Welding Engineer - NAVSEA Specialist

Path Robotics • Los Angeles, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Path Robotics is building the future of embodied intelligence with AI-driven systems that enable robots to adapt, learn, and perform in the real world, transforming industries and closing the skilled labor gap. We are seeking a specialized Welding Engineer (NAVSEA Specialist) to join our team. This role involves advancing an autonomous robotic welding system and leading welding engineering operations, process qualifications, and structural integrity assessments for naval defense applications. The engineer will serve as a technical bridge, ensuring AI systems comply with strict naval defense and marine fabrication codes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering, Metallurgical/Materials Engineering, or a related core STEM discipline.
• 5+ years of welding engineering experience directly within defense maritime contracting, naval shipyards, or heavy marine fabrication.
• 3+ years of experience developing robotic welding procedures in an industrial environment.
• Strong technical experience managing NAVSEA standard items, ship-spec manuals, and military standards.
• Background in fusion-based weld parameter development for shipbuilding steel and aluminum alloys.
• Proficient with manual welding processes, with an emphasis on GMAW and FCAW.
• Experience working with industrial robotics for welding.
• Understanding of weld symbology and print interpretation.
• Experience with Design of Experiments (DoE) principles.
• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Must possess or be eligible to obtain a Department of Defense (DoD) Secret Security Clearance.
• Must be currently based in the Greater Los Angeles region or fully willing to relocate to the area utilizing the corporate relocation program.

Nice To Haves

• AWS Certified Welding Engineer (CWEng) or Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Interpret, implement, and deploy NAVSEA Technical Publications S9074-AQ-GIB-010/248 and S9074-AR-GIB-010/278.
• Review engineering design packages to ensure adherence to MIL-STD-1689, MIL-STD-22D, and AWS D1.1/D1.2.
• Draft, review, and formally approve Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) and Procedure Qualification Records (PQR).
• Perform root-cause analysis for welding failures, reviewing non-destructive testing (NDT) data (RT, UT, MT, PT) to engineer corrective actions.
• Conduct remote or on-site technical evaluations of fabrication vendors to verify NAVSEA program compliance.
• Run weld parameter selection experiments to identify a range of welding parameters (voltage, wire speed, travel speed) for new customer applications.
• Partner with robotics engineers to develop rules for automating trajectory generation for the workpiece and robot end-effector.
• Perform robotic welding experiments to test systems in development, including sensors, inspection systems, path planning, welding strategies, and new hardware.
• Work with the hardware team to fabricate test coupons for application feasibility testing and other in-house experiments.
• Operate a state-of-the-art, AI-powered robotic welding cell.
• Manually weld coupons and other test parts when needed.
• Use powered shop tools to cut and etch weld samples.

Benefits

• Full Healthcare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Comprehensive Relocation Bonus Package: Support for your move to the Greater Los Angeles area.
• Daily Free Lunch: Keep fueled and connected with the team (when on-site at the Columbus home office).
• Flexible PTO: Take the time you need, when you need it.
• Paid Parental Leave: 6 weeks fully paid parental leave, plus an additional 6–8 weeks for birthing parents (12–14 weeks total).
• 401(k) Retirement Plan: Offered through Empower.
• Generous Employee Referral Bonuses: Help us grow our team!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior