Back to Jobs

Job Description

Overview

GCA is seeking a qualified Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) and/or API 570 Welding Inspector to support the GCA Ammonia Plant turnaround in Texas City. The role involves providing oversight of DOT and non-DOT welding activities during night shifts to ensure compliance with quality requirements and reduce inspection delays.

Responsibilities

  • Provide welding inspection and quality oversight during piping fabrication, installation, and repair activities.
  • Verify welds and applicable records in accordance with project requirements, including DOT requirements and API 1104 Appendix B.
  • Review WPSs, PQRs, welder performance qualifications (WPQs), and related welding documentation.
  • Interpret isometric drawings, blueprints, and welding symbols.
  • Verify pipe cleanliness before welding and support valve and pipe installation verification.
  • Coordinate inspection activities and confirm weld readiness for non-destructive examination (NDE).
  • Review third-party NDE reports and verify compliance with applicable requirements.
  • Maintain accurate inspection records and support turnover documentation reviews.
  • Follow site safety protocols and collaborate with the project team to address quality issues promptly.

Requirements

  • Current AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) certification and/or API 570 certification.
  • Experience in industrial, pipeline, refinery, chemical plant, or pressure-vessel environments.
  • Working knowledge of 49 CFR Part 195, including DOT 195.222 for liquid pipelines.
  • Knowledge of API 1104 Appendix B, ASME B31.3, and ASME BPVC Section IX.
  • Experience reviewing welding procedures, welder qualifications, and NDE documentation.
  • Ability to interpret isometric drawings, blueprints, and welding symbols.
  • Current TWIC card.
  • Ability to work in a refinery or chemical plant, climb stairs, and access elevated work areas.
  • Availability for the designated night shift.

Additional Information

  • Location: Texas City, Texas (77590)
  • Duration: Approximately 3–4 weeks, with potential for extension
  • Shift: Night shift, 5:00 p.m.–5:00 a.m.
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Houston, TX

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Houston, TX currently run a median of $32/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $23–$41/hr across 83 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 Houston, TX

We're tracking 323 other active welding openings in Houston, TX right now, from 188 different employers. 75 of them were added in the last week. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,149 other active welding openings from 515 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Houston, or widen the search to Texas.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Austin Industries (34), Zachry Group (28), and Worley (19). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Arlington at $39/hr, Dallas at $36/hr, and Pasadena at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • 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.
  • API 1104 — the American Petroleum Institute standard for welding pipelines and related facilities. It is the governing code for cross-country transmission pipeline work.
  • CWI — the AWS Certified Welding Inspector credential. It is an inspection qualification rather than a welding one, requiring documented experience plus a three-part exam, and it is the usual route off the torch into QC.

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 Houston, TX

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Freelance Welding auditor Texas City TX / Part Time 1099 TXTEOC figures were last recalculated when this page was built.