Small Shop Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

A privately held, family-founded precision machining company in the South Bay producing surgical and implantable medical device components. The shop runs 5-axis vertical and horizontal mills alongside a Swiss turning department, holding tolerances down to half a thousandth. It is a small, tight-knit operation where the President is on the floor daily and knows every person by name.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Job Title: 5-Axis CNC Mill Programmer

Location: South Bay, Los Angeles County, CA

Work Model: 100% on-site, no remote or hybrid component

Shift: First shift, 5:00 AM to 1:30 PM

Overtime: Mandatory. Minimum 2 hours daily plus 5 hours Saturday, typically 50 to 55 hours per week

Department: Milling

Reports To: President

Direct Reports: None. This is an individual contributor seat, not a supervisory role

Openings: 1

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS

The company is building out its milling side and wants a dedicated programmer who owns the 5-axis work end to end. Right now the mill department leans on general machining depth rather than a specialist who lives in the CAM software and knows how to get a complex part off a 5-axis machine efficiently. This role fills that gap.

This is deliberately not a management role. There are no direct reports and no headcount to run. The company wants a technical specialist who programs, sets up, and proves out parts, not someone splitting attention between the floor and a management calendar. If you have been pushed toward supervision and would rather stay hands-on with the machines and the code, this is built for you.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Program 5-axis vertical and horizontal mills in Mastercam, recently upgraded to the current version
• Build and prove out programs for complex, tight-tolerance components held to +/- 0.001 inch and tighter
• Own your own setups: fixturing, tooling selection, work offsets, and dialing the job in
• Read and edit G-code directly on Fanuc controls to troubleshoot and optimize at the machine
• Interpret blueprints, schematics, and GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) callouts
• Design and fabricate in-house fixturing to improve repeatability and cycle time
• Verify parts using micrometers, calipers, bore gauges, and CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine)
• Run first article inspections and maintain quality documentation to regulated manufacturing standards
• Feed practical shop floor observations back into program revisions and process improvements

MUST-HAVES

• Hands-on 5-axis mill experience, programming and setup
• Mastercam proficiency
• Fanuc controls, including reading and editing G-code at the machine
• Blueprint reading and GD&T interpretation
• Track record holding +/- 0.001 inch or tighter
• Able to run your own setups start to finish
• Commutable to the South Bay for a 5:00 AM start
• Able to commit to 50 to 55 hour weeks including Saturdays

NICE-TO-HAVES

• Palletized 5-axis mills or pallet pool experience
• Horizontal 5-axis, not just vertical
• Designing and fabricating your own fixturing
• SolidWorks
• Vericut or similar program simulation
• Medical device, dental, or aerospace background
• Titanium, stainless steel, or PEEK
• Swiss or lathe exposure alongside milling

NOTE ON INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Medical device experience is not required. The company's position is that tight-tolerance work transfers, and aerospace is treated as fully equivalent to medical. Part size does not matter either. If you have held tight tolerances on a 5-axis machine, your background is relevant regardless of what you were building.

WHO THRIVES HERE

This is a small shop, not a large corporate manufacturer. The people who do well here are comfortable being the person who solves the problem rather than escalating it, and they like being close to the actual work. There is no layer between you and the decision maker.

Be clear-eyed about two things before you apply. The hours are long and the overtime is not optional, including Saturday mornings. And the day starts at 5:00 AM, which is a real lifestyle change if you are coming off a later shift. Candidates who have thought honestly about the commute at 4:00 in the morning tend to be the ones who stay.

CULTURE AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

Family-founded and privately held, with a clean, climate-controlled shop floor. The team is small enough that people know each other, and long tenure is common. The company invests in its equipment, including a recent upgrade to the current Mastercam version.

The hiring process is short and direct. You speak with your Pave Talent recruiter, then meet the President virtually, then come on site. The President handles interviews personally, so you are talking to the decision maker the entire way through with no HR layer in between. Because he is also running the floor, steps can sit a week or two apart. Your recruiter will keep you posted throughout.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Pay: Hourly, competitive and based on 5-axis programming depth

Overtime: Paid, and substantial. Mandatory daily and Saturday overtime is built into the schedule

401(k): With 4% company match

Medical: Yes

Vision: Yes

Paid Time Off: Yes

HOW TO APPLY

This is a confidential search managed exclusively by Pave Talent. The company name will be disclosed to qualified candidates who are selected for an interview.