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Job Description

Overview

Kodiak is hiring experienced 3G and 4G MIG and Flux Core Structural Welders for shop work in the Houston area. This project offers steady work with a demanding schedule of 70 hours a week, 7 days a week, and requires passing a weld test before starting.

Responsibilities

  • Weld structural steel with MIG and Flux Core in the vertical (3G) and overhead (4G) positions.
  • Produce quality welds that meet project specs and pass inspection.
  • Set up and adjust your machine for the material, position, and procedure.
  • Read and work from structural drawings, weld symbols, and welding procedures (WPS).
  • Check fit-ups before welding to confirm dimensions, gap, and alignment.
  • Clean, grind, and prep joints before welding and between passes.
  • Visually inspect your own work and repair defects like porosity, undercut, and lack of fusion.
  • Work closely with fitters and foremen to keep production on schedule.
  • Follow shop safety procedures, wear the required PPE, and keep your work area clean and organized.

Requirements

  • Proven 3G and 4G structural welding experience with MIG and Flux Core.
  • Ability to pass 3G and 4G MIG and Flux Core weld tests before starting.
  • Ability to read structural drawings and weld symbols.
  • Availability to work 70 hours a week across 7 days.
  • Flexibility to work 1st or 2nd shift.
  • Your own basic welding hand tools and required PPE.
  • Must live in the Houston area (local candidates only).
  • Ability to pass a drug screen and background check, if required.

Additional Information

  • Location: Multiple shop locations in the Houston area, TX.
  • Pay: $26 to $30/hour on 1st shift | $28.60 to $33/hour on 2nd shift (DOE).
  • Shifts: 1st and 2nd shift available.
  • No per diem.
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How this job compares in Houston, TX

Pay in context

At roughly $30/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $32/hr median for welding jobs in Houston, TX, whose middle half runs $23–$41/hr across 74 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 43% 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 Houston, TX

We're tracking 321 other active welding openings in Houston, TX right now, from 179 different employers. 81 of them were added in the last week. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,132 other active welding openings from 498 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.

KODIAK Construction Recruiting & Staffing currently has 1 other opening live in Texas, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Zachry Group (33), Austin Industries (30), and Welding Shop in Austin, TX (21). 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 $40/hr, Dallas at $39/hr, and Pasadena at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG 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. Flux-cored (FCAW) runs a hollow wire filled with flux, combining MIG-like deposition rates with the outdoor tolerance of stick. It is the workhorse on heavy structural steel and shipbuilding, where thick sections and long welds reward speed.

See all structural welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • 3G / 4G — plate position tests — 3G is welded vertically, 4G overhead. Together they demonstrate you can hold a puddle against gravity, and they are the common entry qualifications for structural and production shops.

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. Structural Welder figures were last recalculated when this page was built.