Jr. CNC Programmer / CAM Technician

About Coastal

Coastal Machine & Supply is an AS9100-certified precision contract manufacturer specializing in large, complex turning and 5-axis milling. Our parts go into defense, space, and oil and gas programs — the kind of work where the part is expensive, the lead time is long, and getting it right the first time matters. We are roughly 60 people, and we are growing.

About this role

This is the entry point into our programming group, and it is a real one. We have three programmers and nothing beneath them, which means today there is no way to grow a programmer here — we can only hire one. This seat changes that.
Your core work is manufacturing model preparation: taking the customer model and preparing it for machining so a programmer can build toolpaths from a correct starting point. It is careful, consequential work — every toolpath on that part is built on what you hand over. Alongside that, you will build tools in CAM, support the programming group, spend real time on the floor watching parts run, and progressively take on programs of your own under a programmer’s review.
We are direct about what this is: a development seat with a defined path to Programmer, not a button-pushing job and not a title with no future behind it.

What you’ll do

• Prepare manufacturing models for machining, with real thought given to stock, tolerance interpretation, and how the part will actually be cut.
• Build tools in our CAM system under direction from the programmer who owns the part.
• Support the programming group with model revisions, stock setup, and fixture geometry.
• Spend scheduled time on the production floor learning how parts are held, how setups run, and why programs are built the way they are.
• Write programs for simpler and repeat parts as your capability develops, reviewed and released by the owning programmer.
• Work inside ProShop and follow our pre-processing discipline as written.

Two ways into this role

We are hiring for capability, not for a resume shape. There are two routes in, and we weight them equally.

• If you’re a machinist: You have run CNC machines and want to move into programming. You know how parts behave, how they are held, and why setups fail. You may have little or no CAM time — that is fine, and honestly it is the harder half to teach.
• If you’re already in CAM: You can navigate a CAM system, manipulate solid models, and explain what a toolpath is doing. You want to work on harder parts than you have had access to.

What we need from everyone

• The ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, including GD&T — enough to know what a callout is asking for.
• A working understanding of machining fundamentals: what a tool can and cannot reach, why stock matters, why a part is held the way it is held.
• Plus one of the two routes above — CNC machining experience, or working CAM proficiency.

Every candidate completes a short hands-on model exercise during the hiring process. It is the same exercise for both routes, and it is how we evaluate aptitude rather than resume.

Helpful, but not required

• Mastercam specifically.
• Experience with large or complex turning, or 5-axis milling.
• A technical or associate program with CAM coursework.
• Time in an AS9100, aerospace, defense, or oil and gas shop.

Being straight with you about this job

• You will not release programs. Everything you produce is verified and released by the owning programmer until you have earned that authority. That is a deliberate control, not a comment on you.
• Your work gets reviewed and corrected regularly. If that would wear on you, this is not the right seat.
• You will take direction from more than one programmer and adapt to how each of them works.
• Advancement here is earned by demonstrated capability, not by time served. We do not put a calendar on it in either direction.

Where it leads

The path is Junior CNC Programmer / CAM Technician → Programmer → Senior Programmer. You move to Programmer when your models pass verification consistently, your programs need fewer corrections, and you can explain why a toolpath strategy is right rather than just reproduce one. At that point you carry release authority and the title changes. Staying in this seat long-term is also a legitimate choice if you turn out to be excellent at model work and would rather not program.

Work environment

This is primarily a CAM workstation role with extended computer work, and regular scheduled time on the production floor. Shop conditions include machine noise, coolant, chips, and variable temperature. Eye and hearing protection are required on the floor at all times.

Why people stay here

• The parts are genuinely hard. Large, complex, tight-tolerance work for programs that matter.
• We are small enough that what you do is visible and big enough to have real equipment and real systems behind you.
• We are building the ladder this seat sits on rather than talking about it.

To apply

Apply through this posting. There are a handful of quick questions and no cover letter required. If your background fits either route, we want to talk.