Job Description

Overview

Astec is a global, environmentally focused infrastructure and manufacturing company that designs and builds innovative products for asphalt road building and aggregate processing. The Welder position involves welding metal components to fabricate and repair heavy mechanical products under the supervision of the Production Manager.

Responsibilities

  • Adhere to all safety rules and perform work at a quality level.
  • Read and understand assigned blueprints prior to starting a project.
  • Participate in process and product development and improvement programs.
  • Accurately inspect metal prior to welding to ensure clean welds.
  • Perform grinding operations that comply with Astec’s standards.
  • Perform grinding and pass a required welding skills test.
  • Safely perform gang-welding techniques.
  • Safely weld vertical, flat, and overhead with both MiG and stick.
  • Inspect metal prior to welding for smoothness and acceptability.
  • Work with Fitters on proper assembly of equipment.
  • Keep work area clean and neat.
  • Clock in on assigned jobs as appropriate.
  • Ensure welding machine settings are appropriate for work.
  • Safely use cranes and forklifts.
  • Know PPE requirements for welding including hood and filter shades.
  • Read and understand weld symbols.
  • Maintain welding machines by keeping them clean and changing liners.
  • Follow company policies and procedures at all times.
  • Follow proper safety rules and procedures at all times.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • High School Diploma or GED required.
  • 0-5 years of Welding experience required.
  • Heavy equipment manufacturing experience preferred.
  • Computer experience desired, particularly the ability to use a mouse and locate and open/close programs/files.
  • Knowledge and ability to perform all Grinder tasks required.
  • Ability to properly and safely MiG weld, stick weld, and arc gouging required.
  • Ability to read and understand weld symbols required.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • This position will support the Tazewell, VA location, also known as Norris Screen Manufacturing.
  • Manufacturing environment with exposure to moving mechanical parts, machinery, tools, and equipment.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
PTO

How this job compares in Tazewell, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $22/hr, this posting comes in about 31% below the $32/hr median for welding jobs across Virginia, where the middle half runs $26–$41/hr across 78 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 8% 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 Tazewell, VA

This is the only active welding job we're currently tracking in Tazewell, VA, which makes it worth moving on quickly — there is no local competing offer to weigh it against. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 140 other active welding openings from 71 employers. Browse welding jobs across Virginia.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. (17), Atlantic Constructors, Inc. (11), and Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII (8). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $41/hr, Norfolk at $32/hr, and Chesapeake at $27/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and Stick 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. Stick (SMAW) burns a flux-coated consumable rod and needs no shielding gas, so it works in wind, rain, and on dirty or rusted steel. That tolerance for bad conditions keeps it the default for field, structural, and repair work.

Similar openings near Tazewell, VA

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