Senior CNC Machinist (R&D Team)

Rocket Lab; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab seeks an R&D CNC Machinist to lead critical operations at their new facility in Torrance, CA. You will own prototyping and machining tasks, requiring attention to detail and a background in CNC operations to develop next-generation nuclear systems.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in setup and operation of CNC mills and/or lathes.
• Ability to read and understand G-code, engineering drawings, GD&T.
• Experience with machining stainless steel and exotic alloys.

Responsibilities

• Set up, operate, and troubleshoot multi-axis CNC mills and/or lathes.
• Inspect parts per engineering drawings with manual gages.
• Complete work instructions and process documentation.

Skills

CNC machining

Troubleshooting

Attention to detail

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Fanuc CNC controllers

Job description

About Us

At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.

Formed in 2023, the Antares team hails from SpaceX, The White House, MIT, Rigetti Computing, The Air Force, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, Ultra Safe Nuclear, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Antares has raised over $39M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has over $4M in government funding.

About the Team

As our first R&D CNC Machinist, you will be at the forefront of our company’s critical operations in a fast-paced, innovative environment. You will take ownership of prototyping, machining and assembly operations, ensuring attention to detail and proper documentation as we develop next-generation nuclear systems.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Be the first machinist for Antares, set up, operate, and troubleshoot multi-axis CNC mills (3, 4, 5-axis) and/or live tooling lathes for development hardware and test fixtures

• Monitor, replace, and re-set cutting tools

• Perform deburring on parts as necessary

• Inspect parts per engineering drawings with manual gages

• Provide feedback to engineering to improve manufacturability of various components

• Complete work instructions and other process documentation

Basic Qualifications:

• High school diploma or GED

• 3+ years of experience in setup and operation of CNC mills and/or lathes

• Ability to read and understand G-code, engineering drawings, GD&T

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience with machining stainless steel, exotic alloys (Inconel), and/or graphite

• Experience operating Fanuc CNC controllers

• Able to read and modify G-code based on the fly based on machine performance

• Experience working in an R&D machining environment

• Experience working with a quality system (AS9100, ISO 9001, NQA1, or similar)

• Able to balance/adjust priorities based on dynamic schedule demands

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs unassisted

• Bending, stooping, and standing for long periods of time may be needed to perform the tasks of the job

Location

• We are located in Torrance, CA in a 145,000 square foot, brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

Culture

At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. “If you want to be certain, then you are apt to be obsolete.” Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system

• Obsess over the End User - The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive commercial products if we lose sight of our end users and their entire interaction with the product life cycle

• Be Unconstrained by Convention - Our only limits are the laws of physics. Many, even experts, will say what we are working on is impossible. They said the same about SpaceX reusing rockets. Generationally impactful companies, by definition, must accomplish the seemingly impossible. If it were easy, it would have already been done. Never shy away from a solution because it has never been tried before, and never choose to do something because that's “how it's always been done”

• Go Where the Work Is - Never miss a chance to meet a customer, user, or stakeholder face to face, even if that means hopping on a plane. If you can’t make it, find a teammate who can channel your intentions and go in your place. Deep work can be done from anywhere, but we believe teams are built in person, and aim to maximize our time together

• Operate in the Grey - Embrace nuance in pursuit of truth. Question every fundamental assumption

Equal Opportunity

Antares is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to 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.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.