Free Welder Job Description Templates
Free welder job description templates: general (with an OSHA safety section), MIG, TIG, pipe, structural, and fabricator-welder combo. Download as DOCX.
Welder Job Description Templates
6 free templates by welding type. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
Good welders are hard to find and easy to lose. My advice to anyone hiring one: treat the job posting as your first screen, because it decides who shows up for the weld test. The six templates below cover the real versions of this role: general, MIG production, TIG precision, pipe, structural, and the small shop fabricator-welder combo.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 437,700 jobs for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers in 2025 and projects roughly 40,300 openings a year through 2035, most of them replacing workers who retire or move on. That means a small fabrication shop, contractor, or manufacturer is competing for the same experienced hands as everyone else.
In that market, the job posting does real work: it names the processes and materials honestly, states the pay and shift up front, and tells a skilled welder this is a shop worth testing at. Each template is ready to use, with weld test language built in, and the general template carries a full safety section.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, where the owner or the shop foreman writes the posting between jobs. Fill in the bracketed fields, name your processes, and post.
What Does a Welder Do?
A welder uses hand-held or remotely controlled equipment to join, repair, or cut metal parts and products. Day to day, that means reading blueprints and weld symbols, setting up the right process for the material, fitting parts and making final welds to spec, then finishing and inspecting the result. All of it happens around the heat, sparks, fumes, and intense arc light that put welders at risk of injury on the job.
A welder job description turns that general trade into your specific opening: which processes, which materials, shop or field, what code requirements, what pay. According to the SHRM job description guide, a job description outlines the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a position.
For the trades, write the description in plain language: welders skim postings the way owners skim resumes, and the ad that names the work, the rate, and the test gets the callbacks.
Welder Duties and Responsibilities
Welder duties center on setting up and operating welding equipment, reading blueprints and weld symbols, performing fit-up and final welds to specification, finishing and inspecting welds, and following safety procedures around fire, fumes, and compressed gas. The exact mix depends on the setting, but the categories hold across shops. Here are the core responsibilities, sorted into four groups.
A good posting picks 6 to 10 specific duties from these categories and names the real work: weld production parts using jigs to spec, pass ultrasonic (UT) inspection on structural welds, or weld pipe in all positions to qualified procedures. In a small shop, expect the list to extend into fabrication, finishing, and shop upkeep.
MIG vs TIG vs Pipe vs Structural: Which Welder Are You Hiring?
Welder is one title covering several distinct skill sets, and the posting needs to name which one you need, because the weld test, the pay, and the candidate pool differ for each. This table maps the common types to the work and uses the industry abbreviations: GMAW is MIG, GTAW is TIG, FCAW is flux-core, and SMAW is stick.
| Type | Process focus | Typical setting | Key qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| General welder | Multi-process: MIG, stick, some TIG | Small shops, repair, general fabrication | Weld test on your equipment |
| MIG welder | GMAW, wire-feed at production pace | Manufacturing, production shops | Consistency and throughput |
| TIG welder | GTAW, precision on thin gauge | Aerospace, automotive, sanitary, custom | Cosmetic quality, tight tolerances |
| Pipe welder | All-position pipe to code | Oil and gas, mechanical, plumbing | ASME Section IX procedures, 6G test |
| Structural welder | FCAW and SMAW on steel | Construction, steel fabrication | AWS D1.1 qualification |
| Fabricator-welder | Print to finished piece, all of it | Small custom shops | Range plus self-direction |
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template that matches the work and the setting. The core structure is the same across all six, but each one carries the processes, certifications, and language that fit a specific kind of welding. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Welder Job Description Templates
Download all six as separate Word files in one ZIP, or copy individual templates. Each one follows the same core structure: job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, and how to apply, with the weld test announced in the application instructions. The general template adds a company overview and a work environment and safety section you can copy into the others. Fill in the brackets before you post.
Template 1: General Welder
The universal baseline for a small shop hiring a multi-process welder: blueprints, fit-up, MIG/TIG/stick, self-inspection, and the safety section built in.
Template 2: MIG Welder (GMAW)
For production and manufacturing: wire and gas selection, jigs and fixtures, daily targets, and consistent quality at pace, with shift and differential fields.
Template 3: TIG Welder (GTAW)
For precision work on stainless, aluminum, and thin gauge: tungsten prep, purge setups, cosmetic standards, and tolerances that pass inspection the first time.
Template 4: Pipe Welder
For code piping work: ASME Section IX procedures, all-position welding, x-ray and hydrostatic testing, confined spaces, and per diem fields for field jobs.
Template 5: Structural / Fabrication Welder
For construction and steel fabrication: AWS D1.1 requirements, full-penetration and fillet welds, heights with fall protection, and UT inspection standards.
Template 6: Fabricator-Welder Combo (Small Shop)
The do-it-all role for small custom shops: print reading, cutting and prep, fitting, welding, finishing, and helping load the truck.
Skills and Certifications to Require
For welding roles, the weld test is the real qualification, and the posting should treat formal credentials accordingly: require what the code genuinely demands, prefer the rest, and let the test decide. What separates a strong qualifications section from a weak one is naming the actual processes, materials, and standards.
| Weak requirement | Strong requirement |
|---|---|
| Welding experience | 3+ years of MIG welding on carbon steel; weld test on our equipment required |
| Certifications a plus | AWS D1.1 qualification required for structural welds (or pass our qualification test) |
| Able to read drawings | Read prints, weld symbols, and tolerances; build from the print without hand-holding |
| Physically fit | Lift up to 50 lbs and work standing, bending, or overhead for full shifts |
| Safety conscious | Follow OSHA hot work, PPE, and cylinder handling procedures; violations end the trial period |
Keep the language neutral and tied to the actual demands of the work, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. Physical requirements and certification demands are legitimate when they reflect what the job genuinely requires, and in welding they almost always do, so state them plainly.
Safety and OSHA Requirements for Welding Jobs
Welding carries a hazard profile that the job description should acknowledge rather than hide: heat, sparks, fumes, intense arc light, compressed gas, and on field jobs, confined spaces and heights. Federal rules from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) govern those hazards directly.
The OSHA welding, cutting, and brazing standard (29 CFR 1910.252) sets the general requirements for fire prevention, protection of personnel, and ventilation. It is the baseline every shop, however small, is expected to meet.
For the posting, this translates into three practical moves. First, include a work environment and safety section that names the conditions and the personal protective equipment (PPE) you provide: helmet, gloves, protective clothing, and hearing protection. Second, make safety compliance an explicit expectation of the job rather than fine print. Third, if the role involves a forklift, confined spaces, or heights, name the associated training and certifications.
Professional welders read a clear safety section as the mark of a shop that will not get them hurt, and the careless candidates you want to avoid read it as a reason not to apply. The general template carries this section already, ready to copy into the others.
How to Write a Welder Job Description
A strong welder job description takes about 15 minutes once you know the processes and the rate. Here is the process the templates are built around.
Welder Salary
Set your hourly range using government data as a baseline, then adjust for process, certification, and conditions. Welding pay also varies by setting: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), the median was $59,440 for welders at specialty trade contractors and $51,210 in manufacturing. The posting should say what moves a candidate toward the top of your range.
The replacement-driven openings are the story for a small employer: tens of thousands of welders leave the occupation every year, and the shops that win their replacements are the ones whose postings state the rate, the shift, and the certification path plainly.
If you pay more for pipe, code, or precision TIG work, say so. On field jobs, shift differentials and per diem matter, and a paid path to AWS certification is a recruiting tool that costs less than the turnover it prevents. Publish the range: pay transparency laws increasingly require it, and welders skip postings without one.
Hiring a Welder for a Small Shop
Many job board templates describe welders at large operations: one process, one station, a safety department down the hall. A small fabrication shop or contractor runs differently, and the posting that works describes that difference honestly. Here is how.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate passes the weld test and accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer letter and a safety-first onboarding plan. A welder's first week should cover the shop walkthrough, PPE and equipment issue, your hot work and cylinder handling procedures, quality and inspection expectations, and any qualification testing the role requires.
A structured first week matters because good onboarding is rare. According to Gallup (2018), only 12% of employees strongly agree that their organization does a great job onboarding new employees, and in the trades a disorganized first week reads as an unprofessional shop and drives early quits.
If your shop runs production, the manufacturing onboarding guide covers the safety-first sequence in detail. With FirstHR, the offer letter is e-signed, each signed document is kept on the employee profile, and the onboarding workflow runs in the same system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a welder do?
A welder joins, repairs, or cuts metal parts and products, working with hand-held or remotely controlled equipment. On a normal shift, that person reads the blueprint and its weld symbols, sets up MIG, TIG, or stick equipment, fits the parts, lays welds that meet the specification, grinds and finishes them, and checks the result before it moves on. Safety runs through all of it, because the job means working near heat, sparks, fumes, and arc light. What the work looks like depends on where it is done. Production shops run high-volume MIG work, precision shops weld cosmetic TIG joints, and contractors weld pipe and structural steel to code. In a small fabrication shop, one person usually takes a piece from raw material all the way to the finished product.
What should a welder job description include?
A strong welder job description includes a job summary naming the type of work, 6 to 10 specific responsibilities, the welding processes required (MIG, TIG, stick, flux-core), the materials involved, physical requirements stated plainly, a work environment and safety section, certifications required or supported, an hourly pay range, the shift, and application instructions that mention the weld test. The safety section matters more than for most roles: welding involves heat, fumes, confined spaces, and heights, and stating your PPE and OSHA expectations up front both protects you and signals a professional shop. Every template here includes the processes, duties, qualifications, pay range, and weld test, and the general template adds the full safety section.
Do welders need to be certified?
It depends on the work. General fabrication and production welding often require no formal certification; a weld test on your equipment is the real qualification. Code work changes that: structural steel typically requires AWS D1.1 qualification, pressure piping requires welders qualified to ASME Section IX procedures, and specific industries add their own requirements. Certifications are also process- and position-specific, so a certified pipe welder still tests to your procedures. The practical approach for a posting: state which certifications the work genuinely requires, list AWS certification as preferred for general roles, and mention if you support certification, since a paid path to certs attracts ambitious welders. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also notes that some states and localities license welders, so check local requirements before you post.
What is the difference between MIG and TIG welding for hiring?
MIG (GMAW) is the faster, more forgiving wire-feed process used for production and general fabrication; it requires less operator skill than TIG or stick, and a production shop hires MIG welders for consistency at pace. TIG (GTAW) is the slower, precision process for thin material, stainless, and aluminum where appearance and tight tolerances matter; the welder feeds the filler rod by hand while controlling the torch, so TIG welders are hired for patience, steady hands, and first-time inspection passes. Many welders run both, but proficiency differs, which is why the posting should name the primary process and the weld test should match it. Use the MIG template for production roles and the TIG template for precision work.
What is the average welder salary?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers at $53,750 a year in May 2025, which works out to $25.84 an hour. Pay spreads widely around that midpoint: the lowest-paid tenth earned under $39,240 and the best-paid tenth over $77,530. The employer matters too. In May 2025 the median reached $59,440 among specialty trade contractors but stood at $51,210 in manufacturing, and BLS adds that experience, skill level, and company size all shift pay. BLS also projects about 40,300 job openings each year through 2035, so experienced welders can choose where they work. Post an honest hourly range, and spell out what earns the higher end, such as code certification or precision TIG work.
What safety requirements apply to welding jobs?
Welding is governed by OSHA's welding, cutting, and brazing standards, which cover fire prevention, ventilation, protective equipment, and the handling of compressed gas cylinders. Employers must provide and require PPE including welding helmets, gloves, protective clothing, and hearing protection where needed, manage fumes through ventilation, and control fire hazards in and around welding areas. Field work adds confined space and fall protection requirements. For the job description, state the work environment honestly, name the PPE you provide, and note that safety compliance is a condition of the job. A clear safety section attracts professional welders and deters the careless ones.
How do I write a welder job description for a small fabrication shop?
Write it for the job as it really runs in your shop, not for a narrow production role. In a small fabrication shop, the welder usually carries a job from print to finished piece: cutting and prepping stock, fitting, welding, finishing, and now and then helping with a delivery. The fabricator-welder combo template is built for that, and the posting should say openly that the person will wear many hats. Name the processes and materials you run, the physical demands, the shift, and a real hourly range. Put the weld test in the ad itself, since it is the real screen and skilled welders respect it. Go light on credentials: for most small shop work, the test and the work history count for more than certifications.
What happens after I hire a welder?
After the offer is accepted, the job description keeps working: it feeds the offer letter and shapes an onboarding plan that puts safety first. Use the first week to walk the new welder through the shop, issue equipment and PPE, and teach your own safety rules, especially for hot work and gas cylinders. In that same week, set quality standards and inspection expectations, and schedule any certification testing the job calls for. Gallup research connects the onboarding experience with retention, and in the skilled trades a chaotic first week makes the shop look unprofessional and pushes new hires to quit early. FirstHR keeps the e-signed offer letter, the employee file, and the onboarding workflow in one place, so a small shop can take a welder from accepted offer to productive without an HR department.