Lead CNC Machinist

Location: Cambridgeshire
Salary: £35,000 - £45,000
Job Type: Perm
Sector: Engineering & Manufacturing
Date Posted: 27 October 2026
Reference: 56099

About The Role

  • Perm
  • Cambridgeshire
  • £35,000 - £45,000 GBP / Year

The One Group

Lead CNC Machinist (Milling & Turning)
Cambridgeshire

Are you an experienced CNC Machinist who enjoys more than just setting and operating machines? Do you like getting involved in programming, improving processes and finding better ways of machining components?

We’re working with an established manufacturing business looking to recruit a Lead CNC Machinist to take ownership of their CNC machining operations.

This is a hands-on role working across 2 CNC Milling machines and 2 CNC Lathes, with a real focus on reviewing and improving existing programmes, reducing cycle times and driving efficiencies across the workshop.

You’ll have the opportunity to make a genuine impact on how the machining department operates, rather than simply running existing programmes.

What you’ll be doing:

  • Setting, operating and programming CNC Milling and Turning machines.

  • Reviewing and improving legacy CNC programmes to reduce cycle times and improve efficiency.

  • Optimising machining processes, tooling, speeds and feeds to improve productivity.

  • Carrying out machine setups, programme adjustments and first-off inspections.

  • Troubleshooting machining issues and identifying opportunities to improve processes across the workshop.

What we’re looking for:

  • Strong experience in both CNC Milling and CNC Turning, including setting and programming.

  • Confident editing, modifying and improving existing CNC programmes.

  • Good understanding of machining processes, tooling selection, speeds and feeds.

  • Ability to read engineering drawings and manufacture components to tight tolerances.

  • Someone who is proactive, hands-on and confident taking ownership of machining improvements.

If you’re an experienced CNC Machinist looking for a role where you can have more input into how things are done, rather than just keeping machines running, I’d be keen to have a conversation.

Get in touch to find out more or apply today.

To apply for this job email your details to kevans@theonegroup.co.uk

About The ONE Group

The ONE Group is a specialist recruitment consultancy with offices in Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton, and Hertfordshire.

We recruit across Technology, Engineering & Manufacturing, Scientific, Sales, and Marketing, with consultants who specialise in their sector rather than trying to cover everything. This focused approach allows us to provide deeper market knowledge, stronger networks, and better hiring outcomes for both clients and candidates.

Our expertise spans permanent, contract, and senior-level appointments. Most importantly, the majority of our business comes from repeat clients and referrals, reflecting the long-term relationships we build and the trust we earn through consistently delivering results.

What Happens Next

1

One of our consultants will review your application within one working day.

2

If your experience looks like a fit, we'll be in touch for a quick conversation to understand what you're looking for.

3

From there, we'll talk you through the role properly, prepare you for interview, and stay alongside you through to your start date.

4

Whatever happens with this role, we'll keep your details on file, with your permission, so we can flag other opportunities that suit you.

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
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