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Senior CNC Programmer

Axiom Custom Products · Portland, OR

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Level
Technician
Team
Manufacturing
Industry
Industrial
Posted
Recently

The role in 30 seconds

A technician-level manufacturing role at Axiom Custom Products (industrial) in Portland, OR.

Tools it names
Robotics, CNC, Tooling
Day to day
some off-shift / weekend coverage

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Manufacturing Technician roles in Oregon: typical posted base $60k–$100k.

Median of the low and high ends of 8 live postings that list pay, out of 24 manufacturing technician openings in Oregon, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Oregon plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 27 other live manufacturing postings in Oregon.

Base pay
Not listed in this posting

Typical $60k–$100k, from 8 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
Not stated

Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • ✓ CNC 46%
  • ✓ Tooling 36%
  • Machining 32%
  • GD&T 32%
  • ✓ Robotics 29%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

At a glance

Off-shift / weekend coverage

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. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Axiom Custom Products

    Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.

  2. 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. 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 does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 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. 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.

Full description from Axiom Custom ProductsAs posted on their careers site.Show

Senior Cnc Programmer

You pull into the parking lot at Axiom Custom Products, coffee in hand, already thinking about the wild mix of projects waiting inside. Around here, we don\'t run the same job twice. One week it\'s immersive retail displays, the next it\'s sculptural installations for an event launch, while longer term millwork/casework and gc work run concurrently. If it can be imagined, there\'s a good chance we\'re figuring out how to machine it.

You start your morning in the office, reviewing engineered drawings and models that just came in from design. They\'re ambitious, curves that push the limits of 5-axis movement, layered assemblies in plywood and mdf, complex plastic forms that need flawless surface finishes. You open up mastercam first, it\'s your home base, and begin building out toolpaths. You\'re thinking ahead the whole time: material behavior, hold-down strategy, cut order, tooling, feeds and speeds, and how to shave cycle time without sacrificing quality. Cabinet vision and powermill come into play depending on the project, especially when things get intricate.

By mid-morning, you\'re out on the shop floor. This isn\'t a sit-behind-a-desk programming role. You\'re watching the first sheets run on a 3-axis thermwood router, listening for anything that sounds off, double-checking that your strategy plays out exactly the way you intended. Foam, hardwood, mdf, plastics, no metal here, but every material has its own personality. You adjust, refine, optimize. If something can be better, you make it better.

As the senior cnc programmer, you set the standard for how programs are built, how files are organized, and how run sheets are written so that operators can execute confidently. You catch issues before they reach the machine. You review parts for quality, tweak processes, and make sure each job leaves the shop better than the last one. Your decisions directly affect efficiency, timelines, and the final result clients see in the real world.

Throughout the day, people stop by your desk or flag you down in the shop. Production needs input on a complex glue-up. Project management is checking on cycle times for an install deadline. A programmer has a question about nesting strategy. An operator wants help dialing in a feed rate. You\'re the go-to. Leadership here isn\'t about titles, it\'s about experience, clear communication, and raising the bar for everyone around you.

Some days you\'ll cross over into 5- or 7-axis robotic systems like royce or kuka, or equipment such as amada press brakes or kern lasers, with opportunities to stretch those muscles too. Regardless of your specific expertise, you bring strong fundamentals and the right mindset and are open to learning and the growth that comes with it.

You\'re comfortable moving between the air-conditioned office and a fast-paced shop environment. Organization matters. Attention to detail matters. Safety and consistency are non-negotiable. You\'re independent enough to own your workflow but collaborative enough to adapt when priorities shift, because they will shift. And as confident as you are, you ask questions. These are part of building one-of-a-kind work.

By the end of the day, you\'ve programmed, tested, improved, and probably solved three problems no one else even saw coming. You\'ve mentored someone, tightened up a process, and pushed a machine just a little closer to its full potential. And somewhere down the line, something you programmed will become a physical experience people walk through, photograph, and remember.

The reward isn\'t just in the paycheck, though at $33 to $40 an hour, it reflects the skill and experience you bring. It\'s in knowing you\'re building a career, not just punching a clock. After your first year, you\'re planning real time off: 20 days of pto plus 5 paid holidays (in year one it\'s 10 days and 5 paid holidays). You\'ve got solid subsidized medical and voluntary dental and vision coverage, with the option to add dependents at an additional cost. 401k and roth 401k options help you look ahead to retirement. In a trade where good shops exist, axiom stands apart because the work is different.

The office (not shop) is dog friendly. The work is never boring. And nearly everything, from concept to installation, happens under one roof with a team of 80 who care about making interesting things.

If you\'re ready to lead programming strategy, think three steps ahead of the machine, and help shape how complex custom projects get made, send us your resume and a short introduction in the cover letter section. Nothing overly formal is needed. Tell us a bit about your background, your experience with cnc, and why you think axiom would be a great fit for your next career move. Let us know what kind of projects you enjoy most and what craftsmanship means to you. If you\'re ready to build something meaningful and grow with a company that values skill, integrity, and dependability, go ahead and apply. We\'re looking forward to meeting you.

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