Welding is a technique used to join materials by applying heat. The choosing of appropriate weld process parameters; weld current, weld voltage and weld speed is important, to achieve the desired weld bead geometry in a fusion joining process. In the present study, the bead geometry such as Bead Width (BW), Reinforcement Height (RH) and Depth of Penetration (DOP) of Pulsed Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is carried out on AISI 316L. Genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization technique has been opted to obtain the desired combination of process variables and weld bead geometry. Initially, regression models are developed using the training dataset. The developed GA optimizes the weld process parameters and weld bead geometry by minimizing the least square error based objective function. The microstructure examination is performed on the optimal weld geometry obtained from the optimization technique using optical and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis is carried out to examine the compositional variations in the weld bead. The study attested that the width of HAZ and depth of the fusion zone increases with increase in welding current (80A to 100A). © IAEME Publication.