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Job Description

Overview

Tempel Steel is seeking a Core Assembly Machine Operator for the 2nd shift, offering a starting pay of $22.00 per hour along with comprehensive benefits from Day 1. The role involves hands-on manufacturing in a collaborative environment, focusing on quality work and career growth.

Responsibilities

  • Follow written and verbal work instructions while maintaining quality and safety standards.
  • Build stacks of steel laminations by interpreting blueprints and technical drawings.
  • Operate robotic weld cells, rivet insertion machines, angle grinders, and material handling equipment to assemble core products.
  • Measure components and finished products using precision measuring instruments to ensure compliance with quality specifications.
  • Complete machine changeovers using hand tools and perform routine equipment maintenance.
  • Troubleshoot machinery, tooling, measuring equipment, and production issues to minimize downtime.
  • Visually inspect parts and finished products, identifying and reporting defects.
  • Cross-train and assist in other production areas as business needs require.
  • Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work environment.
  • Follow all safety procedures, including proper lockout/tagout practices and required personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • Operate single-hit presses, roll coating equipment, and perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or GED.
  • Manufacturing or machine operating experience preferred.
  • Ability to read blueprints or technical drawings preferred.
  • Experience with Lean Manufacturing, 6S, or Six Sigma is a plus.
  • Strong mechanical aptitude and attention to detail.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
  • Ability to lift up to 40 pounds.
  • Ability to stand for 8 to 10 hours during a shift.
  • Ability to pass a background check.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • This position is based in a manufacturing facility.
  • The role requires standing for extended periods and lifting materials up to 40 pounds.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
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How this job compares in Chicago, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $22/hr, this posting comes in about 42% below the $38/hr median for welding jobs in Chicago, IL, where the middle half runs $30–$50/hr across 65 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 3% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

The local market in Chicago, IL

We're tracking 95 other active welding openings in Chicago, IL right now, from 54 different employers. 34 of them were added in the last week. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 342 other active welding openings from 206 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Chicago, or widen the search to Illinois.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (16), S&C Electric Company (10), 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, Downers Grove at $36/hr, and Elk Grove Village at $34/hr. Chicago is among them.

Similar openings near Chicago, IL

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Core Assembly Machine Operator-2nd shift figures were last recalculated when this page was built.