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Job Description

Overview

Antares is focused on making clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt through advanced nuclear energy solutions. The R&D Technician II-III will play a crucial role in prototyping, machining, assembly, testing, and fabrication operations in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Responsibilities

  • Work closely with engineering to fabricate prototypes and operate test systems while ensuring adherence to specifications and safety protocols.
  • Collaborate with engineering to improve designs through rapid iteration.
  • Participate in design reviews, providing input on manufacturability and design improvements.
  • Spec, source, and commission equipment autonomously, coordinating resources and reporting project status.
  • Build, lead, and mentor a team of technicians, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
  • Develop and document best practices for machining, fabrication, assembly, and quality inspection.
  • Identify and resolve technical challenges, implementing corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Support critical system testing and validation efforts, which may require off-site travel.
  • Train and upskill technicians on new processes and industry best practices.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • 5+ years in a high-performance manufacturing or R&D environment with experience in fabrication, machining, welding, and test processes.
  • Understanding of aerospace-grade production/quality standards.
  • Experience interpreting engineering drawings and technical specifications.

Additional Information

  • Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary.
  • Job may require frequently lifting up to 50 lbs.
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How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $41/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $44/hr median for welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA, whose middle half runs $36–$67/hr across 51 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 45% 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 Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 87 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 50 different employers. 18 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.

Antares currently has 4 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.

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. R&D Technician II-III figures were last recalculated when this page was built.