Weld & Fabrication Supervisor

Whelan Machine; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Great benefits

Quarterly incentive pay

Growth-oriented workplace

DoD defense-focused environment

New 70,000 sq ft facility

Job summary

Whelan Machine is hiring a Weld & Fabrication Supervisor in Louisville, KY. This hands-on leadership role oversees the welding department, actively welds and mentors a team, and drives modernization including robotics and AI-assisted welding.

You will review drawings, ensure ITAR/CUI compliance, and contribute to front-end quoting and process improvements. The role emphasizes safety, quality, and efficiency on the shop floor, with opportunities to advance manufacturing methods and automation

Qualifications

• Highly skilled, hands-on welder with significant aluminum welding experience.
• Willing and able to personally weld and fabricate as a core responsibility.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop welding personnel.
• Strong understanding of drawings, weld symbols, joint design, fixtures, tolerances, and processes.
• Strong troubleshooting capabilities for weld quality, distortion, fit-up, tooling, and production issues.
• Preferred: defense, aerospace, or similarly controlled manufacturing experience.
• Preferred: ITAR/CUI familiarity with defense manufacturing requirements.
• Preferred: experience supporting quoting, estimating, engineering, or NPI.

Responsibilities

• Hands-On Welding & Department Leadership, welding and fabrication on the floor.
• Lead from the floor, support production priorities and schedule.
• Perform complex aluminum welding and act as technical resource.
• Lead daily activities with safety, quality, schedule, and workmanship in mind.
• Train, mentor, and develop welding personnel with clear expectations.
• Coordinate manpower, equipment, and priorities based on capacity.
• Troubleshoot welding issues at the point of manufacture.
• Drive throughput, first-pass quality, and reduce scrap.

Skills

Aluminum welding

Hands-on welding

Team leadership

Welding drawings

Troubleshooting

Estimating/quoting

ITAR/CUI familiarity

Robotics/automation interest

Job description

Attention! Now Hiring … Looking forward to your next big opportunity?

Attention! Now Hiring … Looking forward to your next big opportunity? Whelan Machine is growing, and we want YOU to join our team! We’re proud to be part of the Department of Defense (DoD) and offer you a chance to work in an exciting, fast-paced industry. Supporting the mission with world-class precision is at the heart of what we do. Whelan Machine is a mission-critical supplier of high-precision machining for the U.S defense industrial base. We offer quarterly incentive pay and the opportunity to work in our new and improved 70,000-square foot facility!

• Competitive pay
• Great benefits
• Quarterly incentive pays
• A workplace that values YOUR skill and growth
• Be part of the DoD and helping make a difference
• Supporting the mission with world-class precision
• Brand-new 70,000 sq. ft. facility

Our mission is to build a world-class team of skilled professionals, and we want YOU to be a part of it. If you're in Louisville or nearby,

Position Summary

The Weld & Fabrication Supervisor is a hands‑on working leadership position responsible for spearheading the daily execution, technical development, and future advancement of Whelan's welding and fabrication department. This individual will actively weld and fabricate alongside the team while also providing department leadership, technical guidance, employee development, production coordination, and process improvement. This is not a desk‑based supervisory position. The successful candidate must be an accomplished welder who is comfortable spending a significant portion of their time directly supporting production and completing complex welding work. Whelan's welding operations include a significant amount of aluminum welding and complex defense‑related assemblies, requiring strong technical ability, attention to detail, documentation discipline, and quality workmanship. Beyond daily production, this individual will help advance Whelan's capabilities through front‑end engineering, quoting support, improved manufacturing methods, and the evaluation and implementation of robotic welding, collaborative robotics, AI‑assisted welding, vision systems, automated fixturing, and other emerging welding technologies. The goal is to build a welding department that is safe, technically advanced, highly capable, compliant, scalable, and increasingly automated.

Key Responsibilities

• Hands‑On Welding & Department Leadership
• Actively perform welding and fabrication work as part of the daily responsibilities of the position.
• Lead from the floor and work alongside welders to support production requirements, difficult jobs, new work, and schedule priorities.
• Perform complex aluminum welding and fabrication while serving as a technical resource to other welders.
• Lead daily welding and fabrication activities with accountability for safety, quality, schedule, productivity, and workmanship.
• Train, mentor, and develop welding personnel while establishing clear expectations and accountability.
• Coordinate manpower, equipment, and priorities based on production requirements and available capacity.
• Troubleshoot welding, fit‑up, distortion, fixture, quality, and production issues directly at the point of manufacture.
• Proactively identify and eliminate bottlenecks affecting production flow.
• Drive improvements in throughput, first‑pass quality, schedule adherence, rework, and scrap.
• Develop cross‑training and technical depth within the department.
• Aluminum Welding & Technical Leadership
• Provide strong hands‑on expertise in aluminum welding and fabrication, along with other materials and processes required by Whelan's customer base.
• Understand aluminum welding requirements including cleanliness, material preparation, heat input, distortion control, joint design, weld sequencing, and fixturing.
• Review engineering drawings, weld symbols, tolerances, specifications, and customer requirements.
• Assist in developing and maintaining qualified welding procedures, welder qualifications, and supporting documentation as required.
• Partner with Quality on weld defects, NCRs, corrective actions, inspection requirements, and customer escapes.
• Continuously improve welding methods, fixtures, tooling, setups, and manufacturing processes.
• Front‑End Engineering & Quoting
• The Weld & Fabrication Supervisor will bring practical shop‑floor welding expertise into the front end of Whelan's manufacturing process.
• Participate in RFQ and quoting reviews for welded and fabricated components and assemblies.
• Review new opportunities for manufacturability, technical risk, and process requirements.
• Provide realistic estimates for welding hours, setup, fixtures, tooling, equipment, and labor requirements.
• Recommend weld sequencing, joint preparation, fixturing, and manufacturing approaches.
• Work with Engineering on Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and development of new processes.
• Determine whether work is best suited for manual welding, automation, robotics, or a hybrid approach.
• Use actual shop‑floor results to continuously improve estimating and quoting accuracy.
• Technology, Robotics & Future Capability
• A key expectation of this position is to challenge traditional welding methods and actively investigate technology that can give Whelan a competitive advantage.
• Identify opportunities for robotic and collaborative robotic welding.
• Investigate AI‑assisted welding, vision‑guided robotics, automated weld‑path generation, seam tracking, adaptive welding, automated fixturing, and real‑time weld monitoring.
• Identify parts and processes that can be standardized or redesigned to make automation practical within a high‑mix/low‑volume environment.
• Work with technology providers, integrators, and equipment manufacturers to evaluate emerging capabilities.
• Participate in demonstrations, trials, testing, and implementation of new technology.
• Develop business cases and ROI justification for appropriate technology investments.
• Work with Engineering to consider automation during quoting and process development rather than only after production begins.
• Help train the welding team on approved technologies and drive adoption on the shop floor.
• Defense Manufacturing & Compliance
• Work appropriately within ITAR and CUI‑controlled manufacturing environments.
• Protect controlled drawings, specifications, technical data, and sensitive program information.
• Ensure welding is performed to the correct drawing revision, customer requirements, approved procedures, and manufacturing documentation.
• Maintain required welder qualifications, process documentation, traceability, and inspection readiness.
• Support customer, prime contractor, government, and quality‑system audits or inspections.
• Maintain the process discipline and documentation required for complex defense weapons‑system manufacturing.

Qualifications

• Required
• Highly skilled, hands‑on welder with significant aluminum welding experience.
• Willing and able to personally weld and fabricate as a core responsibility of the position.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop other welding personnel.
• Strong understanding of drawings, weld symbols, joint design, fixtures, tolerances, and manufacturing processes.
• Strong troubleshooting capabilities involving weld quality, distortion, fit‑up, tooling, and production issues.
• Preferred
• Defense, aerospace, or similarly controlled manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with ITAR, CUI, controlled technical information, and defense manufacturing requirements preferred.
• Experience supporting quoting, estimating, engineering, or new‑product introduction preferred.
• Robotic welding, cobot, automation, or vision‑system experience is desirable; however, a strong demonstrated interest in learning, evaluating, and driving new welding technology is essential.

Physical & Itar Requirements

• Access to ITAR‑controlled technical data and CUI requires verification of U.S. Person status prior to employment.
• Ability to stand for extended periods on a manufacturing floor; regularly lift and carry up to 35 lbs.; frequent bending, reaching, and use of hand tools; use of appropriate PPE (safety glasses, hearing protection, steel‑toe footwear) at all times on the production floor. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
• This position is performed on the Whelan Machine & Tool production floor, a manufacturing environment with exposure to machine noise, cutting fluids, and moving equipment. Standard shift schedules apply; overtime may be required to support production and delivery commitments.

Whelan Machine & Tool,LLCisan Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. This position requires access to information subject to U.S. export control regulations (ITAR/EAR); employment is contingent upon verification of U.S. Person status.