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.
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