Prototype Shop Manager (CNC Machining)

Location: Onsite in Torrance, California, United States

Salary: $169,500–$237,000 USD per year, plus equity grants as part of total compensation.

Company

hirify.global is a defense technology company designing and manufacturing high-performance unmanned systems and rebuilding the drone industrial base.

What you will do

• Own daily shop execution, including job intake, prioritization, scheduling, and delivery of prototype parts.
• Machine and fabricate prototype parts using CNC equipment for metals and composites, 3D printing, post-processing, and basic assembly and finishing.
• Partner with engineers on design for manufacturability, lead time, cost, and repeatability.
• Maintain a safety-first shop culture covering PPE, composite dust and fume control, machine guarding, and training.
• Manage tooling, consumables, calibration, preventative maintenance, and shop readiness.
• Develop the equipment and tooling roadmap, and hire, train, and mentor technicians as demand grows.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in a prototype, R&D, or high-mix fabrication environment.
• Hands-on experience with manual and CNC machining, including setup, workholding, tool selection, and feeds and speeds for metals and composite materials.
• CAM experience with tools such as Mastercam, NX CAM, CATIA CAM, or SolidCAM, plus fixture and workholding design.
• Experience managing shop queues, estimating work, and communicating timelines and tradeoffs with engineering teams.
• Practical metrology experience with calipers, micrometers, indicators, datum concepts, and basic inspection planning.
• Experience with procurement, vendor management, make-or-buy decisions, and composite machining safety practices.

Nice to have

• Experience with CNC routers, dust collection systems, and composite-specific tooling and workflows.
• Advanced additive manufacturing, metal fabrication, weldments, or sheet metal experience.
• Advanced metrology, GD&T, functional gage design, or equipment commissioning experience.
• Experience scaling a shop through hiring, training programs, inventory systems, or ERP/MES tools.

Culture & Benefits

• Fast-paced, hands-on environment focused on moving capabilities from design to deployment.
• High ownership and close collaboration with engineering teams.
• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the total compensation package.
• Equal opportunity employment is offered without regard to protected characteristics.