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Job Description

Overview

Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company, focused on designing and building systems and hardware for lunar operations. The R&D Fabrication Technician will play a crucial role in the production and assembly of lunar rovers, ensuring precision, quality, and safety in the manufacturing process.

Responsibilities

  • Provide mechanical fabrication, assembly, and maintenance support for R&D jobs, field testing campaigns, and flight hardware campaigns.
  • Develop work instructions and documentation for build and test processes.
  • Handle component and assembly non-conformances and perform troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
  • Perform equipment and facilities preventative maintenance.
  • Champion 5S and best-in-class safety practices across all areas of the business.
  • Use precision calibrated tools such as torque wrenches, micrometers, calipers, etc.
  • Read and interpret technical drawings and other technical documentation.
  • Work with other engineering team members to develop production systems, outline detailed project plans, and execute.
  • Support on-site and off-site vehicle testing.
  • Lead critical lift operations.

Requirements

  • Experience in TIG and MiG Welding.
  • Experience in fabrication skills (fit up, jigging, layout, tube bending).
  • Experience in manual milling, turning, and grinding.
  • Experience in project planning and management from concept to delivery.
  • 5+ years of experience working in production, R&D, or test operation environments is preferred.
  • Experience working with sheet metal.
  • Experience with structural metallic fabrication, structural repair, and assembly fundamentals.
  • Experience in electromechanical assembly and troubleshooting.
  • Experience in Microsoft suite products (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).
  • Experience working autonomously and determining work priorities to optimize productivity.
  • Experience with proficiency in CAD modeling software (e.g., NX or SolidWorks).
  • Experience working in a cleanroom environment.

Benefits

  • Equity ownership in the company
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Location: Hawthorne, California

Benefits

Equity ownership in the company
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Hawthorne, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $48/hr, this posting sits about 53% above the $31/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA — toward the top of a $31–$60/hr middle band drawn from 42 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 69% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 46 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 5 different employers. 13 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 505 other active welding openings from 240 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.

Astrolab currently has 3 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 (37), Relativity Space (18), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (13). 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 El Segundo at $53/hr, Los Angeles at $51/hr, and Pasadena at $50/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and TIG 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.

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

Similar openings near Hawthorne, 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 Fabrication Technician figures were last recalculated when this page was built.