CNC Manufacturing Team Lead

Lockheed Martin Corporation; Flitwick; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company in Flitwick is seeking a skilled CNC Team Leader to oversee a team of machinists. This role demands expertise in CNC operations, including programming and setting multi-axis machines. The ideal candidate will promote safety and quality while driving performance metrics in a dynamic production environment. The company offers flexible working arrangements and a competitive salary within £42,000 to £47,000.

Benefits

Private Medical Insurance

Competitive Pension

Dental insurance

Critical Illness cover

Life Assurance

Travel Insurance

Employee discounts

Internal training and development

Reimbursement for professional membership

Enhanced maternity leave policies

Qualifications

• 2+ years of CNC operation experience.
• Experience developing work procedures with the engineering team.
• Strong leadership in CNC machining environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of CNC machinists.
• Ensure compliance with safety and quality standards.
• Track and deliver on key KPI metrics.

Skills

CNC operation experience

Leadership experience

Problem-solving skills

Hands-on machinist skills

Ability to prioritize workload

Tools

Fanuc

Heidenhain

Matsuura

Correanayak

Hurco

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and manage a team of up to 10 CNC machinists and technicians, overseeing day‑to‑day operations.
• 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 set‑up, 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).
• 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.

Qualifications

• CNC operation experience (up to 50% of production time).
• Support and input to the development of machining processes and tooling/fixture design, including tool selection optimisation and liaison with tooling suppliers.
• Mentoring and training of others, including apprentices.
• Ability to work to specifications, procedures and engineering drawings.
• Experience developing and improving work procedures/processes with the engineering team.
• Problem‑solving skills for machine issues and facilitating corrective action plans.
• Ability to prioritise workload to meet deliverable commitments and support production schedule to optimise machine utilisation.
• Demonstrated high quality standards and drive to support improvement initiatives.
• Strong disciplinary background in Manufacturing Business Environment.
• Leadership experience accountable for safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance in a CNC precision machine shop environment.
• Hands‑on machinist skills: programming, setting and operating multi‑axis CNC machines (Fanuc and Heidenhain) to produce R&D and low‑volume production components.
• Familiarity with machine types such as Matsuura, Correanayak and Hurco.

Benefits

• Private Medical Insurance
• Competitive Pension
• Dental insurance
• Critical Illness cover
• Life Assurance
• Travel Insurance
• Employee discounts on top high‑street shops
• Employee Assistance Programme (free face‑to‑face counselling, legal and financial advice)
• Internal training and development alongside Education assistance programmes
• Reimbursement for a professional membership
• Competitive policies that support flexibility and family leave inclusive of enhanced maternity leave

Salary Range: £42,000 – £47,000

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin (UK) Ampthill is a rapidly changing, dynamic part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation with both domestic and international customers. The business focuses on Platform Integration, Ground‑Based Air Defence, Special Projects and Weapons, providing a variety of products and services to the Ministry of Defence and other customers. This hybrid Leadership/Hands‑On role commands daily operations of a low‑volume, high‑cost production environment focused on critical hardware and R&D components, and is part of a flexible workplace offering a 4‑day week (Mon‑Thurs) and other flexible working arrangements.