Manufacturing Engineer CNC

The Manufacturing Engineering function’s role is to create, develop and validate manufacturing/inspection processes to support the MTC’s projects that are delivered across a broad range of technology areas and industrial sectors.

• Drives improvements in Manufacturing Engineering processes, ensuring CNC-related workflows, tooling strategies, digital methods and verification techniques are robust, efficient and aligned with stakeholder needs.
• Delivers to customer and project needs largely independently, particularly where complex CNC machining, prove‑out or first‑off development is involved – managing expectations, risks and technical decisions to deliver high‑quality outputs within agreed budgets and timescales.
• Supports in executing the Manufacturing Engineering Strategy with specific input into CNC capability development, technology roadmap, and team skills alignment.
• Works with design teams to execute effective design for manufacture/inspection, advising particularly on CNC manufacturability, fixture concepts, tolerancing, and machining strategy to meet project milestones.
• Develops and validates CNC and broader manufacturing/inspection processes, working closely with engineering teams and external stakeholders to ensure repeatability, accuracy, safety and efficiency.
• Creates high quality manufacturing documentation, including machining methods and sequences, toolpath strategy notes, PFMEAs, inspection/control plans, setup sheets and technical reports.
• Coordinates procurement of CNC tooling, fixturing, materials and gauges, ensuring all resources required for machining and build trials are available and appropriate.
• Owns and drives the resolution of manufacturing issues, particularly complex machining challenges, ensuring robust, sustainable solutions are implemented and customer requirements are met wherever possible.
• Leads continuous improvement of manufacturing processes.

• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills are required for the role; able to demonstrate a high standard of report writing and presentation skills.
• Able to support senior colleagues with customer and internal partner liaison in collaborative projects, able to lead technical liaison with customers (both technical and non‑technical customers) during project to ensure delivery.
• Strong commercial awareness and familiarity working within a project based environment.
• Attend and provide manufacturing engineering inputs to project meetings – weekly meetings, workshops, assurance activities, design reviews.
• Communicate and escalates manufacturing/assembly issues to the project teams/clients.

• Support the ongoing development of MTCs manufacturing engineering capability through bringing best practice manufacturing engineering techniques into our operations.
• Enable innovative designs to be realised through providing manufacturing advice, process development and validation.

• Deep CNC machining expertise in low volume, high variety, first‑off environments, including 5‑axis machining of complex geometries and tight tolerance work with experience of machining exotic & tough materials.
• Competent in CAD/CAM – Siemens NX preferred; if the applicant has no experience with NX, they must be willing to learn and have solid capability in another professional CAD/CAM package. Cutting science & tooling:
  Knowledge of tooling selection, chip load/engagement, tool life models, high‑pressure coolant, heat management, dynamic tool pathing, and chatter mitigation.
• Fixturing & work holding:
  Design principles for rigid, repeatable fixtures or custom solutions for complex parts.
• Metrology & verification:
  Practical application of GD&T, in‑process measurement.
• Process development / prove out:
  Building a machining process from zero—material removal strategy, sequencing, datum strategy, in‑process control plans, first article signoff, and stabilisation to production ready state.
• Cell / equipment knowledge:
  Experience specifying and integrating CNC machining cells (machine selection criteria, spindle spec, control options, probing, tool management, swarf/chip handling, coolant systems, work holding, mist extraction) and…