We are seeking an experienced CNC Machine Shop Manager to oversee the daily operation of our CNC machining department. This person will be responsible for production scheduling, employee management, machine utilization, setup efficiency, quality, tooling, maintenance coordination, and continuous improvement.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who understands CNC machining and can keep machines running, employees productive, jobs moving, and parts within specification.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage daily CNC machine shop operations and production priorities.
- Supervise CNC setup personnel, operators, programmers, and supporting manufacturing employees.
- Create and maintain daily and weekly production schedules.
- Ensure jobs are completed on time and production targets are achieved.
- Monitor machine utilization, cycle times, setup times, downtime, and overall department productivity.
- Coordinate CNC setups, fixtures, tooling, workholding, and job changeovers.
- Identify opportunities to reduce setup time and improve machine utilization.
- Balance work across available CNC mills, lathes, and other equipment.
- Ensure employees have the material, tooling, programs, fixtures, and documentation needed before production begins.
- Work closely with programming and engineering to improve manufacturing processes.
- Review CNC programs and make or coordinate minor program adjustments when necessary.
- Optimize speeds, feeds, tooling, and cutting processes to improve cycle time and tool life.
- Troubleshoot machining, tooling, fixture, and dimensional issues.
- Ensure first articles and production parts meet drawings and quality requirements.
- Coordinate with Quality to resolve nonconforming parts and prevent repeat issues.
- Maintain proper tooling inventory and establish minimum stocking levels for commonly used cutting tools.
- Coordinate preventative maintenance and machine repairs.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and safe manufacturing environment.
- Enforce company procedures, safety requirements, and shop standards.
- Train and develop setup personnel and machine operators.
- Evaluate employee performance and address productivity or attendance issues.
- Develop standardized setup sheets, tooling lists, work instructions, and operating procedures.
- Participate in hiring and training manufacturing employees.
- Identify opportunities for automation, robotics, pallet systems, multi-part fixturing, and unattended machining.
- Work with purchasing to ensure raw material and tooling are available for scheduled production.
- Track scrap, rework, downtime, and other manufacturing losses.
- Conduct regular production meetings and communicate priorities to the team.
Key Performance Indicators
The CNC Machine Shop Manager will be measured on:
- On-time production completion
- Machine utilization
- Spindle uptime
- Setup/changeover time
- Parts produced per labor hour
- Scrap and rework percentage
- First-pass quality
- Cycle-time improvements
- Tooling costs
- Overtime
- Employee productivity
- Preventative maintenance compliance
- Production backlog
- Unattended machining hours
Qualifications
- 10+ years of CNC machining/manufacturing experience.
- Previous CNC shop leadership, supervisor, or management experience preferred.
- Strong understanding of CNC milling and/or turning.
- Strong knowledge of tooling, workholding, fixtures, speeds, and feeds.
- Ability to read engineering drawings, dimensions, tolerances, and GD&T.
- Experience troubleshooting machining and quality problems.
- Understanding of CNC programming and the ability to make basic program modifications.
- Experience with production scheduling and manufacturing workflow.
- Strong organizational and leadership skills.
- Ability to hold employees accountable while developing a productive team.
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP manufacturing systems preferred.
- Experience with Haas and Brother CNC equipment is a plus.
- Experience with automation, robotics, pallet systems, or lights-out manufacturing is a plus.
Management Expectations
This is not a desk management position. The CNC Machine Shop Manager is expected to regularly be on the manufacturing floor reviewing:
- What every machine is currently running
- What each machine is running next
- Why any machine is not producing and eliminate downtime
- Which jobs are behind schedule
- Upcoming setups and tooling requirements
- Quality problems
- Operator productivity
- Opportunities to combine operations or increase parts per cycle
- Opportunities for automation and unattended production
The manager should know the condition and production status of the department at all times.
Primary Objective
**Maximize profitable spindle time while maintaining quality and on-time delivery.**
The manager's job is to create a CNC department in which machines spend as much time as possible cutting good parts and as little time as possible waiting for people, programs, tooling, material, fixtures, inspection, or decisions.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.