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Job Description

Overview

Sims Metal is a global leader in metal recycling, seeking an experienced Heavy Equipment Mechanic/Welder to join their maintenance team at a scrap metal recycling facility in Queens, NY. The role involves diagnosing, repairing, and maintaining heavy industrial equipment while ensuring safety and efficiency in operations.

Responsibilities

  • Diagnose, troubleshoot, repair, and maintain heavy equipment, including excavators, material handlers, front-end loaders, and forklifts.
  • Perform preventive maintenance and emergency repairs to minimize equipment downtime.
  • Perform welding, cutting, and metal fabrication using MIG, stick, and other applicable welding techniques.
  • Repair and fabricate equipment attachments, buckets, guards, and structural components.
  • Troubleshoot and repair hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems.
  • Replace and repair hydraulic hoses, cylinders, pumps, bearings, and other mechanical components.
  • Read and interpret equipment manuals, technical drawings, and schematics.
  • Follow company safety procedures, including lockout/tagout requirements.
  • Work closely with equipment operators and maintenance personnel to maintain safe and efficient operations.

Requirements

  • 3+ years of experience as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Industrial Mechanic, Diesel Mechanic, or similar role preferred.
  • Hands-on welding and metal fabrication experience required.
  • Experience repairing heavy equipment in scrap recycling, construction, demolition, or industrial environments preferred.
  • Strong understanding of hydraulic systems and mechanical troubleshooting.
  • MIG and stick welding experience preferred.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
  • Comfortable working outdoors in varying weather conditions and around heavy machinery.

Benefits

  • Union benefits in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
  • Stable employment with an established metal recycling company.
  • Opportunities to develop mechanical, welding, and fabrication skills.

Benefits

Union benefits in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Stable employment with an established metal recycling company.
Opportunities to develop mechanical, welding, and fabrication skills.
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How this job compares in New York, NY

Pay in context

At roughly $29/hr, this posting comes in about 29% below the $41/hr median for welding jobs in New York, NY, where the middle half runs $34–$53/hr across 27 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 15% 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 New York, NY

We're tracking 39 other active welding openings in New York, NY right now, from 33 different employers. 13 of them were added in the last week. Across New York as a whole we're tracking 152 other active welding openings from 105 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in New York, or widen the search to New York.

The most active employers in New York at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Welding Shop in New York, NY (22), GTI Fabrication (3), and Veterans Health Administration (3). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within New York, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are New York at $41/hr, Brooklyn at $33/hr, and Bronx at $30/hr. New York is among them.

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 New York, NY

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