Reports to: Level Three CNC Machinist / Shop Supervisor
Quick Answer: What Does a CNC Lathe Machinist Do?
A CNC lathe machinist sets up and operates CNC lathes and live-tooling turning centers to produce precision turned parts such as shafts, bushings, fittings and pins. They dial in tooling, edit G-code at the control, adjust wear offsets and hold tight diametral, runout and concentricity tolerances, often within ±0.0005″, across aerospace, defense, medical and automotive work.
This page is the full job posting for the CNC Lathe Machinist role at RivCut in Union City, CA. It covers the day-to-day responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, pay range, benefits, growth path and an application form so you can apply directly.
Role snapshot: Pay $30–$40/hr | Experience 3+ years | Location Union City, CA | Full-time, Monday–Friday | Machines 2-axis to multi-axis lathes, live tooling, sub-spindle & Swiss-type | Materials aluminum, stainless, alloy steel, titanium, brass & plastics
About This Role
As a Lathe Machinist you own the turning side of our shop. You set up and run CNC lathes and live-tooling turning centers to produce precision shafts, bushings, fittings, pins and complex turned components for aerospace, defense, medical and automotive customers. You dial in tooling, hold tight diametral, runout and concentricity tolerances and own the quality of every part that comes off your spindle.
Turning is its own craft. This role is for a machinist who reads a print and already sees the workholding, the tool path and the order of operations. We are a startup where everyone gives 110% toward one shared goal, and the parts you turn ship straight to the customer.
Lathe Machinists who master live tooling, sub-spindle work and complex turning grow into senior and lead roles on the same Apprentice to Senior path as the rest of the shop. At RivCut, machinists who show initiative move up fast.
Key Responsibilities
Set up and operate CNC lathes and turning centers, from 2-axis to multi-axis
Run live-tooling and sub-spindle lathes for milled, drilled and cross-bored features on turned parts
Set up bar feeders and program bar pulls for production turning runs
Select and dial in turning, boring, threading and grooving tooling
Hold tight diametral, runout, concentricity and surface-finish tolerances
Read and interpret engineering drawings and GD&T specifications
Perform in-process inspection with calipers, micrometers, bore gauges and indicators
Adjust tool offsets and wear comp to hold size across long production runs
Edit G-code and make program adjustments at the control
