CNC Machinist

Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed.

You'll be the production backbone of Factory ONE — the machinist who takes proven processes and executes them at the highest quality, repeatability, and throughput. Once our Part Zero Machinists have figured out how to make a component, you're the one who runs it — holding tight tolerances part after part, inside production cells that blend manual skill with robotic automation.

As a CNC Machinist at Factory ONE, you will operate and optimize our fleet of 5-axis machining centers in production. You'll work from established CAM programs and setup documentation to produce aerospace-grade components at volume — loading jobs, verifying setups, monitoring cuts, and ensuring every part meets spec. You'll work alongside robotic tending systems and automated workflows, acting as the quality-critical human in the loop who catches what sensors miss and keeps production moving.

This isn't a traditional job shop. You'll operate in a software-driven factory where machine data flows into AI systems in real time — and your feedback on what's actually happening at the spindle is essential to making those systems smarter.

Based on-site at Factory ONE in Munich.

• 3–5+ years of experience operating multi-axis CNC machining centers, ideally 5-axis. You've run production — not just one-offs.

• Setup Execution: You can independently set up machines from documented process sheets — loading tools, setting work offsets, verifying programs, and running first-off parts to confirm the setup is dialed in.

• Production Discipline: Experience running repeat jobs to tight tolerances with consistent quality. You understand SPC, in-process checks, and what it takes to hold spec over a batch — not just on the first part.

• Material Knowledge: Experience machining aerospace metals — aluminum, titanium, Inconel, or stainless steel. You understand how materials behave under the tool and can spot trouble before it becomes scrap.

• Blueprint Reading: Confident reading and interpreting engineering drawings with GD&T callouts. You know what the tolerances mean and how to measure them.

• Measurement Skills: Proficient with precision measurement tools — micrometers, calipers, height gauges, and ideally basic CMM operation.

• Problem Solving: When a tool chatters, a dimension drifts, or a finish isn't right, you diagnose and fix it — adjusting feeds, speeds, or tooling as needed. You escalate clearly when something needs re-programming rather than patching around it.

• Automation Comfort: You'll work alongside robotic loading systems and software-driven workflows. You don't need to program them — but you need to be comfortable operating in that environment and flagging issues to the automation team.

• Location: Based in Munich (on-site at Factory ONE).

• Language: Fluent in German; English proficiency is a plus.

• Button-pushers who only load parts and press cycle start. We need machinists who think critically about every setup and every cut.

• People who are resistant to technology. You'll work in a factory where robots, software, and AI are deeply integrated into daily operations.

• Operators unwilling to share what they see. Your observations at the machine feed directly into the systems we're building. If you prefer to keep knowledge to yourself, this isn't the right shop.

• Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space.

• The Environment: Access to a 5,000m² state-of-the-art facility featuring 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and large-scale 3D printers. Your work runs on real hardware from day one.

• The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.

• Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity.

• Resume: Show us what you've machined.

• Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now?