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Manufacturing & Production · Updated Aug 2026

Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
47/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
43/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.High
69
Record operational information on specified production reports.High
69
Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.Medium
68
Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.High
68
Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.Medium
70
Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off.Medium
70
Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces.High
68
Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.Medium
65
Transfer components, metal products, or assemblies, using moving equipment.Medium
68
Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use.Medium
68
Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.High
52
Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.Medium
70
Dress electrodes, using tip dressers, files, emery cloths, or dressing wheels.Medium
71
Observe meters, gauges, or machine operations to ensure that soldering or brazing processes meet specifications.Medium
37
Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.High
22
Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines.Medium
22
Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.Medium
22
Remove completed workpieces or parts from machinery, using hand tools.Medium
23
Conduct trial runs before welding, soldering, or brazing, and make necessary adjustments to equipment.Medium
22
Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.Medium
23
Load or feed workpieces into welding machines to join or bond components.Medium
22
Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.Medium
22
Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.Medium
16
Mark weld points and positions of components on workpieces, using rules, squares, templates, or scribes.Medium
16
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Dress electrodes, using tip dressers, files, emery cloths, or dressing wheels.71
  2. Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.70
  3. Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off.70
  4. Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.70
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.01
  2. Mark weld points and positions of components on workpieces, using rules, squares, templates, or scribes.02
  3. Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.03
  4. Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.04
  5. Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines.05
Where else this work leads

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Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency59
Physical dependency63
Adoption pressure42
Labour-market resilience62
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →