CNC Programmer III
Antares · Los Angeles, CA
- Level
- Technician
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 4 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A technician-level manufacturing role at Antares (industrial) in Los Angeles, CA. Develop, optimize, and troubleshoot CNC programs using CAM software such as Esprit, or similar.
- They ask for
- 5+ years
- Tools it names
- GD&T, AS9100, Robotics, CNC, Machining, Tooling
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Manufacturing Technician roles in California: typical posted base $56k–$78k.
Median of the low and high ends of 10 live postings that list pay, out of 135 manufacturing technician openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 101 other live manufacturing postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Typical (5+ years)
Typical $84k–$121k, from 13 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Team leadership 39%
- ✓ Tooling 34%
- ✓ CNC 31%
- ✓ Machining 30%
- Lean 22%
- New product launch 21%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for AS9100, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Antares
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Antares in Los Angeles
1 other open role at this site.
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Fabrication · Manufacturing · Senior
Full description from AntaresAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced CNC Programmer to lead the development and execution of advanced machining processes for complex components. This role requires deep expertise in multi-axis programming and hands-on operation, along with the ability to support rapid iteration in a fast-paced R&D or flight development environment. The ideal candidate is highly technical, detail-oriented, and capable of driving parts from initial concept through stable, lights-out production.
Roles and
Responsibilities
- ◆Program, set up, and operate CNC mills and lathes across multiple configurations, including 2-axis, 3-axis, 3+1 rotary, full 5-axis, and mill/turn platforms
- ◆Interpret engineering drawings, applying GD&T principles and tolerance stack-up analysis to ensure part conformity
- ◆Develop, optimize, and troubleshoot CNC programs using CAM software such as Esprit, or similar
- ◆Determine cutting tool strategies for CNC programs
- ◆Generate and refine post-processed code to ensure efficient, safe, and repeatable machining operations
- ◆Create comprehensive setup sheets, tooling lists, and standardized work instructions for repeatable manufacturing
- ◆Lead machining process development from first article through full production readiness
- ◆Design and implement lights-out machining strategies, ensuring process stability and minimal operator intervention
- ◆Collaborate closely with design, manufacturing, and quality teams to resolve technical challenges and improve manufacturability
- ◆Identify and implement cycle time reductions, tooling improvements, and cost-saving opportunities
- ◆Support rapid prototyping and iterative development in an agile, high-mix/low-volume environment
Basic
Qualifications
- ✓5+ years of CNC programming experience in a production or R&D environment
- ✓Strong hands-on experience with multi-axis machining (2-axis, 3-axis, 3+1 rotary, 5-axis, and mill/turn)
- ✓Proficiency with CAM software such as Esprit, or equivalent
- ✓Experience running lights-out production environments
- ✓Demonstrated ability to transition parts from first article to full production
- ✓Strong understanding of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis
- ✓Experience creating detailed setup documentation and process instructions
Preferred Qualifications
- ✓Experience in a startup or agile development environment
- ✓Experience with Fanuc CNC controllers
- ✓Experience in an AS9100 (or similar) machining environment
- ✓Experience in fast-paced R&D or prototype-driven manufacturing environments
- ✓Familiarity with high-precision, tight-tolerance components
- ✓Experience machining high strength metallics, superalloys, and/or graphite
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
About Us
At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.
The Antares team hails from SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, MIT, Rigetti Computing, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, and National Laboratories like Idaho, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Savannah River. Antares has raised over $600M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has hundreds of million-dollars on contract with the military services, NASA, and the Department of Energy.
Key Competencies
- •Advanced multi-axis machining and programming expertise
- •Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- •Process optimization and continuous improvement mindset
- •High attention to detail and commitment to quality
- •Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
- •Effective cross-functional communication and collaboration
Location
- •We are located in Torrance, CA in a 322,000 square foot, brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.
Culture
At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:
- •Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. “If you want to be certain, then you are apt to be obsolete.” Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system
- •Obsess over the End User - The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive commercial products if we lose sight of our end users and their entire interaction with the product life cycle
- •Be Unconstrained by Convention - Our only limits are the laws of physics. Many, even experts, will say what we are working on is impossible. They said the same about SpaceX reusing rockets. Generationally impactful companies, by definition, must accomplish the seemingly impossible. If it were easy, it would have already been done. Never shy away from a solution because it has never been tried before, and never choose to do something because that's “how it's always been done”
- •Go Where the Work I s - Never miss a chance to meet a customer, user, or stakeholder face to face, even if that means hopping on a plane. If you can’t make it, find a teammate who can channel your intentions and go in your place. Deep work can be done from anywhere, but we believe teams are built in person, and aim to maximize our time together
- •Operate in the Grey - Embra
