Boolean search strings for welders: process, position, code and what "certified" really means

"Welder" is one of the easier titles to search and one of the harder ones to search well. The word pulls in production welders on a robotic cell, pipe welders who travel between refinery shutdowns, TIG welders on aerospace parts, welding inspectors, welding engineers, welding supply salespeople and instructors. The process, the test position and the code are what separate a welder who fits the client's work from one who would fail its weld test on day one.

Below are ten strings by type of welding work, and what Indeed, LinkedIn and Google support as of October 2026. For the questions to ask once you have a list, see the welder screening questions.

Processes, positions and credentials that change what a welder search finds

• Test positions. Welders describe their tests by position: 1G through 4G for plate groove welds, and 5G and 6G for pipe. A 6G pipe test is the one pipe welders mention most because it covers every position around a fixed joint. Search pipe positions with pipe words so plate welders do not crowd the list.
• Codes. The work usually follows a code: AWS D1.1 for structural steel, ASME Section IX for welder qualification on pressure work, and API 1104 for pipelines are the ones candidates name most. Put the client's code in the string only when the client will not retest.
• AWS Certified Welder. The American Welding Society's Certified Welder program is performance-based and, per AWS, tests welders on procedures used in structural steel, petroleum pipelines, sheet metal and chemical refinery work. Its FAQ says certified welders must submit maintenance documentation every six months to stay active, as of October 2026.
• Certified Welding Inspector. The AWS CWI is an inspection credential, not a welding one. It is a useful signal for a lead or QC role and a false positive for a production opening.

Ten Boolean strings by type of welding work

Swap in the process, metal and code from your own intake; these are examples.

Production and fabrication

1. Production MIG welder — Indeed Smart Sourcing
(welder OR "production welder" OR "mig welder") AND skill: (mig OR gmaw OR "wire feed") AND ("blueprint reading" OR blueprints OR "weld symbols") NOT (inspector OR instructor OR sales)

2. Fabrication welder-fitter — Indeed Smart Sourcing
("welder fabricator" OR "fitter welder" OR "welder/fitter" OR fabricator) AND skill: (mig OR "flux core" OR fcaw) AND (layout OR "fit-up" OR "tape measure" OR "plasma cutting")

3. Entry-level welder from a trade program — Indeed Smart Sourcing
(welder OR "welding helper" OR "welder trainee") AND fieldofstudy: (welding OR "welding technology") AND (mig OR stick OR tig)

Structural, pipe and TIG

4. Structural welder — LinkedIn general search
("structural welder" OR "structural steel welder" OR "ironworker welder") AND ("d1.1" OR "structural welding code" OR "aws certified") AND (stick OR smaw OR "flux core" OR fcaw)

5. Pipe welder — LinkedIn general search
("pipe welder" OR "pipeline welder" OR "combo welder") AND ("6g" OR "pipe test") AND (tig OR gtaw OR stick OR smaw) NOT (inspector OR cwi)

6. Pipeline welder by code — LinkedIn Recruiter, Keywords filter
("pipeline welder" OR "pipe welder") AND ("api 1104" OR "downhill" OR "stovepipe") AND (6010 OR "cellulose")

7. TIG welder for stainless or aluminum — LinkedIn Recruiter, Job titles + Keywords filters
("tig welder" OR "gtaw welder" OR welder) AND (tig OR gtaw) AND (aluminum OR "stainless steel" OR titanium) AND ("sanitary" OR aerospace OR "thin gauge")

Credential searches and X-ray

8. Certified welder or code-qualified — LinkedIn general search
(welder OR "pipe welder") AND ("aws certified welder" OR "certified welder" OR "asme section ix" OR "asme ix" OR "d1.1 certified")

9. Public profiles by metro — Google X-ray
site:linkedin.com/in ("pipe welder" OR "combo welder") "6g" "houston" -jobs -recruiter

10. Public resumes — Google X-ray, filetype search
filetype:pdf welder resume ("tig" OR "gtaw") "stainless" -template -sample

What Indeed, LinkedIn and Google actually support

Indeed's Boolean guide shows AND, OR, NOT, quotes and parentheses, a skill: field for the skills section, and fieldofstudy: and school: for education, as of October 2026. Production and fabrication welders are much more likely to have a job-board resume than a full LinkedIn profile, so the first three strings are written for Indeed. Graduates of welding programs often list the program as their field of study, which string 3 relies on.

LinkedIn's Boolean help page requires capital AND, OR and NOT, supports quotes and parentheses, and does not support wildcards. That is why every string writes MIG and GMAW, TIG and GTAW, stick and SMAW side by side. LinkedIn Recruiter's Boolean page lists Job titles among the Boolean-capable filters and warns that too many facets in one query can cause problems, so keep the title block in Job titles and the process block in Keywords.

Google's search operators page documents quotes, site:, the minus sign and filetype:, but not OR. Short codes such as "6G" and "D1.1" can behave unpredictably in any search engine; run the string once with and once without them and compare.

Narrowing by metal, thickness and travel

The metal matters as much as the process. A welder who runs MIG on mild steel all day is not automatically ready to TIG thin stainless for a food equipment maker, and an aluminum welder may not have run stick in years. Ask the client which metal, which thickness range and which process dominate the work, and put those in a required block.

Travel decides pipe searches. Many pipeline and shutdown welders work on the road, own a rig and expect per diem. A plant that wants a local pipe welder for maintenance should add the metro and words such as "maintenance welder" or "in-plant," and drop "rig welder" and "per diem," which tend to come from traveling welders.

Shift is the last filter. Production welding often runs second and third shift; it is not searchable, so raise it on the first call.

False positives worth excluding with NOT

• Inspectors and QC. "Inspector," "CWI," "quality control" and "NDT" profiles name every code. For QC roles, see the quality inspector screening questions.
• Welding engineers. "Welding engineer" profiles write procedures and list every process. Exclude "engineer" for hands-on roles.
• Sales and supply. Welding supply and equipment reps list processes and brands. Exclude "sales," "territory" and "account manager."
• Instructors. Welding instructors are skilled, but most are not looking for production work. Exclude "instructor" unless the client hires them.
• Robotic cell operators, for manual roles. "Robotic welding" and "weld cell operator" profiles may load parts and never strike an arc by hand. Keep them for automation roles.

A worked example: three passes on a stainless TIG search

An invented search, shown as it actually gets narrowed.

The work-specific terms did the narrowing. In welding searches, describing the joint and the metal works better than adding more process names.

What a search cannot verify

A string can find someone whose profile names the right process, position and code. It cannot tell you whether the welds pass the client's bend test, whether a listed qualification is still current, or how the welder handles a fit-up that is off. That is what the client's weld test is for. The welder screening questions help decide who gets a test slot, the welder job description template pins down the process and metal before you search, and the interview guide for skilled trades covers later rounds. For machining roles at the same shop, see Boolean search strings for machinists.