CNC Process Development Engineer Mastercam & Turnkey Automation
Picture your week: Monday you’re at a HAAS cell dialing in toolpaths for a new production run; Wednesday you’re running a proveout on an Okuma lathe, trimming seconds from cycle time; Friday you’re on the floor with an automation tech, validating a robottended runoff before customer acceptance. If that sounds like your kind of engineering, read on.
What You’ll Do
- Build and refine CNC machining processes from scratch for production partsprogram, proveout, and optimize until they’re stable and efficient.
- Create and update CNC programs in Mastercam and other CAM tools; develop robust toolpaths and posts.
- Engineer machining strategies, feeds/speeds, tooling, workholding, and fixtures that balance speed, quality, and tool life.
- Continuously improve legacy processes to reduce cycle time, lift throughput, extend tool life, enhance quality, and increase equipment utilization.
- Design and mature turnkey machining and automation solutions from concept through production release.
- Support machine/process proveouts, runoffs, installations, and customer acceptance testing.
- Troubleshoot issues such as dimensional variation, chatter, chip evacuation, tool wear, part quality, and machine performance.
- Partner with programmers, machinists, controls engineers, automation technicians, and customers to remove roadblocks.
- Standardize processes and create clear documentation for production and customer deployments.
- Select cutting tools, fixtures, and workholding; define machining tactics for new parts.
- Analyze production data to identify improvement opportunities and cost reductions.
- Integrate CNC equipment with robotics, material handling, and broader manufacturing systems.
- Participate in commissioning and production launches for new machines and automated cells.
- Run tests, capture results, document lessons learned, and recommend nextstep improvements.
- Provide field support to troubleshoot and optimize CNC equipment at customer sites when needed.
- Stay current on machining tech, tooling, CAM strategies, and manufacturing best practices.
Turnkey Mindset
Your focus extends beyond code. You’ll architect the entire manufacturing stream:
- Part handling and material flow
- Machine selection and configuration
- CNC programming
- Tool selection and management
- Workholding and fixturing
- Robotics and machine tending
- Cycletime optimization
- Chip and coolant management
- Inspection and quality requirements
- Process reliability and repeatability
- Operator interaction
- Overall production throughput
Your superpower: spotting bottlenecks and making practical changes that deliver a faster, more reliable, more profitable process.
What You Bring
- Bachelor’s in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or relatedor equivalent handson experience.
- Several years of professional CNC programming and machining experience.
- Deep knowledge of milling and/or turning processes.
- Proven track record developing and optimizing CNC programs for production.
- Expertise in cutting tools, feeds/speeds, fixturing, and machining fundamentals.
- Methodical troubleshooting ability for process and machining issues.
- Comfort working at the machine during programming, proveout, and optimization.
- Strong analytical/problemsolving skills.
- Fluency in reading drawings, GD&T, and manufacturing documentation.
- Clear communication and effective collaboration with customers and crossfunctional teams.
- Handson mindset and willingness to travel to customer sites as needed.
Preferred Experience
- Mastercam programming, toolpath optimization, and postprocessing
- HAAS and/or Okuma CNC machines
- Fanuc controls
- Multiaxis, including 4 and 5axis machining
- Turning and milling for production
- Highspeed machining
- Complex workholding and fixture design
- Robotic machine tending and automated material handling
- CNC machine integration and machine vision
- Process simulation and verification
- Tool management and toollife optimization
- Production machining environments
- Endtoend turnkey automation projects
Ideal OperatorEngineer
You blend engineering rigor with shopfloor savvy. You’re comfortable proving out at the control, tweaking paths, changing parameters, diagnosing root causes, and teaming with machinists and techs to get the process running right. You naturally ask: Can it be faster? More reliable? Lower tooling cost? Better quality? Automated?
Key Competencies
- CNC programming (Gcode/Mcode)
- Mastercam and CAM strategy
- Process development and machining optimization
- Milling and turning
- Toolpath, feeds, and speeds optimization
- Cutting tool selection
- Workholding/fixturing
- Cycletime reduction
- Process troubleshooting and rootcause analysis
- Turnkey manufacturing systems
- Robotics and automation
- Production launch and customer technical support
- Continuous improvement
Travel & Work Environment
Handson role in active manufacturing settings with travel for process development, proveouts, installations, commissioning, and production launches. You’re comfortable around CNC machinery, automation, tooling, cutting fluids, and industrial equipment.
What You’ll Gain
Own challenging CNC machining and automation projects from concept through production. Shape performance through programming, process development, turnkey integration, and optimization. Work with advanced CNC and automation tech across diverse applications, directly influencing machine performance, efficiency, and customer success.
Proficiencies
- GD&T
- Equipment Troubleshooting
- Troubleshooting Skills
- CNC Programming
- GCode
- Design for Assembly (DFA)
- MCode
Machines & Technologies You’ll Use
- 3D Modeling
- gibbscam
- mastercam
If you thrive at the intersection of code and chips, we’d love to talk.
