CNC Programmer

Mastercam CNC Programmer – (Aerospace Composites / CNC Router)

Location: 20 miles West of St. Louis, MO.

Type: Direct Hire / Full-Time

Schedule: On-site preferred; hybrid may be considered for the right person

Compensation: $45–$50/hr depending on experience

Our business aircraft interiors client thirty minutes West of St. Louis supports corporate aircraft interiors, cabinetry, finish work, upholstery, soft goods, custom panels, and CNC-fabricated components for aviation customers. This is a hands-on, fast-paced shop environment supporting high-end aircraft interior work where quality, fit, finish, repeatability, and turnaround time matter. The CNC department works with a mix of Haas mills/lathes and older 3-axis routers used heavily for flat panels, cabinetry components, and composite/interior materials.

Position Summary

Our aviation client is seeking an experienced Mastercam CNC Programmer with strong aerospace composites and CNC router experience. This person will be responsible for programming, supporting setup, troubleshooting, and improving CNC processes for flat composite panels, aircraft interior components, cabinetry parts, and related machined materials. The ideal candidate has programmed and supported CNC routers in a production environment, especially with materials such as aluminum honeycomb core, Kevlar, fiberglass, composite panels, wood, plastics, aluminum, and other aircraft interior materials. This is not a purely remote programming role. They need someone who can work closely with the floor, understand how older equipment actually runs, troubleshoot at the machine, and help operators get good parts out the door.

Key Responsibilities

• Create, modify, and optimize CNC programs using Mastercam for 3-axis routers, mills, and lathes.
• Program flat composite panels and aircraft interior components for CNC router machining.
• Support Haas mills/lathes and MultiCam 3-axis routers used for panels, cabinetry, composites, metals, woods, and interior components.
• Work from drawings, models, templates, sketches, and production requirements to create accurate machining programs.
• Develop practical machining strategies for composite and aircraft interior materials, including aluminum honeycomb, Kevlar, fiberglass, plastics, woods, and aluminum.
• Select tooling, feeds, speeds, cut strategies, and workholding approaches based on material behavior and machine capability.
• Support setup personnel and operators with program prove-outs, machine issues, toolpath questions, offsets, fixtures, and part quality.
• Troubleshoot router-related issues such as poor edge quality, delamination, fraying, tear-out, chatter, dimensional variation, and material movement.
• Create and maintain setup sheets, tooling notes, work instructions, and program documentation.
• Review existing programs and improve cycle time, consistency, quality, and ease of setup.
• Work closely with operations, production, quality, cabinetry, and interior teams to support daily production needs.
• Help standardize programming practices across older machines and frequently used part families.
• Support urgent production demands in a shop that needs someone who can move quickly, solve problems, and keep work flowing.

Required Qualifications

• Strong Mastercam programming experience.
• CNC router programming experience, ideally with flat panels, composites, cabinetry, aerospace interiors, or similar materials.
• Ability to program and support 3-axis CNC equipment.
• Experience working directly with shop-floor personnel during setup, prove-out, troubleshooting, and production.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings, models, cut files, layouts, and work instructions.
• Strong understanding of tooling, fixturing, workholding, feeds/speeds, offsets, and practical machining conditions.
• Comfortable working around older CNC equipment that may require hands-on troubleshooting and practical problem solving.
• Ability to support a fast-moving production environment where schedules and priorities can shift quickly.
• Strong attention to detail and quality, especially in visible aircraft interior components where fit and finish matter.

Preferred Qualifications

• Aerospace composites machining experience.
• Experience machining aluminum honeycomb core, Kevlar, fiberglass, phenolic, carbon fiber, plastics, wood, aluminum, or aircraft interior panel materials.
• Experience with 3-axis CNC router platforms.
• Experience with Haas mills and/or lathes.
• Background in aircraft interiors, cabinetry, aerospace panels, composite trim, MRO support, repair station work, or high-end custom manufacturing.
• Experience creating or modifying post processors, setup documentation, router templates, nests, or repeatable programming standards.
• Ability to support both router programming and mill/lathe programming when needed.
• Experience improving cut quality on difficult composite or layered materials.

Equipment Environment

• Haas CNC mills and lathes
• Haas TL-1 CNC lathe
• Haas TM-1 toolroom mill
• Haas VF3 production mill
• Haas DT1 drill/tap machine
• 3-axis CNC routers
• Mastercam programming environment
• Flat panel, composite, cabinetry, aircraft interior, and light metal machining applications