Technician - Welding

Karman Industries

Karman Industries is a Torrance-based thermal technology company building the backbone for giga-scale AI infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and GE, Karman is moving beyond legacy cooling with the launch of the HPU (Heat Processing Unit) - a new category of thermal architecture designed for the 100kW+ rack era.

The HPU shrinks the exterior mechanical yard by up to 80% while reducing peak energy consumption by 10%+. Unlike traditional systems, the Karman HPU provides zero-water (WUE 0) cooling that ensures high-TDP GPUs and HBM4 memory stay at optimal thermal setpoints without throttling.

Founded in 2024, we’re a fast-growing team of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of humanity. We design, build, and test real hardware, and we lead with ownership: you’ll own your work from concept to hardware and help shape how we scale. Our values are Ownership, Performance Excellence, Radical Transparency, and Customer-Centricity.

Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Weld Technician

We are seeking a skilled Weld Technician to join our manufacturing team. In this role, you will be responsible for a wide variety of fabrication work, ranging from heavy structural welding for large industrial equipment frames to high-precision, high-pressure pipe welding. You will work directly with our engineering team to transition new designs from prototypes into production-ready industrial hardware.

Responsibilities

• Perform a variety of high-precision welds, seamlessly transitioning between heavy structural steel fabrication and high-pressure pipe welding (ranging from structural skids to small-bore piping systems).
• Proficiently execute welds using GTAW (TIG) and GMAW/FCAW (MIG/Flux-Core) across various materials, including carbon steel, stainless steel, and specialty high-temperature alloys.
• Read and interpret complex engineering drawings, weld symbols, structural blueprints, and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) with limited initial documentation.
• Deliver flawless, X-ray/NDT-quality welds adhering to strict industrial standards, including ASME Section IX (Pressure Piping) and AWS D1.1 (Structural Welding).
• Take ownership of full weldment preparation, including cutting, grinding, beveling, aligning, and rigging large hardware components into position.
• Partner closely with manufacturing, test, and development engineers to optimize designs for manufacturability (DFM) and provide continuous feedback on prototype assemblies.
• Maintain a pristine workspace and champion a rigid safety culture, adhering to industrial standards required for building high-energy, pressurized equipment.

Required Qualification

• Minimum 5+ years of hands-on professional experience as a combination pipe and structural welder in an industrial OEM, aerospace, oil & gas, or heavy equipment manufacturing environment.
• Documented experience or active certifications under ASME Section IX (6G/5G pipe position preferred) and AWS D1.1.
• Proven track record welding both thin-wall tubing and thick structural members, with deep knowledge of thermal distortion control and joint design.
• A high-agency operator with mission-critical discipline, accountability, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, prototype-to-production hardware environment.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, maneuver around massive industrial frames, and work in various positions required for complex hardware assembly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience fabricating hardware for supercritical fluid loops, high-pressure heat exchangers, or high-temperature steam systems.
• Familiarity with non-destructive testing (NDT) methodologies, including dye penetrant, magnetic particle, or radiographic inspection prep.
• Basic rigging and overhead crane operation experience for manipulating heavy structural skids.

Karman Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Karman Industries is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Direct applicants only - we are not working with outside recruiters or agencies for this role.