Senior CNC Programmer

About Us

At Antares our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. Were fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military solve the climate crisis elevate global living standards and expand humanitys presence in outer space. To achieve our mission were building mass-producible inherently safe deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially underwater and in space.

Formed in 2023 the Antares team hails from SpaceX The White House MIT Rigetti Computing The Air Force General Atomics Relativity Space Ursa Major and National Laboratories like Los Alamos Idaho and Oak Ridge. Antares has raised over $130M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has over $13M in government funding.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior CNC Programmer to lead the development and execution of advanced machining processes for complex components. This role requires deep expertise in multi-axis programming and hands-on operation along with the ability to support rapid iteration in a fast-paced R&D or flight development environment. The ideal candidate is highly technical detail-oriented and capable of driving parts from initial concept through stable lights-out production.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Program set up and operate CNC mills and lathes across multiple configurations including 2-axis 3-axis 31 rotary full 5-axis and mill/turn platforms

• Interpret engineering drawings applying GD&T principles and tolerance stack-up analysis to ensure part conformity

• Develop optimize and troubleshoot CNC programs using CAM software such as Esprit or similar

• Determine cutting tool strategies for CNC programs

• Generate and refine post-processed code to ensure efficient safe and repeatable machining operations

• Create comprehensive setup sheets tooling lists and standardized work instructions for repeatable manufacturing

• Lead machining process development from first article through full production readiness

• Design and implement lights-out machining strategies ensuring process stability and minimal operator intervention

• Collaborate closely with design manufacturing and quality teams to resolve technical challenges and improve manufacturability

• Identify and implement cycle time reductions tooling improvements and cost-saving opportunities

• Support rapid prototyping and iterative development in an agile high-mix/low-volume environment

Basic Qualifications

• 5 years of CNC programming experience in a production or R&D environment

• Strong hands-on experience with multi-axis machining (2-axis 3-axis 31 rotary 5-axis

• and mill/turn)

• Proficiency with CAM software such as Esprit or equivalent

• Experience running lights-out production environments

• Demonstrated ability to transition parts from first article to full production

• Strong understanding of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis

• Experience creating detailed setup documentation and process instructions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a startup or agile development environment

• Experience with Fanuc CNC controllers

• Experience in an AS9100 (or similar) machining environment

• Experience in fast-paced R&D or prototype-driven manufacturing environments

• Familiarity with high-precision tight-tolerance components

• Experience machining high strength metallics superalloys and/or graphite

Key Competencies

• Advanced multi-axis machining and programming expertise

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Process optimization and continuous improvement mindset

• High attention to detail and commitment to quality

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

• Effective cross-functional communication and collaboration

Location

• We are located in Torrance CA in a 322000 square foot brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration R&D and production as well as easy access to the 405 105 and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

Culture

At Antares we like to specifically tie each role to our founding documents set of valueshere are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities conflicting policies perverse incentives and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. If you want to be certain then you are apt to be obsolete. Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system

• Obsess over the End User - The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive commercial products if we lose sight of our end users and their entire interaction with the product life cycle

• Be Unconstrained by Convention - Our only limits are the laws of physics. Many even experts will say what we are working on is impossible. They said the same about SpaceX reusing rockets. Generationally impactful companies by definition must accomplish the seemingly impossible. If it were easy it would have already been done. Never shy away from a solution because it has never been tried before and never choose to do something because thats how its always been done

• Go Where the Work Is - Never miss a chance to meet a customer user or stakeholder face to face even if that means hopping on a plane. If you cant make it find a teammate who can channel your intentions and go in your place. Deep work can be done from anywhere but we believe teams are built in person and aim to maximize our time together

• Operate in the Grey - Embrace nuance in pursuit of truth. Question every fundamental assumption

Equal Opportunity

Antares is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based solely on merit competence and qualifications without regard to race color religion gender national origin/ethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity marital status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (aka green card holder) (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158 or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Required Experience:

Senior IC