Shipfitter Jobs in Houston, TX
Lay out, cut, fit, and align steel plate and structure for the welders.
What shipfitters earn around Houston
The median, range, and annual figures above are market data — Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area, via the U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop. Cost of living here runs about 1% below the national average — your paycheck goes further. AMS pays $35–$40/hr plus overtime opportunities.
Shipfitters in the Houston market
The Houston-Galveston ship channel is one of the busiest marine-industrial corridors in the country, with ship-repair and fabrication yards up and down the channel. It's one of the East Texas markets AMS actively recruits welders and fitters from.
The shipfitter's job around Houston 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 Gulf Copper (Galveston). Get the fit wrong and the weld cannot save it.
- Gulf Copper (Galveston)
- Southwest Shipyard
- Bludworth Marine
Named as public-record market activity — where marine work happens in this area, not a statement of AMS contracts.
- City population
- 2,300,419
- Median household income
- $62,894
- Average commute
- 27 min
- Cost of living (US = 100)
- 98.772
Source: U.S. Census ACS 5-year · BEA Regional Price Parities. Figures are for Houston city, Texas, not the wider metro area.
What a shipfitter does in Houston
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 Houston needs shipfitters right now
Grand-block construction lives or dies on fit-up. The DDG-51 destroyer modules Gulf Copper builds have to mate with sections fabricated hundreds of miles away — when Ingalls erected the first distributed-build grand blocks in July 2026, it proved the model works, and it works because fitters held tolerance. Between that program and the repair yards along the largest port complex in the country by waterborne tonnage (USACE 2023), Houston-area plate layout skills now have a direct marine outlet.
Most Houston layout and fit-up hands work structural fab for buildings, plants, and pipelines — a huge market, but a crowded one, sharing the metro with the biggest pool of welders in the country. Marine fitting pays for precision differently: AMS hires shipfitters at $35–$40/hr plus overtime for hull and structural assembly across the Gulf. Travel and per-diem work is common, a résumé is optional, and the tolerance eye you built in the fab shop is the whole job.
If you've laid out and cut plate in a Houston fab shop, tacked structural members to a fraction of an inch, or fit barge and hull sections on the ship channel, you already think like a shipfitter. The craft can't be rushed — reading how a hull goes together is experience, not coursework — and that's why seasoned fitters are so hard for yards to find. AMS pays $35–$40/hr for that eye and doesn't start you at the bottom.
Bring your experience to AMSShipfitter jobs in Houston — FAQ
How much do shipfitters make in Houston, TX?
In the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area, shipfitters earn a median of about $20.94 per hour — typically $16.77–$29.79 per hour (BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics via the U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop). With local prices at 98.772 against a national 100, that median buys roughly what $21.20 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 Houston?
AMS recruits shipfitters across the Gulf Coast, including the Houston 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 Houston?
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 Gulf Copper (Galveston) and similar facilities. Bring your certifications — apply and an AMS representative will go over the specifics.
What is the commute like for Houston yard work?
Workers in Houston city, Texas report an average commute of about 27 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 Houston?
Tell us your trade and experience — an AMS representative will follow up. Résumé optional.