A day on the floor
You clock in, review the day’s work orders, and pull up the prints. After confirming key GD&T callouts, you secure raw stock, set your workholding, and dial in offsets. Whether you’re at a mill or a lathe, you bring machines to life—running drilling, milling, turning, and even the occasional grinding pass. You watch the cycle like a hawk, tweak a G- or M-code when needed, and validate parts with calipers and micrometers before moving on to the next setup. You wrap the shift by cleaning your station, completing routine maintenance, and leaving the area safer and neater than you found it.
What you’ll do
- Set up and run CNC mills or lathes for operations including drilling, milling, turning, and grinding.
- Interpret blueprints, mechanical drawings, and job specs to produce parts to tolerance.
- Load materials and components, establish tool/work offsets, and verify setups.
- Monitor production, make on-the-fly adjustments, and troubleshoot issues.
- Inspect first-article and in-process parts using precision metrology tools (calipers, micrometers, and more).
- Perform basic machine care: cleaning, lubrication, and routine maintenance.
- Maintain a safe, organized workstation and follow all safety procedures.
What you’ll bring
- Foundational knowledge of CNC equipment, tooling, and workholding.
- Ability to read mechanical drawings and understand tolerances.
- Comfort with precision measurement tools and basic metrology.
- Mechanical aptitude and solid basic math skills.
- Detail orientation and the ability to work independently or collaboratively.
Minimum experience
- High School Diploma or GED.
- 6 months to 1 year of prior CNC experience required.
- Completion of a certificate or diploma in machining or engineering is a plus.
Core proficiencies
- GD&T
- Troubleshooting Skills
- CNC Programming
- G-Code
- M-Code
- Machine Setups for Production Runs
- Manual Machining Skills
Machines & technologies you’ll touch
- CNC Mill (3-4 axis VMC) (Fanuc, Bridgeport, Mazak, Haas, Okuma, Doosan, Kitamura, Makino, Hurco, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- 2D Drawings (AutoCAD, Solidworks, NX CAD (Siemens))
- Manual Grinder (Okamoto, Cin-Milacron, Norton)
- Manual Lathe (Clausing)
- CNC Laser Cutter (Mazak, Amada, Cincinnati)
- CNC Lathe (2-4 axis) (Mazak, Haas, Okuma, Doosan, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- CNC Waterjet
- CNC Swiss Lathe (Citizen, Eurotech, Hanwha, Yama-Seiki, Nomura)
- Boring Mill (Doosan)
- CNC Grinder (Mitsubishi, Okuma, Okamoto, Amada)
- Manual Vertical Mill (Bridgeport, Sharp, Clausing)
- Measurement Gauges
- CNC Mill (5+ axis VMC) (Fanuc, Mazak, Haas, Okuma, Kitamura, Mikron, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- CNC Lathe (5+ axis) (Mazak, Okuma, Doosan, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- Universal Machining Center (5 axis UMC) (Okuma, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- Universal Machining Center (3-4 axis) (Okuma, Dmg Mori Seiki)
- Calipers and Micrometers
- Band Saw
- Belt Sander
Ready to grow
If you’re early in your machining journey and hungry to build skill through real production work, we’d love to connect.