CNC Programmer

Gwynedd Manufacturing, a growing defense contractor located in North Wales, PA, is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility dedicated to producing quality products for the U.S. Department of Defense and various U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies. As an innovative company offering a wide array of products, we strive to continuously develop new technology and drive process improvement.

Position Summary

The CNC Programmer is the technical expert and process owner responsible for developing, implementing, improving, and sustaining CNC machining processes. This position creates and maintains CNC programs, develops setup documentation, establishes machining strategies, selects tooling and workholding solutions, and provides technical leadership across the machining department.

The CNC Programmer is expected to possess the skills and capabilities of a CNC Operator, CNC Technician, and CNC Setup Lead while serving as the highest-level machining resource for complex manufacturing challenges. This role works closely with Engineering, Quality, Production, and Maintenance to ensure safe, efficient, repeatable, and profitable machining processes.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Programming & Process Development

• Create, modify, verify, and maintain CNC programs for production machining operations.
• Develop machining strategies to optimize cycle time, quality, tool life, and machine utilization.
• Establish and maintain setup sheets, tooling lists, process documentation, and work instructions.
• Select cutting tools, fixturing, workholding, and machining methods to support production requirements.
• Verify program accuracy through simulation, prove-outs, and first-run validation.
• Maintain revision control and process documentation in accordance with company quality requirements.

Process Ownership

• Serve as the process owner for assigned machines, product families, or manufacturing cells.
• Develop standardized machining processes that ensure repeatable production results.
• Analyze production performance and implement improvements to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
• Lead initiatives focused on cycle time reduction, setup reduction, quality improvement, and scrap reduction.
• Support new product introductions and transition products from development into production.
• Participate in manufacturability reviews and provide machining expertise during product development.

Technical Leadership

• Serve as the highest-level machining resource for Operators, Technicians, and Setup Leads.
• Provide training, coaching, and mentorship on machining theory, setup methods, tooling applications, troubleshooting, and best practices.
• Develop training materials and standardized processes to improve workforce capability.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts for complex machining, programming, tooling, and quality issues.
• Support first-piece approvals and complex setup activities as needed.
• Promote continuous improvement and technical excellence throughout the department.

Production Support

• Support machine setups, proving out new programs, and validating manufacturing processes.
• Review production performance and implement corrective actions when process issues arise.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Production, and Maintenance teams to resolve manufacturing challenges.
• Provide program edits and process improvements as needed to support production requirements.