Fabrication Shop Foreman / Lead Fabricator
Location
Independence, MO
Wage
$25 – $30/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Required Skills & Certifications
Posted on November 3, 2026
Location
Independence, MO
Wage
$25 – $30/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on November 3, 2026
MRW Fabrication is a locally owned custom fabrication shop in Independence, Missouri, serving the Kansas City area for over 10 years. We specialize in custom metal fabrication, welding, laser cutting, metal bending, commercial projects, architectural metalwork, and specialty fabrication.
At roughly $28/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $26/hr median for welding jobs across Missouri, whose middle half runs $22–$30/hr across 54 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 63% 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.
Independence, MO is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Missouri as a whole we're tracking 93 other active welding openings from 65 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Missouri.
The most active employers in Missouri at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Leonardo DRS (5), Aerotek (4), and Veterans Health Administration (4). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
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.
See all lead welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Fabrication Shop Foreman / Lead Fabricator figures were last recalculated when this page was built.