CNC Machinist
manufacturing › Machine Shop · P3 — P3 — Mid-Level Professional · Individual contributor
Operates and programs computer-controlled machining equipment to produce precision parts to specification.
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Track
Individual contributor
Family rungs priced
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Coordinates
2 / 4 spaces
pay@2 · 2026-07
What this role is
Operates and programs computer-controlled machining equipment to produce precision parts to specification. At the Mid-Level Professional (P3) level, the role owns features or a sub-system end-to-end, adapts existing approaches, and drives project / team outcomes. Mentors juniors informally.
What this level does
- Independently runs a wide range of CNC and manual machines end to end, planning the setup, work-holding, and cutting sequence for parts new to the shop
- Programs and modifies CNC/G-code, troubleshoots machine faults, and diagnoses whether a bad part came from the program, the tool, the fixture, or the material
- Reads blueprints and GD&T to interpret datum references, position, and profile callouts, and performs detailed first-article and in-process quality inspections
- Fabricates, reconstructs, and repairs mechanical parts and tooling from detailed blueprints where the routing is not fully defined
- Trains junior machinists on setup and inspection and manages tooling inventory for the jobs under their care
- Knowledge applied
- Applies broad machining knowledge across CNC and manual work, GD&T interpretation, programming, and inspection to diverse parts new to the shop.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Evaluates identifiable factors — program vs. tool vs. fixture vs. material — to diagnose and correct machining problems independently.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Works day-to-day with autonomy, plans own setups, trains juniors, and coordinates on shared jobs and tooling.
- Typical experience
- 5+ years of hands-on machining across multiple machine types.
Skills at this level
- Machine operation and setup
- — Sets up and troubleshoots mills, lathes, drill presses, grinders, hones, and CNC centers, applying good manufacturing practices and selecting tooling and machining resources appropriate to the part being made.
- CNC programming (G-code)
- — Generates and modifies programmatic G-code instructions that the machine interprets to cut components, applying knowledge of speeds and feeds, machine tooling, work-holding, and material behavior.
- Blueprint and GD&T reading
- — Reads blueprints and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing callouts to interpret datums, position, profile, and dimensional specifications for a part before machining and inspection.
- Precision measurement and inspection
- — Reads instrumentation and gauges to measure machined dimensions within a .001 tolerance, performing first-article and in-process inspections to confirm parts meet the print.
- Machining mathematics
- — Uses trigonometry and shop math to follow technical drawings and calculate part dimensions, tool positions, machine speeds, and feed rates for precision work.
- Machining process optimization
- — Revises speeds, feeds, toolpaths, sequencing, and fixturing in collaboration with engineers to reduce cycle time and scrap and improve the capability of an entire machining process.
- Fault diagnosis and troubleshooting
- — Diagnoses machining problems by isolating root cause across program, machine, tooling, fixture, and material, using logic and reasoning to weigh alternative fixes.
- Tooling and equipment maintenance
- — Maintains machine tools and manages tooling inventory, monitoring cutter wear and equipment condition to keep parts within tolerance and machines running reliably.
- Fabrication and part repair
- — Fabricates, reconstructs, and repairs mechanical parts and tooling from detailed blueprints, including welding and manual finishing where the routing is not fully defined.
- Failure prediction through analysis
- — Predicts where tolerance stacks, thermal growth, tool deflection, and fixturing will cause a part to fail before it is cut, so high-consequence jobs run correctly the first time.
- Shop mentorship and training
- — Trains junior and senior machinists on setup, programming, and inspection, and establishes proven standard methods that others in the shop adopt.
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As of · 2026-07-30
Edition · canon-v2@2.1.0-complete
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