25 of the Highest Paying Machining Jobs in 2026

The best Machining jobs can pay up to $185,000 per year.

High Paying Machining Jobs

• Die Cast Engineer

  Salary range: $90,000 - $185,000

  A die cast engineer works on the entire life cycle of die casting for a company. Your responsibilities in this career include the establishing the development process and the manufacturing parameters for die components, troubleshooting quality issues, making corrective measures, guiding designers to create castings, documenting production cost, and maintaining the casting equipment. Your duties also include working with the tooling engineer to build slide layouts, internal cooling systems, air evacuation systems, and parting lines for the die. As the die cast engineer, you also document the metal melting and cleaning process.

• Tool Pusher

  Salary range: $45,500 - $122,500

  A tool pusher works in the oil drilling industry. You are a department head, responsible for the operations of the drilling department on an offshore oil rig. Your duties include ensuring the rig has all the necessary equipment, materials, and tools for the extraction of oil. As the drilling crew’s foreman, you are responsible for all drillers on site. Other responsibilities include monitoring the work process of the drillers and handling any potential problems. You select, hire, and control workers and ensure they receive the proper training. You also schedule crew members’ shifts and roles.

• Metallurgical Engineer

  Salary range: $77,500 - $108,500

  A metallurgical engineer develops ways to extract metal materials and produce metal products more efficiently. As a metallurgical engineer, you may work in the mining industry or for a manufacturer that utilizes metal products, such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, and large equipment companies. In the mining industry, you may focus on finding environmentally-friendly methods to extract minerals from mines. Those working in the manufacturing field may design techniques to remove metals from other materials or convert raw metals into new alloys and types of metals.

• Tooling Manager

  Salary range: $50,000 - $108,500

  A tooling manager oversees the list or system that tracks tool data, information, storage location, or other logistics. While they may also be responsible for the production and maintenance of industrial tools, their duties often include gathering data and information on different tools and maintaining a system of storage that increases efficiency. This system should make the components needed to work on specific machines or assemblies easier to find. Qualifications for a career in tool management include a wide knowledge of industrial tools and how they work, as well as management experience and organizational skills.

• Workshop Manager

  Salary range: $54,000 - $107,000

  An engineering workshop manager is in charge of workshop operations and resources for a business. Typical job duties include ensuring product quality, assigning tasks to workers, coordinating resources, ordering supplies, managing invoices, and advising on key projects. Most employers prefer job candidates with an engineering trade qualification. Additional qualifications for a career as a workshop manager include familiarity with CAD software, communication skills, management experience, and basic computer proficiency.

• Metallurgist

  Salary range: $83,000 - $102,000

  An engineer who studies and alters metals is called a metallurgist. As a metallurgist, you are trained to understand the properties of materials like steel and aluminum to change and shape them. You work on projects in different industries, like creating commercial products (like golf clubs or electrical products) or on projects in aerospace engineering. Many metallurgists specialize, for example, earning qualifications to become a chemical, process or physical metallurgist.

• PLC Programmer

  Salary range: $68,000 - $92,500

  A PLC programmer oversees the programming of various machines functioning on programmable logic controller technology. PLC technology is a digital computer that controls electromagnetic processes, primarily in industrial equipment. As a PLC programmer, you are responsible for the programming and maintenance of these systems. Your duties include developing and programming new machines, reprograming existing machines, and diagnosing and repairing issues with PLC driven systems. You may work in various specialized industries, such as the medical, manufacturing, or agriculture fields. Your job is to create or update computerized machine systems so that the input, output, and control systems function optimally to meet the needs of your employer.

• Tool Room Supervisor

  Salary range: $68,500 - $92,000

  A tool room supervisor oversees the equipment, tools, and goods in a tool room. In this career, your duties include overseeing check in and check out procedures of tools to staff members. You clean, inspect, and, if necessary, repair equipment. Your responsibilities include working to maintain equipment, document new purchases and repairs, and source any additional tools that staff might need to complete a project. In addition to tools and equipment, you may also be responsible for maintaining an inventory of consumables.

• Machine Shop Supervisor

  Salary range: $58,000 - $90,000

  Machine shop supervisors coordinate work with managers, machinists, engineers, and other staff in a machine shop to ensure products are created safely and effectively. As a machine shop supervisor, you oversee the setup and operations of the equipment in the shop and develop processes to increase efficiency and ensure that finished products meet all specifications. You may also be responsible for troubleshooting and repairing machinery, such as milling machines or metal lathes.

• Shop Manager

  Salary range: $50,000 - $80,000

  Shop managers oversee the daily operations of a store and make sure sales associates provide excellent customer service while meeting sales goals. As a shop manager, your job duties include controlling inventory, creating sales plans, and hiring and training staff, including sales associates, cashiers, and stockroom staff. You ensure all assignments and transactions within the store run smoothly, and also handle financial tasks, such as accounting, cash flow management, and making bank deposits.

• Precision Machinist

  Salary range: $47,500 - $79,000

  The job duties of a precision machinist revolve around working to set up, program, and operate a machine to create precision tools, products, or instruments. In this career, your responsibilities may include reading blueprints and obtaining measurements/geometric information to aid in the manufacturing of precision tools or devices. Your employer may ask you to set up and operate conventional machines or CNC machines for their precision machining projects. You may need to assemble machined parts and control the speed of the material feed and cutting during production.

• PLC Technician

  Salary range: $63,000 - $78,000

  As a PLC technician, you install and repair programmable logic control (PLC) devices. PLCs are miniature computers that communicate with and control machinery used in manufacturing systems and other industries. PLCs control assembly line machines in manufacturing plants as well as traffic lights and automated car washes. As a PLC technician, your job duties are to program, debug, and repair PLC devices to ensure that they work properly with other equipment. A career as a PLC technician is highly technical, so proper education and training are essential to finding employment.

• Master Machinist

  Salary range: $31,000 - $78,000

  A master machinist operates computer-controlled machinery in the manufacturing industry. They use computer-aided machinery to cut, assemble, or fabricate metal parts or products. A master machinist can read blueprints and set up their machines using CNC technology to automate the cutting and fabrication process. They may be able to work in fields such as aerospace manufacturing with specialized training.

• Millwork Estimator

  Salary range: $50,000 - $73,000

  A millwork estimator generates detailed proposals for the finishing woodwork for construction projects, such as base trim, crown molding, window casing, and chair rails. As a millwork estimator, your job duties reviewing architectural drawings and blueprints, compiling project specifications and materials requirements, and procuring pricing for the woodwork required by the project. Your responsibilities include building and maintaining vendor relationships to ensure your clients get the best prices possible for labor and materials. Millwork estimators may sometimes include cabinetry in their estimates, but that is typically considered a separate project.

• CNC Programmer

  Salary range: $53,000 - $72,500

  A CNC programmer operates a computer numerical control machine to cut materials like metal and plastic for building things such as airplanes or appliances. In the simplest terms, the CNC programmer uses coding and software to tell the machine what to cut. In addition to initially programming machinery, they also troubleshoot and improve existing software and codes. They work with blueprints to ensure precise directions, and engineers to make improvements.

• Journeyman Tool and Die Maker

  Salary range: $55,500 - $72,500

  A journeyman tool and die maker creates metal tools and forges casts from metal, plastic, and other materials. As a journeyman tool and die maker, your main duties involve reviewing blueprints and sketches, creating designs with CAD software, operating computer-controlled machinery and equipment, and inspecting finished products for defects. Other responsibilities include filing, smoothing, polishing, and adjusting the finished tools and dies. These professionals find work in machine shops, manufacturing plants, factories, and tool rooms.

• Tooling Specialist

  Salary range: $40,000 - $69,000

  A tooling specialist designs, repairs, and performs maintenance on the tools needed for specific manufacturing equipment and machines. As a tooling specialist, you track data on tooling and fixtures, create cost estimates for repair, assist in the assembly of new tools and machines, and perform other day-to-day duties in a manufacturing environment. A tooling specialist is sometimes considered a toolmaker because of their ability to create new tools for new processes. Your responsibilities include conducting product reviews, assisting the purchasing department with price negotiations, monitoring tooling maintenance, and troubleshooting parts when samples or newer parts malfunction.

• Toolmaker

  Salary range: $53,000 - $68,500

  A toolmaker is a machinist who makes precision tools for use in manufacturing. As a toolmaker, responsibilities include reading and interpreting engineering drawings, using a clamp to secure raw materials, and cutting tools to the right shape and size using equipment like mill machines, jig grinders, and lathes. This process of cutting raw materials into a desired shape or size is also known as machining. The advancement of technology through computer-aided design (CAD) means you need to learn new toolmaking technologies to keep up with developments in the industry.

• Tool and Die Maker Apprentice

  Salary range: $40,000 - $68,000

  A tool and die maker apprentice receives skilled on-the-job training in tool and die making. Through your apprenticeship, you learn the basics of manufacturing these products. You train with an experienced tool and die maker until you are able to complete tasks on your own. Your responsibilities include cutting various pieces of tooling, making jigs and fixtures, and creating molds. You learn how to run all trade-related machines. In this role, you also learn how to read a blueprint. Other duties include computing and verifying the dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of workpieces.

• Journeyman Millwright

  Salary range: $54,500 - $68,000

  A journeyman millwright maintains, installs, repairs, dismantles, and moves machinery within an industrial setting. As a journeyman millwright, you may work in a factory for a few days and then work in a power plant, processing facility, or at a construction site for a similar amount of time. As part of the safety protocol for installation, you thoroughly inspect equipment for potential issues, such as defective parts, and you determine the need to disassemble or repair machines. You also work with engineers to assess blueprint plans. To learn the necessary skills for this job, you must complete a formal apprenticeship program available through an employer, state labor office, or local union.

• Millwright

  Salary range: $50,500 - $66,000

  Millwrights build, assemble, maintain, and break down machinery. Due to their hands-on involvement with all aspects of machinery, millwrights have a strong understanding of how machines operate when they are in good working order and when they are in need of repairs. The Millwright Employers Association says that, historically, millwrights also completed carpentry duties. Modern millwrights use heavy-duty equipment and blueprints to assemble machinery used in assembly lines and manufacturing plants.

• Die Repair

  Salary range: $49,000 - $65,500

  Your primary responsibilities while working in a die repair position entail performing maintenance and repairs on dies, which are specialized tools used in the manufacturing industry to cut materials. As a repairperson, your duties require you to troubleshoot issues and use the proper tool to upkeep current dies. You may use a die cast machine to create parts and adequately cut and shape dies. Die repair jobs require familiarity working with materials such as metal, plastic, ceramic, and more. Attention to detail is also crucial for these roles, as you need the finished product to be high-quality and free from defects.

• Mechanical Shop Laborer

  Salary range: $43,500 - $65,000

  A mechanical shop laborer provides operations assistance to mechanical specialists. In this career, you can work in many fields, such as industrial manufacturing and production, railway freight services, and vehicle maintenance. Your role is to provide physical assistance to mechanics and other specialists when servicing or repairing vehicles. You also perform routine maintenance duties, such as sanding and scrubbing equipment, operate forklifts to move components around the warehouse, production facility, or depot, and maintain cleanliness in the workshop.

• Field Machinist

  Salary range: $51,000 - $64,000

  A field machinist operates machining equipment at a construction or manufacturing site. As a field machinist, you utilize machines, including lathes, mills, grinders and die cutting equipment, to fabricate precision tools and parts, such as a plane turbine or car brakes. You are responsible for setting up the machines and ensuring they are calibrated correctly. Some positions also handle troubleshooting and repairs. This position often travels to different locations.

• Swiss Machinist

  Salary range: $48,500 - $63,500

  A Swiss machinist operates a Swiss-type computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine, also called a Swiss lathe or Swiss screw machine. These machines are used to manufacture parts to predetermined specifications. The Swiss lathe pierces, cuts, and drills raw materials, and your skills help shape the final product. As a Swiss machinist, your responsibilities begin with studying product drawings to determine how to program your machine to cut the pieces you need. Your duties may include setting up and operating the machine, revising for offsets, measuring and inspecting parts, and completing accompanying paperwork. Qualifications for a machinist role begin with a high school degree, but many jobs also require a background in working with machinery. Your career as a Swiss machinist also benefits from prior mathematical and metalworking knowledge. Familiarity with CAD and CAM software is also helpful.