CNC Machinist CV Examples & Writing Guide
A CNC machinist CV gets an interview when the shop can see which machines and controls you have run (Haas, Fanuc, Heidenhain, Siemens, Mazak, Okuma), whether you set up and program or only load parts, the tolerances and materials you work to, and your scrap and safety record. Add your apprenticeship, NVQ or college qualification. One page.
CNC machinist CV example (setting and programming, mills and lathes)
This CV is for a machinist who started as an operator loading parts and now sets up, programs and proves out jobs on 3- and 5-axis mills and a live-tooling lathe. The name and shops are invented. Every number is one a shop lead can check: tolerances, scrap rate, setup time, first-article pass rate, parts per shift.
Kyle Brannigan
CNC Machinist (Setter-Operator and Programming)
Derby · 07700 900128 · kyle.brannigan.cnc@email.com · Available for lates
Summary
CNC machinist with 8 years in automotive production and aerospace and medical subcontract machining. Sets up and programs Haas mills, a DMG Mori 5-axis with Heidenhain control and Okuma live-tooling lathes in aluminium, titanium and 17-4PH stainless to ±0.01 mm. Cut average setup time 35% on a 40-part repeat family and holds a 0.6% scrap rate over 3 years. Level 3 NVQ in machining, Mastercam.
Experience
CNC Machinist, Setting and Programming · AS9100 aerospace and medical subcontract machining company (55 employees), Derby
Apr 2021 to Present
- Set up, prove out and run first articles on 4 Haas VF-2 and VF-4 mills, a DMG Mori DMU 50 5-axis and 2 Okuma LB3000 live-tooling lathes for about 30 new jobs a month, batch sizes 5 to 500.
- Program in Mastercam and edit Fanuc and Heidenhain programs at the control; cut average setup on a 40-part repeat family from 2.1 hours to 1.4 hours (35%) with standardised fixtures and tool libraries.
- Hold ±0.01 mm on bores and positional tolerances in Ti-6Al-4V titanium and 17-4PH stainless; personal scrap rate 0.6% against a shop target of 1.5% over 3 years.
- First-article inspection pass rate of 96% on the CMM (Zeiss, Calypso) and with surface table, micrometers, bore gauges and thread gauges; write in-process inspection plans for each job.
- Trained 4 operators on setups, tool offsets and reading GD&T; zero lost-time injuries on my machines since 2021.
CNC Operator, then CNC Setter-Operator · Tier 2 automotive supplier (gears and shafts, 220 employees), Burton upon Trent
Jun 2018 to Mar 2021
- Ran 2 Doosan Puma lathes and a Haas VF-3 in high-volume production (1,200 to 1,800 parts per 10-hour shift) in EN19 and case-hardening steel; promoted from operator to setter-operator after 14 months.
- Carried out in-process checks every 20 parts with gauges and SPC charts and adjusted offsets to keep Cpk above 1.33 on critical diameters.
- Cut tool changes 20% on a bearing-journal job by proposing a coated carbide insert and new feeds and speeds, saving about £7,000 a year in tooling.
- Kept a 99% on-time completion rate on assigned works orders, including the restart after the 2020 spring shutdown, and maintained 5S standards on a 3-machine cell.
Education
Level 3 Diploma in Engineering, full-time college course (CNC and manual machining, CAD, engineering maths)
Further education college, Derby, 2018
Certifications
- Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering (CNC machining units), assessed in the workplace, 2022
- Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Performing Engineering Operations (CNC milling and turning), 2019
- IOSH Working Safely (2019)
- Counterbalance forklift (RTITB-accredited) and overhead crane slinger/signaller training (2021)
Skills
What shop owners and production managers check first
Machinist CVs are usually read by the owner, a production manager or a lead machinist, not an HR person. They know the difference between running a Haas and setting one up, and they will test you on the shop floor. The CV has to be honest and specific enough to survive that.
- Operator or setter? The biggest question. Operators load parts, press cycle start, check with gauges and change inserts. Setter-operators (setup machinists) set up jobs, touch off tools, set offsets, edit programs and prove out first articles. Programmers write the code in CAM. Say which you are and where you are moving. Overstating this is the fastest way to lose the job in the first week.
- Machines and controls. Haas, Fanuc, Mazak (Mazatrol), Okuma (OSP), Siemens Sinumerik, Heidenhain. Mills, lathes, live tooling, 5-axis, sliding-head (Swiss-type), horizontal machining centres, EDM. A shop running DMG Mori 5-axis machines with Heidenhain wants to see Heidenhain. List exactly what you have run.
- Tolerances, materials and batch sizes. Aerospace shops want ±0.01 mm and titanium; production shops want 1,500 parts a shift and Cpk; medical wants surface finish and traceability. Your numbers tell them which shop you fit.
- Scrap, safety and attendance. A low scrap rate with the shop target next to it, no lost-time or reportable injuries and steady attendance on lates or nights matter more than any soft skill. Machinists who miss shifts leave machines idle at £60 to £120 an hour.
- Inspection ability. Can you read GD&T, run a CMM, use a bore gauge, fill out a first-article report? Shops that let machinists inspect their own work need this.
“I skip the paragraph about being a team player and go straight to the machine list and the tolerances. If someone writes 'operated CNC machines' with no controls named, I assume operator, not machinist, no matter what the title says.”
CNC machinist job responsibilities on a CV: weak to strong
Most machinist and operator CVs list duties straight from the job advert: "operated CNC machines, inspected parts, maintained a clean work area". Add the machine, the material, the tolerance or volume and one result, and the same duty becomes proof. Seven rewrites from real shop work:
| Weak (duty only) | Strong (machine, material, number) |
|---|---|
| Operated CNC machines. | Ran 3 Haas VF-2 mills and a Fanuc-controlled Doosan lathe in a 4-machine cell, producing 900 to 1,100 aluminium housings per 10-hour shift at ±0.025 mm. |
| Set up machines for production. | Set up about 25 jobs a month on a DMG Mori 5-axis (Heidenhain) and Haas mills (fixtures, work and tool offsets, program prove-out), averaging 1.4 hours per setup against a shop standard of 2 hours. |
| Programmed parts. | Programmed 60+ new parts a year in Mastercam for 3-axis and 3+2 milling, verified in Vericut, with an average of 1.2 program edits at the machine before first-article approval. |
| Inspected parts for quality. | Checked first articles and in-process samples every 20 parts with micrometers, bore gauges and a Zeiss CMM; 96% first-article pass rate and personal scrap rate 0.6% over 3 years. |
| Worked with tight tolerances. | Held ±0.01 mm on bores and 0.05 mm positional tolerance on titanium and 17-4PH stainless aerospace brackets, with Ra 0.4 µm surface finish requirements. |
| Changed tooling as needed. | Tracked tool life on 40 tools across 2 machines and switched a bearing-journal job to a coated carbide insert, cutting tool changes 20% and saving about £7,000 a year. |
| Followed safety procedures. | Zero lost-time injuries in 6 years on lates; trained 4 new operators on machine guarding, lock-off isolation and safe swarf handling. |
CNC machinist CV skills: machines, controls, inspection and more
Group your skills so a shop lead can find their machine and control in two seconds. Machines and controls first, then CAM software, setup and programming, materials, inspection, quality systems. Only list what you have run yourself; you will be asked about all of it.
- Machines: vertical and horizontal machining centres, 5-axis mills, CNC lathes, live-tooling and Y-axis lathes, sliding-head (Swiss-type) lathes, multi-spindle, wire and sinker EDM, CNC grinders, manual mills and lathes. Name the brands and models (Haas VF-2, Mazak QT-250, Okuma Genos, DMG Mori DMU and NLX, Doosan Puma, Hurco, Citizen, Star).
- Controls: Fanuc, Haas, Mazatrol, Okuma OSP, Siemens Sinumerik, Heidenhain, Mitsubishi. Add G-code and M-code editing and conversational programming if you do them.
- CAM and CAD: Mastercam, Edgecam, hyperMILL, Fusion 360, GibbsCAM, Esprit, SolidWorks, Vericut or other simulation software.
- Setup and programming: fixturing and workholding (vices, soft jaws, collets, vacuum, tombstones), work and tool offsets, probing, first-article prove-out, feeds and speeds, tool libraries.
- Materials: aluminium, mild and alloy steels (EN3, EN8, EN19, EN24), stainless (303, 304, 316, 17-4PH), titanium, Inconel and other superalloys, brass, plastics (acetal, PEEK). Name what you have actually cut.
- Inspection and quality: GD&T (BS 8888 / ISO GPS, and ASME Y14.5 for US customers), drawing reading, micrometers, callipers, bore and thread gauges, height gauge, surface finish testers, CMM (Zeiss, Mitutoyo, Hexagon), profile projectors, SPC and Cpk, first-article inspection reports (AS9102), ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485.
Haas and Fanuc-controlled mills and lathes · Load and unload parts, cycle start, in-process gauge checks · Tool offset adjustments and insert changes · Micrometers, callipers, bore gauges, go/no-go gauges · SPC charts · Drawing reading · Deburring and part washing · 5S · Forklift · Lates and nights
Haas, Heidenhain (DMG Mori 5-axis) and Okuma OSP · 3-, 4- and 5-axis setups · Work and tool offsets, Renishaw probing · G-code editing at the control · Mastercam · GD&T (BS 8888 and ASME Y14.5) · CMM (Zeiss Calypso) · Aluminium, titanium, stainless · ±0.01 mm · First-article reports (AS9102) · AS9100
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Qualifications and training for a CNC machinist CV
No licence is needed to work as a machinist in the UK. Employers hire on skill, and most training is through an apprenticeship, a college course or on the job. A few qualifications are recognised across the industry and are worth a Qualifications section:
- Apprenticeship: a completed Level 3 Engineering Technician apprenticeship with the machinist option (usually three and a half to four years with an end-point assessment), or the older Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering Manufacture, is the strongest credential in the trade. Put it under Education with the employer or training provider and the completion year.
- Vocational qualifications: Level 2 Performing Engineering Operations (PEO), a Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering with machining units, or a Level 3 college diploma in engineering. An HNC in mechanical or manufacturing engineering helps if you want to move into programming or production engineering.
- Control and CAM training: courses from machine and control makers (Heidenhain, Siemens, Fanuc, Mazak) and CAM suppliers (Mastercam, Edgecam, hyperMILL). List the course and year.
- Safety and handling: IOSH Working Safely is common but not required. Forklift training (RTITB, ITSSAR or AITT-accredited) and slinger/signaller or overhead crane training are worth one line each.
- Defence and some aerospace work needs pre-employment screening (BPSS, sometimes Security Check clearance), and parts controlled under US ITAR export rules can limit who may work on them. Do not list a clearance you do not hold.
CNC machinist personal statement and career objective examples
Three lines at the top: your level (operator, setter-operator, programmer) and years; machines, controls and materials; one or two numbers (tolerance, scrap rate, parts per shift, setup time); qualifications and shift availability. Use a personal statement if you have run a machine for pay. Use a one-line career objective only if you are coming straight out of college or another trade.
CNC operator with 4 years running Haas and Fanuc-controlled mills and lathes in high-volume automotive production (up to 1,500 parts per shift, EN19 and aluminium). Checks parts every 20 pieces with gauges and SPC, adjusts offsets, and holds a 0.8% scrap rate. Reliable on nights; 2 years without an unplanned absence.
CNC machinist with 8 years in automotive production and aerospace and medical subcontract shops, setting up and proving out Haas mills, a DMG Mori 5-axis (Heidenhain) and Okuma live-tooling lathes in titanium and stainless to ±0.01 mm. Cut average setup time 35% on a repeat family; 0.6% scrap rate over 3 years. Level 3 NVQ, Mastercam.
CNC programmer and machinist with 11 years, the last 5 programming in Mastercam for 3+2 and simultaneous 5-axis milling of Inconel and titanium aerospace components. Reduced cycle time 18% across a 30-part family and wrote the shop's tool library and setup sheet standard. AS9100 first-article experience, Mastercam Certified Professional.
Engineering college leaver (Level 3 Diploma in Engineering, June 2026) with 600 hours on Haas mills and lathes, manual Bridgeports and a Mitutoyo CMM in the college workshop. Level 2 PEO units in CNC milling, CNC turning and measurement. Reads engineering drawings with GD&T, writes basic G-code; seeking a machinist apprenticeship or CNC operator role, available for lates.
Seeking a CNC operator position at Ridgeline Machine Works. 6 years as a production welder with clean attendance, drawing reading, tape-measure and calliper checks to ±0.25 mm, and counterbalance forklift training. Completing a 12-week Skills Bootcamp in CNC machining (finishes October 2026).
Entry-level CNC machinist or operator CV (no shop experience)
Shops take on entry-level operators constantly and promote the ones who turn up, learn fast and do not crash machines. Your CV has to show mechanical aptitude, measuring ability, maths and reliability, using whatever you have done so far.
- 1Lead with your training: the college course or apprenticeship, the qualifications, the machines you ran in the workshop and the hours on them. Put Education and Qualifications above Experience.
- 2Add a Projects or Workshop section: parts you made, the material, the tolerance you held, the machine and software. "Machined a 6082 aluminium vice stop on a Haas VF-2 to ±0.05 mm from a SolidWorks model I programmed in Mastercam" is a real bullet.
- 3Reframe other jobs: welding, vehicle repair, joinery, warehouse, Armed Forces maintenance and even fast food have attendance, measuring, tool and safety bullets in them. Add numbers.
- 4Show workshop maths and measuring: trigonometry, metric and imperial conversions, reading a micrometer and an engineering drawing. Mention them in skills; you will be tested on them.
- 5Say your shift availability in the personal statement. Entry-level vacancies are mostly lates and nights, and if you are under 25, say whether you are open to an apprenticeship.
Machining workshop, further education college, Derby (2025 to 2026): set up and ran 14 projects on Haas VF-2 mills and ST-10 lathes in aluminium and mild steel, holding ±0.05 mm; programmed 6 parts in Mastercam and inspected all work with micrometers, bore gauges and a Mitutoyo CMM.
Warehouse operative, 2023 to 2026: operated a reach truck 8 hours a day with zero incidents, completed daily pre-use checks, and had one unplanned absence in 3 years.
Format, length and ATS tips for a CNC machinist CV
Large manufacturers (aerospace primes, automotive tier-1 suppliers, medical device companies) run CVs through an applicant tracking system. Small subcontract shops print them or read them on a phone in the shop office. A plain one-page layout works for both.
- One page for almost everyone, including 20-year machinists. Older jobs get one line each.
- Order: contact line with shift availability; three-line personal statement; skills grouped by machines, controls, software, inspection; experience with numbers; qualifications; education.
- Mirror the advert's words once each: "CNC machinist", "CNC setter-operator" or "CNC operator" (use the title they use), the control and machine brands they name, "setting", "G-code", "Mastercam", "GD&T", "drawing reading", "micrometers", "CMM", "first article", "5-axis", "lathe", "mill", the materials, "AS9100" or "ISO 9001".
- No photo, no date of birth, no full address (town or city is enough). "Setter-operator" or "CNC setter" is the usual UK title for a setup machinist; US employers call the same document a resume and the role a setup machinist.
Paste the advert into the cvplex ATS checker with your CV. It shows which machine, control and inspection words from the advert you are missing and whether your skills section parsed as one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a CNC machinist CV?
Start with a three-line personal statement: your level (operator, setter-operator or programmer), years, machines and controls, one or two numbers such as tolerance and scrap rate. Group your skills by machines, controls, software, materials and inspection. Write each job with the machines, the material, the volume or tolerance and a result. Add your apprenticeship, NVQ or college qualification. Keep it to one page.
What skills should be on a CNC machinist CV?
The machines and controls you have run (Haas, Fanuc, Heidenhain, Siemens, Mazatrol, Okuma OSP), setup skills (offsets, fixturing, probing, prove-out), programming and CAM (G-code, Mastercam, Edgecam, Fusion 360), materials, inspection (GD&T, micrometers, bore gauges, CMM, SPC) and quality systems (ISO 9001, AS9100). Then attendance, shift flexibility and workshop maths.
What is the difference between a CNC operator CV and a CNC machinist CV?
An operator CV shows loading parts, running proven programs, in-process gauge checks, offset adjustments and insert changes, with volume and scrap numbers. A machinist or setter-operator CV adds setups, tool and work offsets, program editing, first-article prove-out and tighter tolerances. Use the title that matches what you actually do; shops test it on the floor.
What is a good CNC machinist personal statement?
For example: "CNC machinist with 8 years in automotive and aerospace machining, setting up Haas mills and a DMG Mori 5-axis (Heidenhain) in titanium to ±0.01 mm. Cut setup time 35%; 0.6% scrap rate over 3 years. Level 3 NVQ, Mastercam, available for lates." Level and years, machines and materials, two numbers, qualifications and shift.
How do I write an entry-level CNC machinist CV with no experience?
Put your college course or apprenticeship, qualifications and workshop hours at the top. Add a Workshop section with parts you made, the machine, the material and the tolerance held. Reframe any other job around attendance, measuring, tools and safety. State your shift availability. One page.
Do CNC machinists need qualifications?
No licence is required in the UK. A completed Level 3 apprenticeship, a Level 3 NVQ or college diploma, or an HNC are the recognised routes and help you get setting and programming roles. IOSH Working Safely, forklift and slinger/signaller training are nice to have. Never list a qualification you have not finished; certificates can be checked with the awarding body.
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How this page was made: a first draft was written with AI assistance from cvplex's example library, then edited and fact-checked by the cvplex Careers Team. Examples are fictional composites; numbers are illustrative. Report an error via the editorial policy page.