CNC Manufacturing Team Lead

Lockheed Martin; Ampthill; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in the UK is seeking a CNC Manufacturing Team Lead to oversee daily operations in a hybrid role. This position involves leading a team of skilled machinists, ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards, and driving continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in CNC machining and team leadership. The role offers a competitive salary between £42,000 and £47,000 and a flexible working schedule, contributing to an excellent work-life balance.

Benefits

Private Medical Insurance

Competitive Pension

Dental coverage

Life Assurance

Employee discounts

Education assistance programs

Qualifications

• Proven experience with multiple axis CNC milling machines.
• Ability to coach and motivate a team of skilled machinists.
• Strong understanding of machining processes and tooling.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support a team of CNC machinists.
• Ensure compliance with safety and operational standards.
• Manage production schedules and deliverables.

Skills

Leadership

CNC machining

Team management

Continuous improvement

Safety compliance

Tools

Matsuura

Heidenhain

Fanuc

Hurco

Job description

About the Role

The CNC Manufacturing Team Lead is a hybrid Leadership / Hands‑On role that commands daily operations of a low‑volume, high‑cost production environment focused on critical hardware and R&D components.

The position demands experience of multiple axis CNC milling machines and a proven ability to motivate and coach a team of up to ten skilled machinists.

The leadership aspect will be accountable for safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance while driving continuous improvement and cross‑functional collaboration. Working within a CNC precision machine shop environment.

The machinist aspect responsible for programming, setting and tool selection, proving out and operating multiple machine tools including multi axis machining centres with various programming language's (3 to 6 axis) to produce R&D, high value 1 off or low volume production component parts.

Machine types to include Matsuura. Correanayak, Hurco,

Programming languages Fanuc and Heidenhain

Required skills, qualifications and experience

Team Leadership & Supervision

• Lead, coach, and manage a team of up to 10 CNC machinists and technicians.
• Ensure adequate staffing, skills coverage, and shift handovers in line with production demands.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, provide feedback, and support professional development through mentoring and skills matrix assessments.
• Own and manage the assigned production cell / facility to ensure full operational readiness and compliance.
• Schedule and prioritise workloads to meet programme deliverables, internal milestones, and customer deadlines.
• Provide hands‑on technical support for CNC programming, machine setup, tooling selection, and problem‑solving.
• Promote and maintain a strong safety culture, ensuring full compliance with HSE standards and best practices.
• Drive awareness and accountability across the team for safe operations and clean work environments (6S and FOD control).
• Vision and drive to support the delivery of a world class machining facility.
• Track, manage and deliver key KPI metrics: Safety, Quality, Schedule Adherence, Cost, and On‑Time Delivery.
• Lead root cause analysis and problem‑solving initiatives to address machining or assembly issues.
• Champion continuous improvement activities, including lean manufacturing, cost reduction, and process optimisation.
• Work closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Design, Quality, Planning, and Materials teams to ensure seamless workflow and timely resolution of issues.
• Provide feedback to Engineering and Design teams to improve manufacturability and reduce production cycle times.
• Collaborate with other Team Leaders to support load balancing, shared resourcing, and best practice deployment across the wider manufacturing function.

CNC Operation

• Support and input to the development of machining processes and tooling / fixture design.
• Ability of tool selection / optimisation and design liaising with tooling suppliers.
• Mentoring and training of others which may include apprentices.
• Working to specifications, procedures and engineering drawings.
• Develop and improve work procedures / processes with engineering team.
• Problem solve machine issues and facilitate corrective action plans.
• Ability to prioritise work load in order to meet deliverable commitments and support production schedule to optimise machine utilisation.
• Demonstrates high quality standards and drive / support improvement initiatives.

Job Reference Number

18218BR

Salary Range

£42,000-£47,000

Employee Type

Full Time

Hours Per Week

37.5

Working Schedule

4xFlex

Country

United Kingdom (UK)

Clearance Required for Role

SC

Graduate, Intern or Apprentice Vacancy?

No

What we offer you

• Private Medical Insurance
• Competitive Pension
• Dental
• Critical Illness
• Life Assurance
• Travel Insurance
• Employee discounts for top high street shops
• Employee Assistance Program which includes free face to face counseling sessions, Legal advice, Financial advice, etc
• Internal training and development alongside our Education assistance programmes
• Reimbursement for a professional membership
• Competitive policies that support flexibility and family leave inclusive of enhanced maternity leave

Business Environment

Lockheed Martin (UK) Ampthill is a rapidly changing, dynamic part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation with both domestic and international customers. It consists of business areas focusing on Platform Integration, Ground Based Air Defence, Special Projects and Weapons, which provide a variety of products and services to the Ministry of Defence and other customers. We are looking for talented individuals to join the company, in return we offer an exciting and challenging career path and excellent work / life balance with a 4 day week (Mon‑Thurs) and flexible working arrangements.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Lockheed Martin is committed to upholding principles of equal opportunity, fostering a work environment that is aligned with our core values of integrity, respect, and exceptional performance. We recognize the importance of leveraging the unique talents and experiences of all our employees to drive innovation, deliver superior solutions, and maximize value for our customers. Our focus is on identifying the most qualified candidate for each role, regardless of their background. If you are interested in a position, we invite you to share how your skills and perspectives could bolster our team and encourage you to apply, even if you feel your qualifications do not fully meet all the job criteria outlined in our advertisement. Furthermore, Lockheed Martin is dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive for all individuals. We are prepared to accommodate reasonable adjustments for applicants as needed. If you require assistance or adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact us for support.