Weld Lead – $35-$38 per hour – Waukesha
$35-$38 per hour | First shift | Full-time | Waukesha, WI
A growing metal job shop in Waukesha needs a hands-on Weld Lead who can weld, inspect, schedule the day’s work, and keep a crew moving without the ego. This is not a clipboard job and it is not a lone-wolf welder seat. You will run MIG and TIG on production, check first pieces, and hand a clean job off to second shift.
The work changes. Prints change. Priorities change. The shop wants someone patient, clear, and humble enough to lead welders who already know what they are doing. Robotic or cobot welding experience is a plus. They want to grow that capability and will train the right person.
What You Will Do
- Lead and schedule welding jobs on first shift and own the details that keep work on time and to print.
- Weld production work yourself — MIG and TIG — not just assign it.
- Complete first-piece inspections before a job runs.
- Read blueprints and weld symbols and adjust when the job-shop queue changes mid-day.
- Communicate every day with the second-shift weld lead so jobs hand off clean.
- Guide experienced welders without turning the floor into a contest.
- Support robotic or cobot welding and help the shop build more of that capability.
What You Bring
- Production MIG and TIG welding experience in a fabrication or job-shop setting.
- Able to read blueprints and weld symbols and inspect your own first piece.
- Lead, coordinator, or senior-welder experience — you have directed work, not only run your own booth.
- Humble, patient, and easy to talk to. Big egos and know-it-alls will not fit this floor.
- Comfortable with changing priorities and mixed job-shop work instead of one part all day.
- Robotic, cobot, or automated welding experience is a strong plus. It is not required.
- Stable recent work history. Able to work first shift with voluntary overtime when the shop needs to catch up.
Why You Will Like It
- Pay of $35 to $38 per hour based on skill.
- First shift with a standard 40-hour week and voluntary overtime when jobs stack up.
- You stay on the torch and still have a real say in how the shift runs.
- True job-shop variety — medical and heavy industrial weldments, not the same coupon all week.
- A humble, safety-focused team that wants a lead who lifts people up instead of talking down to them.
- Room to grow robotic welding skill on a floor that wants more of it.
Pay, Shift, and Location
Pay: $35 to $38 per hour.
Shift: First shift. Standard 40 hours with voluntary overtime.
Location: Waukesha, Wisconsin. Easy commute from Pewaukee, Brookfield, New Berlin, Muskego, Mukwonago, Sussex, Hartland, Delafield, Wales, West Allis, and Menomonee Falls.
Ready to Step In
If you weld MIG and TIG, read a print, check the first piece, and can lead without the attitude, apply on Indeed. Operators who only run what they are handed, and leads who manage from a desk, are not a match for this role.