Shipfitter Jobs in Baldwin County, AL
Lay out, cut, fit, and align steel plate and structure for the welders.
What shipfitters earn around Baldwin County
The median, range, and annual figures above are market data — Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics for Alabama, via the U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop. Cost of living here runs about 9% below the national average — your paycheck goes further. AMS pays $35–$40/hr plus overtime opportunities.
Shipfitters in the Baldwin County market
Baldwin County is home for AMS — headquartered in Loxley, on the Eastern Shore — and a short drive from the big Mobile and Pascagoula shipyards across the bay. If you live in Daphne, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, or Loxley, this is the closest marine work to your front door.
The shipfitter's job around Baldwin County is blueprint layout, cutting & fit-up, bracing & tacking — the layout that has to be right before a welder ever strikes an arc on work staged through yards like AMS headquarters — Loxley, Baldwin County. Get the fit wrong and the weld cannot save it.
- AMS headquarters — Loxley, Baldwin County
Named as public-record market activity — where marine work happens in this area, not a statement of AMS contracts.
- City population
- 28,673
- Median household income
- $86,479
- Average commute
- 25 min
- Cost of living (US = 100)
- 91.259
Source: U.S. Census ACS 5-year · BEA Regional Price Parities. Figures are for Daphne city, Alabama, not the wider metro area.
What a shipfitter does in Baldwin County
Shipfitters turn plans into steel — reading blueprints, laying out and cutting plate and structural members, then fitting, bracing, and tacking them into alignment so the welders can finish the joint. It's the layout and fit-up craft at the front of every structural job, on new construction and repair alike, and it demands a sharp eye for tolerance and a feel for how a hull goes together.
Why Baldwin County needs shipfitters right now
The scale of fit-up work within reach of Baldwin County is hard to overstate. Ingalls in Pascagoula is the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi — 11,000-plus employees across roughly 800 acres — and every hull section moving through a yard that size was laid out, cut, fit, braced, and tacked by shipfitters first. Across the bay, Mobile's landing-craft and surveillance-ship programs need the same front-of-the-line craft. For an Eastern Shore fitter, two of the Gulf's densest fit-up markets are a morning drive apart.
Getting in, or moving up, costs less in Alabama than almost anywhere: AIDT's Maritime Training Center offers no-cost welding and shipfitting training, and as an Alabama program it applies to Baldwin County residents. From there the ceiling is set by experience. AMS pays $35–$40/hr plus overtime, is headquartered in Loxley, and recruits fitters from Baldwin County for its active crews in Mobile and Pascagoula. Per-diem travel jobs run across the Gulf when you want them; home base stays home.
If you've worked layout on a government hull — pulled dimensions from blueprints, cut and beveled plate, faired sections into alignment, and tacked for a weld crew that didn't have to fix your fit — you're the hire this region competes hardest for. Fit-up on complex vessels is learned on the deckplates, not in a classroom, and experienced shipfitters are among the trade's scarcest hands. AMS pays $35–$40/hr for that and puts you on real work fast.
Bring your experience to AMSShipfitter jobs in Baldwin County — FAQ
How much do shipfitters make in Baldwin County, AL?
In Alabama, shipfitters earn a median of about $18.07 per hour — typically $13.99–$29.30 per hour (BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics via the U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop). With local prices at 91.259 against a national 100, that median buys roughly what $19.80 an hour would nationally. AMS pays $35–$40/hr plus overtime opportunities; the rate for a specific role is discussed when you apply.
Does AMS hire shipfitters in Baldwin County?
AMS recruits shipfitters across the Gulf Coast, including the Baldwin County market, for marine fabrication and repair work. Apply and tell us your trade, your experience, and whether you can travel.
What do I need to get hired as a shipfitter in Baldwin County?
For shipfitters, AMS looks first at blueprint layout and cutting & fit-up. Every role also requires passing a shipyard safety orientation and a drug screen, and a TWIC card is usually needed for yard access at AMS headquarters — Loxley, Baldwin County and similar facilities. Bring your certifications — apply and an AMS representative will go over the specifics.
What is the commute like for Baldwin County yard work?
Workers in Daphne city, Alabama report an average commute of about 25 minutes (U.S. Census ACS). Yard start times are early, so most crews plan the drive around shift change rather than rush hour. If you would rather travel to the work than commute to it, AMS runs per-diem assignments across the Gulf Coast.
Ready to work as a shipfitter in Baldwin County?
Tell us your trade and experience — an AMS representative will follow up. Résumé optional.