Lead CNC Programmer and Machinist

Job Title: Lead CNC Programmer and Machinist
Department: Manufacturing / Machine Shop
Reports To: Operations Manager / Plant Manager

Read This If You’re the Person Everyone Comes To on the Shop Floor

You’re the person who can take a print, open Mastercam, pick the tools, set up the Haas or Okuma, and get good parts out without hand-holding. You like owning the process, not just “pushing cycle start.”

What You’ll Own

Programming & Process (You’re the go-to Mastercam person)

• Create and optimize CNC programs in Mastercam for HAAS mills and Okuma lathes.

• Choose tooling, holders, and cutting data that actually make sense on the floor (not just on paper).

• Design machining strategies, workholding, and process flows that are fast, stable, and repeatable.

• Keep driving cycle times down and quality up — you’re allowed (and expected) to improve things.

Setups & Hands-On Machining

• Lead complex setups on HAAS mills and Okuma lathes — fixtures, offsets, probing, the whole thing.

• Prove out first articles, dial in dimensions, and walk away with a stable, documented process.

• Troubleshoot problems: chatter, finish issues, tolerance stack-ups, tool wear, chip control, etc.

• Keep the machines in top shape: clean, organized, and ready to run.

Leadership & Building the Team

• Be the technical leader that other machinists come to for help.

• Train and mentor others on setups, tool selection, and basic program edits.

• Help define standard work, best practices, and safety rules that everyone follows.

Building the Shop Itself

• Help decide what equipment, tooling, and inspection gear we invest in.

• Give input on shop layout, workflow, and priorities as we grow.

• Work directly with management on schedule, capacity, and delivery commitments.

Quality & Documentation

• Work with Quality to make sure parts hit print and customer specs — no surprises.

• Create setup sheets, tooling lists, and process notes so jobs are repeatable by the team.

• Help dig into root causes when there’s an issue and put solid fixes in place.

What You Need to Bring

• 5+ years of CNC machining experience in a job shop or production environment.

• Strong Mastercam programming experience (mills and lathes).

• Proven experience setting up and running HAAS mills (e.g. VF series) and Okuma lathes.

• Real-world experience with setups and tooling selection across different materials and part types.

• Comfortable reading and working from prints and GD&T.

• Strong understanding of speeds/feeds, tooling, workholding, and machining best practices.

• Hands-on troubleshooting skills — you don’t freeze when something goes wrong.

• Desire to lead, teach, and raise the level of the whole shop.

• U.S. citizenship is required due to contract requirements for this position.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience helping launch or significantly expand a machine shop.

• Familiarity with DNC, tool presetters, probing, and in-machine inspection.

• Exposure to lean/5S/continuous improvement.

• Experience working within an ERP/MRP system (job routing, tracking, etc.).