Mechanical Engineer – CNC Manufacturing & CAD/CAM Automation

What You'll Do

Drive CNC Manufacturing Automation

• Develop and enhance manufacturing standards, automation logic, and workflows for CNC machining across milling, turning, and secondary operations.
• Translate real-world machining expertise into scalable software requirements, engineering rules, algorithms, and product capabilities.
• Design automated solutions for:
  • Manufacturability analysis
  • Feature recognition
  • Machining strategy selection
  • Fixture planning
  • Tolerance and risk detection
  • Cycle time estimation
  • Cost estimation and quoting logic
  • Build scalable process planning frameworks for a wide range of materials, geometries, and production volumes.

  Improve Digital Manufacturing Processes

  • Review CAD models, engineering drawings, and technical specifications to identify manufacturability risks and automation opportunities.
  • Standardize CNC machining best practices and convert engineering knowledge into reusable digital workflows.
  • Support development and validation of CAD/CAM workflows, post-process logic, machine capability mapping, and automated process recommendations.
  • Collaborate with manufacturing partners to benchmark capabilities, define process limits, and improve consistency across production sites.
  • Analyse manufacturing data to identify bottlenecks, process variation, and improvement opportunities.

  Partner with Cross-functional Teams

  • Work closely with software engineers and product managers to develop manufacturing intelligence solutions.
  • Participate in testing and validation of software features related to CAM automation and CNC process planning.
  • Document engineering standards, technical decisions, and process assumptions for technical and business stakeholders.
  • Contribute to the long-term strategy for digital manufacturing and manufacturing automation.

What It Takes

Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in CNC manufacturing, machining process engineering, or manufacturing automation.
• Strong expertise in:
  • 3-axis and 5-axis CNC milling
  • Turning and Mill-Turn machining
  • Workholding and fixturing
  • Tool selection and process parameter optimisation
  • GD&T and tolerance analysis
  • Material behaviour and machining trade-offs
  • Hands-on experience with CAD/CAM platforms such as Fusion 360, Mastercam, Siemens NX, SolidCAM, hyperMILL, ESPRIT, or equivalent.
  • Strong understanding of Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA).
  • Experience translating engineering knowledge into structured workflows, decision logic, automation rules, or software requirements.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to balance manufacturability, quality, cost, and production efficiency.

  Collaboration & Communication

  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • Experience working with cross-functional engineering, software, product, and operations teams.
  • Ability to drive standardisation and scalable engineering solutions across distributed manufacturing environments.

  Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in digital manufacturing, distributed manufacturing, or online quoting platforms.
  • Knowledge of feature recognition, geometric analysis, model-based definition, or manufacturability algorithms.
  • Exposure to software development environments and collaboration with software engineering teams.
  • Experience with engineering automation using Python, VBA, JavaScript, Macro B, or CAD/CAM APIs.
  • Knowledge of machining economics, cycle time modelling, automated quoting, and production scaling.
  • Experience creating engineering standards across supplier networks or multi-site manufacturing operations.