Machine Shop Manager

About Apptronik & The Role

At Apptronik, we are building the next generation of general-purpose robots. To support our fast-paced hardware development, our internal R&D Machine Shop is the lifeblood of our iterative design process.

We are seeking an expert-level Machine Shop Manager to oversee all internal machining, fabrication, and prototyping operations. This role is strictly focused on servicing our internal R&D engineering teams—not external customers. Your primary mission is to enable our engineers to receive high-quality prototype parts in the quickest amount of time possible, targeting a 48-hour turnaround.

You will act as a facilitator, operational leader, and subject matter expert, removing bottlenecks so engineers can focus on design. 

Key Responsibilities

1. Shop Operations & Workflow Management

• Workflow Optimization: Oversee the daily operations of the R&D shop, ensuring high throughput and prioritizing a target two-day turnaround time for requested prototype parts.
• Ticketing & Intake: Implement, manage, and enforce a centralized ticketing system (e.g., Jira, Asana) for all machining and fabrication requests to track jobs, monitor queue health, and route work efficiently.
• Task Triage & Delegation: Effectively assess incoming work and assign tasks appropriately across the team (e.g., directing complex CAM programming to specialists, assigning quick secondary operations like tapping or deburring to junior staff to maximize CNC uptime).
• Customer Service Excellence: Act as a true partner to the engineering team. Proactively manage requests, provide status updates, and ensure the burden of shop logistics (ordering, tooling prep) does not fall on the engineering staff.

2. Team Leadership & Supervision

• Team Management: Direct, mentor, and evaluate a diverse shop staff, which may include CAM programmers, dedicated CNC machinists, junior/support machinists, and 3D printing technicians.
• Technical Mentorship: Serve as subject matter expert in the shop. Provide guidance on complex machining strategies and troubleshoot difficult setups.
• Culture Building: Foster a welcoming, non-possessive, and highly collaborative environment where engineers feel comfortable utilizing shop resources and collaborating with shop staff.
• Training & Certification: Develop, schedule, and lead efficient, hands-on training programs (e.g., manual mills/lathes, CNCs) to safely authorize engineers and onboard new shop personnel.

3. Inventory, Supply Chain & Material Management

• Material Stocking: Establish, maintain, and forecast a robust base inventory of raw materials, ensuring continuous availability of commonly used aluminum, mild steel, plastics, and various profiles (round, square, flat).
• Hardware & Fasteners: Maintain a highly organized, Kanban-style inventory of standard hardware, including fasteners, helicoils, dowel pins, and 80/20 extrusions/brackets.
• Tooling Procurement: Take full, proactive ownership of purchasing shop supplies, high-end metrology equipment, cutting tools (endmills, drills, taps), and machine fluids without requiring engineers to compile purchase orders.
• Shop Organization: Champion 5S principles to maintain a pristine, highly organized shop with clear labeling, logical tool storage, and optimized floor plans.

4. Equipment Maintenance & Expansion

• Preventative Maintenance (PM): Create and rigorously execute PM schedules for all shop equipment. Maintain precise logs for fluid levels (coolant, way oil), spindle hours, and calibration metrics for CNCs, manual machines, and 3D printers.
• Equipment Commissioning: Lead the site preparation, plumbing, electrical coordination, and installation of new R&D equipment.
• Advanced Technology Adoption: Champion the integration and upkeep of advanced manufacturing tools. Ensure machines are actively utilized and not left idle due to complex maintenance requirements.

5. Quality Control, Compliance & Safety

• Part Verification: Implement a seamless quality assurance process. Ensure submitted drawings and STEP models are reviewed for manufacturability, dimensions, and tolerances prior to cutting chips.
• Safety Protocols: Develop and enforce practical, highly effective safety standards. Manage machine access and authorization levels to protect staff without creating bottlenecks for R&D.
• OSHA & Compliance: Ensure the shop strictly adheres to all OSHA regulations, local environmental laws, and general industry standards regarding hazard communication (SDS), PPE, and waste disposal.

Qualifications & Requirements

Soft Skills & Attributes:

• Urgency & Agility: A strong bias for action with a mindset geared toward rapid, high-quality iteration.
• Service-Oriented: Ego-free leadership style; passionate about helping engineers succeed and removing roadblocks.
• Exceptional Communicator: Able to politely but firmly enforce safety rules, while also clearly communicating timelines, DFM (Design for Manufacturing) feedback, and technical limitations to engineers.

Experience & Education:

• 7-10+ years of hands-on experience in precision machining, CNC programming, and fabrication.
• 3-5+ years in a leadership, management, or shop foreman role.
• Proven experience working in an R&D, rapid prototyping, or aerospace/robotics environment (highly preferred over pure high-volume production environments).
• Degree, technical diploma, or equivalent journeyman certification in Machining, Manufacturing Technology, or Mechanical Engineering is a plus.

Technical Skills:

• Deep expertise with CNC milling and turning (Haas, Fanuc, or similar controls).
• Strong foundational knowledge of CAM software (e.g., Mastercam, Fusion 360, HSMWorks) to effectively oversee programmers.
• Familiarity with advanced machining and rapid prototyping equipment.
• Expert ability to read, interpret, and critique complex engineering drawings and GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing).
• Familiarity with digital ticketing/workflow software.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Must be able to stand for extended periods, lift up to 50 lbs securely, and perform physical tasks associated with machinery operation and material handling.
• Comfortable working in a machine shop environment with exposure to noise, cutting fluids, metal dust, and moving mechanical parts (with appropriate PPE).