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Job Description

Overview

Karman Industries is a fast-growing thermal technology company based in Torrance, focused on building the infrastructure for giga-scale AI. They are seeking a skilled Staff Weld Engineer to lead the manufacturing and assembly of turbomachinery for their innovative Heat Processing Unit (HPU).

Responsibilities

  • Develop, qualify, and optimize welding procedures (WPS/PQR) for GTAW, GMAW, and FCAW processes across various materials.
  • Partner with design engineers to review blueprints, joint designs, and weld symbols for optimized hardware assemblies.
  • Serve as the subject matter expert for industrial welding codes, ensuring compliance with ASME Section IX and AWS D1.1 standards.
  • Define inspection criteria and coordinate non-destructive testing methodologies to ensure zero-defect production.
  • Support and guide the weld technician team, assist with welder performance qualifications, and troubleshoot fabrication challenges.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
  • 5+ years of experience as a welding engineer in aerospace, industrial OEM, defense, or heavy equipment manufacturing.
  • Deep working knowledge and direct experience applying ASME Section IX and AWS D1.1 standards.
  • Strong understanding of metallurgy, heat-affected zones, thermal expansion, and distortion control in welded assemblies.
  • A proactive engineer who enjoys solving practical hardware challenges on the production floor.
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How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA currently run a median of $44/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $36–$67/hr across 52 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 87 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 50 different employers. 19 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 486 other active welding openings from 234 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Los Angeles, or widen the search to California.

Karman Industries 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 (35), Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (17), and Relativity Space (14). 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 Long Beach at $49/hr, El Segundo at $48/hr, and Los Angeles at $44/hr. Los Angeles is among them.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, and Flux-Core 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.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.
  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Los Angeles, CA

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