Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Machining)

northwoodspace•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

Northwood is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Machining) to help stand up and scale our in-house machining capability for high-performance hardware used in our satellite communications ground stations. This role combines hands-on machining/CAM with strategic capability build-out—you’ll own the end-to-end effort from selecting and purchasing CNC equipment to designing the shop layout, building robust fixturing, programming parts, training operators, and driving continuous improvement on quality, cost, and lead time.

Requirements

4–6+ years of experience working with machined components in a manufacturing engineering, CNC programming, CNC machining, or closely related role.
Demonstrated experience with fixture/workholding design and bringing repeatable machining processes into production.
Strong CAM programming experience (e.g., Fusion, Mastercam, NX CAM, etc.) and practical understanding of feeds/speeds, tooling, and setup strategy.
Comfortable operating in a hands-on environment: proving out programs on the floor, debugging issues, and iterating quickly.
Strong communication skills and ability to coordinate vendors/contractors and cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Experience selecting and commissioning CNC equipment (mills/lathes; 3/4/5-axis), including acceptance criteria and ramp plans.
Proficiency in CAD for fixturing and tooling design (e.g., Siemens NX or similar).
Experience with GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, and inspection/metrology planning (CMM, probing, etc.).
Experience developing standardized work, work instructions, and training programs.

Responsibilities

Own the roadmap to establish and scale an internal machine shop: capability definition, machine selection, procurement, and commissioning.
Source, evaluate, and purchase CNC machines and supporting equipment (workholding, tooling, metrology, material handling), balancing floor space, budget, throughput, and scalability.
Coordinate machine delivery, rigging, utilities, installation, acceptance testing, and ongoing maintenance strategy.
Design the machine shop layout, workflows, and safety/operational standards (material flow, tool control, inspection flow, chip/coolant management).
Design and validate machining fixtures and workholding for repeatability, speed, and part quality.
Create, own, and maintain CAM programs and machining documentation: setups, tool lists, inspection plans, and standardized work.
Run machines as needed to unblock development/production and to prove out new processes and programs.
Train operators and establish operator-facing work instructions, troubleshooting guides, and escalation paths.
Drive continuous improvement (yield, cycle time, scrap reduction, process capability), including root-cause investigations and corrective actions.
Partner closely with design engineering on DFM, tolerancing strategy, inspection strategy, and make/buy decisions for machined components.