.
  • Enforce all safety protocols specific to welding and metal fabrication, including PPE compliance and hazard awareness.
  • Maintain accurate production records, including output tracking, scrap logs, and shift reports.
  • Collaborate with the Production Supervisor to support workflow planning and staffing adjustments.
  • Motivate team members to meet daily targets while fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
  • Assume additional duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • High School Diploma or GED equivalent; vocational training or welding certification (AWS or equivalent) a plus.
  • 2 years of experience in welding and/or metal fabrication in a manufacturing environment, preferred.
  • Demonstrated ability to read and interpret blueprints, weld symbols, and fabrication drawings.
  • Prior experience in a lead, mentor, or supervisory capacity preferred.
  • Knowledge of welding processes (MIG, TIG, Stick, or similar) and fabrication techniques.
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to give clear direction on a fast-paced production floor.
  • Analytical mindset with a focus on quality, efficiency, and problem-solving.
  • Commitment to safety, dependability, and punctuality.
  • Basic math and computer skills for recordkeeping and reporting.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • This position currently requires mandatory overtime, including Friday and Saturday shifts.
  • Work location is Panama City, FL, near the airport.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
PTO
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How this job compares in Panama City Beach, FL

Pay in context

At roughly $26/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $28/hr median for welding jobs across Florida, whose middle half runs $24–$32/hr across 133 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 40% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Panama City Beach, FL

Panama City Beach, FL is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Florida as a whole we're tracking 279 other active welding openings from 147 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Florida.

Central Moloney currently has 2 other openings live in Florida, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Florida at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Welding Shop in Miami, FL (23), BAE Systems (11), and Welding Shop in Tampa, FL (10). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Florida, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Miami at $35/hr, Jacksonville at $32/hr, and Tampa at $29/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 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.

Similar openings near Panama City Beach, FL

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