Zoo

Lead Machinist

Los Angeles, California, United States

Sponsorship not specified$30k-$45kDetected 63 days ago

Process ImprovementRecruitingGD&TCAMLeadershipOrganizational Skills

About the role

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives on precision, process improvement, and execution.
You will program, set up, machine, inspect, and troubleshoot parts while helping establish shop standards, workflows, and operational excellence.

Lead machining across CNC mills, CNC lathes, manual mills, manual lathes, and other fabrication equipment
Partner closely with engineering teams to review manufacturability, tolerances, materials, and machining strategies
Develop tooling, fixturing, workholding, and repeatable shop processes that improve throughput and quality
Maintain a safe, clean, and highly organized shop environment with strong operational discipline
Support vendor coordination and overflow manufacturing when external shops are needed
Help hire, train, mentor, and develop future machinists or shop technicians as the team grows
Drive continuous improvement across cycle times, scrap reduction, uptime, and overall shop capability

5+ years of machining experience with significant hands-on CNC experience
Strong expertise with CNC mills, lathes, tooling, setups, offsets, feeds, speeds, and machine optimization
Ability to read engineering drawings and interpret GD&T and tolerance requirements
Strong troubleshooting mindset with the ability to solve machining and process challenges quickly
Ability to balance prototype urgency with production consistency

Experience in aerospace, automotive, hardware startup, or precision manufacturing environments
Experience machining aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, plastics, and specialty materials
Familiarity with modern CAD/CAM workflows and digital manufacturing systems
Experience with Haas, Okuma, Mazak, DMG Mori, or similar equipment
The final offer will depend on multiple factors including candidate experience, skills, expertise, and market data.
Compensation may vary by geography.

Zoo is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.
The Zoo team is made up of incredibly talented and unique individuals from across the globe.
We encourage everyone interested in our mission to apply!
In addition to salary, we offer competitive equity as well as a full benefits package which may vary by geography as well.

Zoo is building the next generation of hardware design tools redefining how hardware products are designed, developed, and built. Our platform combines a modern, cloud-native CAD environment with AI-powered engineering workflows, helping teams design, iterate, and manufacture products faster than ever before. We are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with both a local and remote team. We were founded and incubated by Embedded Ventures in 2021.
About You
We're looking for curious, innovative, and ambitious self-starters to join our growing team to help us bring our mission to life. We think you'll thrive on our team if you're:
Curious at your core, with an eagerness to learn and do things differently
Zoo is building the next generation of hardware design tools redefining how hardware products are designed, developed, and built.
Our platform combines a modern, cloud-native CAD environment with AI-powered engineering workflows, helping teams design, iterate, and manufacture products faster than ever before.
We are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with both a local and remote team.
We were founded and incubated by Embedded Ventures in 2021.
We're looking for curious, innovative, and ambitious self-starters to join our growing team to help us bring our mission to life.
We think you'll thrive on our team if you're:
Customer-focused, always thinking about ways to improve the user experience
Able to operate autonomously and work asynchronously, while also being an effective team player

This listing is sourced directly from Zoo's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.