Manufacturing Engineer, CNC

Job description

About Mach Industries Founded in 2023, Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. At the core of our mission is the commitment to delivering scalable, decentralized defense systems that enhance the strategic capabilities of the United States and its allies. With a workforce of approximately 350 employees, we operate with startup agility and ambition. Our vision is to redefine the future of warfare through cutting-edge manufacturing, innovation at speed, and unwavering focus on national security. We are dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security. The Role Mach Industries is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer, CNC to own the manufacturing strategy and producibility of complex CNC-machined hardware from development through production. This role sits at the intersection of design engineering, CAM programming, machining, quality, and production. You will be responsible for determining how parts should be manufactured, identifying the major technical risks in the machining process, and driving the larger process changes required to improve producibility, quality, cost, and scalability. This is not primarily a CAM programming or machine-operating role. Dedicated CAM programmers will develop CNC programs, and machinists will execute setups and run parts. The Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for providing the technical direction that connects those functions—defining the manufacturing approach, challenging existing methods, resolving cross-functional problems, and ensuring the complete process is capable of meeting program requirements. You will work at both the part level and manufacturing-system level, diving deeply into CNC technology, tooling, workholding, probing, machine capability, automation, process monitoring, and inspection feedback to continuously improve how Mach manufactures hardware. Key Responsibilities • Own CNC manufacturing strategy and producibility for assigned hardware and manufacturing projects. • Partner with design engineering early in the product lifecycle to influence geometry, tolerances, material selection, datum structures, and other design decisions that affect manufacturability. • Define the overall machining approach, including operation breakdown, machine platform, setup strategy, datum strategy, workholding concept, tooling approach, inspection strategy, and process-control requirements. • Provide technical direction to CAM programmers while allowing programmers to own the detailed creation and maintenance of CNC programs. • Work with machinists during prove-out and production to understand process behavior, identify failure modes, and determine required engineering changes. • Lead larger CNC process improvements involving changes to machining strategy, tooling, workholding, probing, sequencing, machine utilization, or process architecture. • Drive first-article and process-development activities from initial manufacturing strategy through a stable, repeatable production process. • Identify and resolve manufacturing risks related to chatter, distortion, tool wear, thermal behavior, dimensional drift, surface finish, workholding, machine capability, and process variation. • Use inspection results, machine data, spindle load, probing results, tool-life data, and operator feedback to understand process performance and prioritize improvements. • Develop and validate strategies for in-process probing, tool monitoring, automated compensation, inspection feedback, and other forms of closed-loop process control. • Evaluate new CNC technologies, machines, cutting tools, workholding systems, monitoring technologies, software, and automation capabilities. • Lead technical investigations and manufacturing-development projects that improve CNC capability across the organization. • Establish manufacturing standards and engineering best practices that can be reused across parts, programs, machines, and facilities. • Develop mature manufacturing processes that can transition from Huntington Beach development into repeatable production with clearly defined technical requirements and process controls. Required Qualifications • 5+ years of experience in CNC manufacturing engineering, machining, applications engineering, process engineering, or advanced manufacturing. • Strong practical understanding of CNC milling, turning, 5-axis machining, and/or mill-turn manufacturing. • Demonstrated ability to define machining strategies and solve complex manufacturing problems at the process level. • Strong understanding of cutting tools, workholding, feeds and speeds, material removal, machine dynamics, and machining fundamentals. • Experience working closely with CAM programmers and the ability to review, challenge, and provide technical direction on machining approaches without needing to personally own day-to-day CAM programming. • Hands-on experience supporting CNC process development, prove-out, troubleshooting, and production improvement on the shop floor. • Ability to diagnose issues involving tool wear, chatter, dimensional variation, distortion, thermal effects, surface finish, fixture behavior, and other machining-related failure modes. • Working knowledge of CAM systems such as NX CAM, hyperMILL, Mastercam, ESPRIT, Fusion, or similar. • Ability to read engineering drawings, interpret GD&T, understand datum structures and critical features, and connect product requirements to manufacturing strategy. • Strong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to lead technical decisions across design engineers, CAM programmers, machinists, quality, and production teams. • Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment spanning prototype development, process maturation, and production ramp. Preferred Qualifications • Aerospace, defense, propulsion, turbine, automotive, medical, semiconductor, or other hig