Graphite Production Lead — High-Impact Nuclear

Valar Atomics; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Unlimited PTO

Free daily meals

PPE stipend

Autonomy & ownership

Career growth

Collaboration with engineers

Ground-up innovation

Job summary

Valar Atomics is seeking a Graphite Production Lead to run day-to-day graphite machining operations and guide a growing team of CNC programmers and machinists. You will own tooling strategy, manage wear on abrasive graphite parts, and collaborate with engineering and QC to ensure quality and efficiency.

In a fast-paced startup setting, you will mentor staff, optimize tooling, and enforce safety, dust-control, and 5S practices to push continuous improvement and on-time production.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of CNC machining or programming, including graphite or abrasive materials.
• 3+ years in a lead or supervisory role over a machining/production team.
• Proficiency with CAM software (ESPRIT EDGE, Fusion 360) for mills and/or lathes.
• Strong understanding of tooling wear, feeds/speeds, and work-holding for graphite or other abrasive materials.
• Ability to read complex engineering drawings, GD&T, and CAD models.
• Familiarity with dust collection, ventilation, and safety protocols for machining abrasive materials.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced startup manufacturing environment with evolving processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead, schedule, and mentor a team of CNC programmers and machinists focused on graphite production.
• Own tooling and consumable strategy for graphite machining, including managing rapid tool wear specific to abrasive materials.
• Review and refine CNC programs (ESPRIT EDGE, Fusion 360) and toolpaths for graphite parts, partnering with programmers to troubleshoot setups.
• Ensure dust collection, ventilation, and PPE protocols are followed to keep graphite machining operations safe and compliant.
• Coordinate production priorities and schedules with Management to hit build timelines.
• Partner with Engineering and QC on design-for-manufacturability feedback and first-article inspection for new graphite parts.
• 5S, continuous improvement, and quality standards on the graphite production floor.
• Hire, train, and develop team members as graphite production scales; conduct performance reviews.

Skills

CNC machining

Team leadership

CAM software

Tooling wear management

Reading drawings/GD&T

Dust safety protocols

Startup environment

Tools

ESPRIT EDGE

Fusion 360

Job description

Valar Atomics is seeking a Graphite Production Lead to run day-to-day graphite machining operations and guide a growing team of CNC programmers and machinists. You will own tooling strategy, manage wear on abrasive graphite parts, and collaborate with engineering and QC to ensure quality and efficiency.

In a fast-paced startup setting, you will mentor staff, optimize tooling, and enforce safety, dust-control, and 5S practices to push continuous improvement and on-time production.