Department: CNC / Manufacturing
Reports To: Operations Manager
Position: CNC Department Lead
Position Summary
The CNC Department Lead is responsible for the day-to-day leadership, coordination, and performance of the CNC Department. The Lead is accountable for ensuring production is completed safely, efficiently, accurately, and on schedule, with a primary focus on achieving the company's 98% On-Time Delivery (OTD) goal.
The CNC Department consists of:
- (5) HAAS 3-Axis and 4-Axis CNC Machines
- (2) Amada Brakeform Machines
- (1) OMAX Waterjet
- (1) Manual Mill
The Lead works closely with Operations, Planning, Quality, Material Control, and other departments to identify problems early, maintain production flow, and develop solutions to meet customer commitments.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Production & On-Time Delivery
- Manage daily CNC production priorities and ensure work is progressing according to schedule.
- Maintain focus on achieving 98% On-Time Delivery.
- Review the CNC workload, backlog, and upcoming due dates daily.
- Assign jobs and employees based on priority, machine availability, qualifications, and capacity.
- Monitor jobs approaching their due dates and identify risks before they become late.
- Provide accurate Estimated Completion Dates (ECDs) and communicate schedule changes.
- Develop recovery plans for past-due or at-risk jobs.
- Balance workload between machines and available personnel.
- Escalate capacity, staffing, equipment, material, or outside-processing issues that may affect delivery.
- Daily Leadership
- Lead daily CNC production activities and establish clear priorities.
- Monitor production throughout the shift and make adjustments as needed.
- Ensure employees understand the day's priorities and production expectations.
- Follow up on stalled or delayed work.
- Maintain clear communication with Operations and Planning regarding production status.
- Promote a proactive, team-oriented work environment.
- Employee Training & Development
- Train and mentor CNC employees in equipment, processes, quality requirements, safety, and company procedures.
- Develop cross-training to increase department flexibility and machine coverage.
- Identify skill gaps and establish training priorities.
- Support training and qualification on HAAS, Amada Brakeform, OMAX Waterjet, and Manual Mill equipment.
- Assist with onboarding and development of new employees.
- Provide coaching and feedback to employees to improve performance and productivity.
- Employee Performance & Reviews
- Provide ongoing feedback regarding employee performance.
- Conduct or assist with employee performance reviews.
- Evaluate employees based on productivity, quality, attendance, teamwork, safety, training, and ability to meet expectations.
- Recognize strong performance and address performance concerns promptly.
- Establish clear expectations and hold employees accountable.
- Work with Operations Management and HR on performance issues when necessary.
- Quality
- Ensure work is performed according to drawings, specifications, work instructions, and customer requirements.
- Promote a "Do It Right the First Time" culture.
- Work with Quality to address defects, discrepancies, and NCRs.
- Identify root causes of recurring problems and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure employees understand quality requirements before beginning work.
- Reduce rework and prevent repeat defects.
- Equipment & Maintenance
- Monitor the condition and availability of all CNC department equipment.
- Coordinate machine maintenance and repair activities.
- Immediately communicate equipment problems that could affect production.
- Track and address recurring machine downtime.
- Work with Maintenance and outside technicians to return equipment to service as quickly as possible.
- Monitor machine utilization and recommend improvements.
- Ensure operators complete required machine checks and routine maintenance.
- Planning & ProShop Coordination
- Work closely with Planning to maintain an accurate production schedule.
- Review ProShop work orders and identify scheduling or capacity concerns.
- Provide Planning with accurate job status and ECD information.
- Communicate material, tooling, programming, inspection, and outside-processing constraints.
- Identify jobs that cannot meet their scheduled completion date and communicate the issue early.
- Recommend schedule adjustments based on actual shop capacity and conditions.
- Ensure production information and work-order status are kept current.
- Continuous Improvement
- Identify bottlenecks and opportunities to improve production flow.
- Improve machine utilization, setup efficiency, and employee productivity.
- Reduce waiting time, rework, downtime, and other production losses.
- Support Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Use production data to identify trends and make recommendations to Operations Management.
- Participate in capacity planning and future equipment/resource requirements.
- Safety
- Promote and enforce a safe working environment.
- Ensure employees follow company safety procedures and machine-specific requirements.
- Identify and correct unsafe conditions.
- Ensure employees receive required safety training.
- Report accidents, incidents, and safety concerns promptly.
- Lead by example in all safety-related activities.
KEY PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
The CNC Department Lead will be measured on department performance, including:
Delivery
- Maintain 98% On-Time Delivery.
- Reduce past-due work.
- Provide accurate ECDs.
- Complete daily production commitments.
Productivity
- Improve machine and labor utilization.
- Reduce setup and waiting time.
- Reduce machine downtime.
- Increase production flow and throughput.
Quality
- Reduce rework and NCRs.
- Maintain compliance with drawings, specifications, and work instructions.
- Promote first-pass quality.
People
- Maintain effective training and cross-training.
- Develop qualified employees and backups.
- Provide timely coaching and performance feedback.
- Maintain teamwork and accountability.
Equipment
- Maintain high machine availability.
- Respond quickly to equipment issues.
- Support preventive maintenance and machine reliability.
AUTHORITY & ACCOUNTABILITY
The CNC Department Lead is responsible for taking ownership of CNC department performance and is expected to:
- Establish daily production priorities.
- Assign employees and equipment based on production requirements.
- Escalate issues affecting safety, quality, delivery, or capacity.
- Recommend overtime, staffing, training, tooling, or equipment needs.
- Stop work when safety or quality is at risk.
- Recommend process improvements.
- Hold employees accountable for established expectations.
- Communicate problems early and drive them toward resolution.
The Lead is not expected to solve every problem personally, but is expected to identify problems early, communicate clearly, and take ownership of driving solutions.
Qualifications
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- CNC machining/manufacturing experience.
- Strong understanding of CNC manufacturing processes.
- Experience with 3-Axis and/or 4-Axis CNC equipment.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications.
- Ability to understand production schedules and manufacturing priorities.
- Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to train and develop employees.
- Ability to work effectively with Planning, Quality, and Operations.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Commitment to safety, quality, and on-time delivery.
LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS
The CNC Lead is expected to lead by example and demonstrate:
- Proactive problem solving.
- Clear and timely communication.
- Accountability and follow-through.
- Strong teamwork.
- Commitment to quality and safety.
- Development of employees.
- Focus on meeting customer commitments.
- Ownership of CNC Department performance.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
Keep the CNC Department safe, productive, organized, and on schedule while developing a skilled and accountable team capable of consistently achieving 98% On-Time Delivery.
Pathfinder Manufacturing is an equal opportunity employer.