Manufacturing Engineer – Tooling & Fixtures

General Matter; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

General Matter is establishing a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. and seeks a Manufacturing/Tooling Engineer to design fixtures and workholding for CNC mills and lathes.

You will own part-holding from ground up, creating tooling used on the shop floor and collaborating directly with machinists and CNC programmers to ensure tolerances and cycle times are met. You’ll have hands-on authority to design, build, and qualify tooling, guided by first-principles engineering.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent hands-on tooling/fixture design experience.
• 4+ years designing fixtures, jigs, or workholding for CNC machining, with parts in production.
• Production-ready tooling design experience and reliable documentation.
• Ability to perform trade studies and make recommendations from first principles.
• Knowledge of GD&T and tolerance analysis in fixture design.

Responsibilities

• Design fixtures, jigs, and workholding for CNC milling and turning from concept to detailed drawings.
• Collaborate with machinists and programmers to validate fit, rigidity, and cycle-time impact of new tooling.
• Source or coordinate fabrication of tooling components with outside vendors and machine shops.
• Own qualification of new fixtures and setups, including first-article inspection on the machine.
• Maintain a tooling/fixture library and revision control for repeatable designs.
• Drive continuous improvement to reduce setup time, scrap, and cycle time as production ramps.
• Support the plant layout and tooling strategy for the new facility.

Skills

CNC fixture design

SolidWorks CAD

GD&T fluency

First principles problem solving

Manufacturing process knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Metrology tools

Job description

About The Company

General Matter is enriching uranium in America.

Our goal is to design, build, and operate the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services in the United States.

Our mission is to restore America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel—fuel that will power AI, advanced manufacturing, critical industries, and the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Ultimately, our work will help power national ambitions and enable a high-energy society.

We were incubated by Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by top-tier investors. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.

We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.

Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.

About This Role

We’re standing up a new manufacturing facility and need a Manufacturing/Tooling Engineer to design the fixtures and workholding that make it run. You’ll owner part-holding for our CNC mills and lathes from the ground up — designing, building, and qualifying the tooling that lets machinists hit tolerance and cycle time on every new part. This is a hands‑on role with real design authority - your fixtures go straight onto the shop floor, and you’ll work directly with machinists and CNC programmers to solve problems as parts move from first article to production. If you want to design tooling that actually gets used the same week you build it, this is that role.

Responsibilities

• Design fixtures, jigs, and workholding for CNC milling and turning, from concept through detailed CAD models and drawings.
• Partner with machinists and CNC programmers to validate fit, rigidity, and cycle-time impact of new tooling before it goes into production.
• Specify, source, or coordinate fabrication of tooling and fixture components with outside vendors and machine shops.
• Own qualification of new fixtures and setups, including first-article inspection and fit-up on the machine.
• Maintain a tooling/fixture library and revision control so designs are documented, repeatable, and reusable across part families.
• Drive continuous improvement on part-holding methods to reduce setup time, scrap, and cycle time as production ramps.
• Support the design and layout of the new manufacturing facility from a tooling and workholding standpoint.

Basic Qualifications

• Evidence of exceptional ability (prior projects, portfolio of work, completed products, etc).
• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals.
• Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations using first principles and engineering fundamentals even with partial information.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent hands‑on tooling/fixture design experience.
• 4+ years designing fixtures, jigs, or workholding for CNC machining, with parts you’ve designed running in production.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Experience in a fast‑paced engineering or highly technical environment, with a resourceful approach to delivering under tight timelines or budget constraints.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks or similar CAD for fixture and tooling design; GD&T fluency.
• Experience with modular workholding systems (e.g. 5th-axis vises, vacuum fixturing, quick-change tombstones).
• Direct experience supporting a new or growing CNC machine shop, including new part introduction.
• Working knowledge of CNC machining processes (milling and turning) and how fixture design affects cycle time and tolerance.
• Experience in a regulated manufacturing environment (aerospace, defense, or nuclear) is a plus.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Equal Opportunity Employer

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Compensation And Benefits

The base salary range for this role is $130k - $195kannually.

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. Please note that the stated salary range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.