Machining Department Manager

Position

Description:


The Machining Department Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership, operational oversight, and continuous improvement for all machining operations within the organization. This position oversees machinists, CNC programmers, inspection personnel, and related production support functions to ensure safe, efficient, high-quality, and on-time manufacturing performance.

This role is responsible for evaluating internal machining capabilities and determining the most effective utilization of in‑house resources versus outsourced manufacturing solutions. The Machining Department Manager serves as a key contributor to operational planning, quality assurance, employee development, production efficiency, vendor management, estimating support, and process improvement initiatives.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on manufacturing leader with extensive machining expertise, strong leadership skills, and the ability to collaborate across departments to drive operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities:

Department Leadership & Operations Management

• Lead, direct, and manage all daily machining department operations to achieve production, quality, safety, and delivery objectives.
• Supervise machinists, CNC programmers, setup personnel, inspection staff, and related support employees.
• Establish departmental goals, performance expectations, and operational priorities aligned with company objectives.
• Monitor workflow, machine utilization, labor efficiency, throughput, and departmental productivity.
• Coordinate staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation to maximize operational effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, quality standards, customer requirements, and safety regulations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, professionalism, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.

Machining & Production Oversight

• Oversee CNC and conventional machining operations, including setup, programming, tooling, fixturing, and process optimization.
• Review and approve machining methods, tooling strategies, setup procedures, and manufacturing processes.
• Partner with programming and production personnel to improve cycle times, reduce setup durations, and enhance manufacturability.
• Troubleshoot machining challenges, production bottlenecks, and process inefficiencies.
• Evaluate equipment capabilities, machine capacity, and production resources to support scheduling and quoting activities.
• Ensure preventative maintenance programs and tooling management practices are effectively maintained.

Programming Management

• Provide leadership and oversight for CNC programming activities.
• Ensure accurate, efficient, and production‑ready CNC programs are developed and maintained.
• Review programming standards, machining strategies, tooling selections, feeds, and speeds to optimize performance.
• Support implementation of new technologies, software solutions, and advanced machining techniques.
• Maintain proper revision control and program documentation procedures.

Quality & Inspection Management

• Oversee inspection operations and ensure compliance with customer specifications, quality procedures, and inspection requirements.
• Coordinate first article inspections, in‑process inspections, and final inspection activities.
• Ensure proper calibration, maintenance, and utilization of inspection equipment and measuring devices.
• Collaborate with Quality Assurance personnel to address nonconformance issues, corrective actions, and root cause investigations.
• Support implementation and continuous improvement of quality systems and inspection processes.
• Promote a proactive quality culture focused on defect prevention and process control.

Insourcing & Outsourcing Management

• Evaluate manufacturing…