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Job Description

Overview

Ottenweller Company is a fourth-generation, family-owned metal fabrication company seeking an Expert Level Welder for the 2nd shift in Fort Wayne, IN. The position offers competitive pay and opportunities for growth in a safe and quality-focused environment.

Responsibilities

  • Perform advanced welding using FCAW, GMAW (MIG), SMAW (Stick), and GTAW (TIG) processes.
  • Weld carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum components to applicable weld procedures and specifications.
  • Complete structural and non-structural welds in flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead positions.
  • Perform multi-pass welds on heavy plate and thick-wall material.
  • Set up, adjust, and operate welding equipment for optimal performance.
  • Fabricate components from drawings, work instructions, and customer specifications.
  • Perform layout, measuring, cutting, grinding, fitting, and assembly operations.
  • Read and interpret complex blueprints, weld symbols, fabrication drawings, and engineering specifications.
  • Verify dimensions and tolerances using measuring and inspection tools.
  • Identify discrepancies in drawings and communicate issues to supervisors or engineering personnel.
  • Assist in determining fabrication methods and sequence of operations.
  • Inspect completed welds for quality, appearance, and compliance with standards.
  • Perform visual inspections and prepare parts for non-destructive testing when required.
  • Maintain weld quality in accordance with AWS D1.1, AISC, ASME, or customer-specific requirements.
  • Correct weld defects and perform repairs as necessary.
  • Ensure all work meets production and quality objectives.
  • Follow all company safety policies and OSHA requirements.
  • Properly utilize required PPE and safety equipment.
  • Participate in Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Maintain a clean and organized work area.
  • Report safety concerns, equipment problems, and quality issues promptly.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or GED.
  • 5+ years of welding and fabrication experience in a manufacturing or structural steel environment.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in FCAW and GMAW welding processes.
  • Ability to pass company welding certification tests.
  • Ability to read and interpret blueprints and weld symbols.
  • Strong knowledge of welding metallurgy and distortion control techniques.
  • Experience operating overhead cranes and fabrication equipment.
  • Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and work in a physically demanding environment.
  • AWS Certified Welder Certification.
  • AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Certification.
  • Completion of vocational welding training or apprenticeship program.

Benefits

  • 401k
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Life Insurance
  • PTO
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Referral Program

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Life Insurance
PTO
Employee Assistance Program
Referral Program
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Fort Wayne, IN

Pay in context

At roughly $32/hr, this posting sits about 10% above the $29/hr median for welding jobs across Indiana — toward the top of a $27–$42/hr middle band drawn from 11 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 64% 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 Fort Wayne, IN

Fort Wayne, IN is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Indiana as a whole we're tracking 55 other active welding openings from 35 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Indiana.

The most active employers in Indiana at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are TEAM, Inc. (7), Core & Main (3), and Contract Industrial Tooling (C-I-T) (3). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, Stick, 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. 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.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.
  • 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.

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 Fort Wayne, IN

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Expert Level Welder - 2nd Shift (Fort Wayne, IN) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.