Machine Shop Operative

Machine Shop Operative

Location: West Sussex
Salary: £28,000 - £30,000
Hours: Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent

If you’re already comfortable around machinery but want a role where you can learn more, work across different processes and build a longer-term career in manufacturing, this could be a very good move.

We’re recruiting for a Machine Shop Operative to join a specialist engineering manufacturer based in Storrington.

This isn’t a basic production role where you’ll stand on one repetitive process all day. The Machine Shop supports a much wider engineering operation, producing and preparing components that feed into highly technical manufactured products.

You’ll have the opportunity to work across a range of machinery and processes, with training provided depending on your existing experience.

What you’ll be doing

Your day-to-day work could include:

Setting and operating production machinery

Working with press brakes

Operating punch press machinery

Waterjet cutting

Lamination processes

Brushing and finishing components

Washing and preparing manufactured parts

Loading and unloading machines

Changing tooling and completing basic machine setups

Following job sheets, drawings and manufacturing instructions

Carrying out dimensional and quality checks

Making basic machine adjustments

Supporting routine machine care and maintenance

Working closely with the wider production and assembly teams

You won’t necessarily need experience across every machine listed above.

The important thing is that you’re already comfortable within a manufacturing or engineering environment, understand how to work safely around machinery and have the practical ability to learn new processes.

What we’re looking for

You could come from a background such as:

Machine operating

CNC operating

Sheet metal

Press brake

Punch press

Waterjet

Fabrication

Engineering production

General manufacturing

We’d particularly like to speak with people who have experience with some of the following:

Setting or adjusting machinery

Changing tooling

Reading job sheets or basic engineering drawings

Measuring or checking finished components

Basic fault-finding

Routine machine maintenance

Working to quality standards

You don’t need to be a qualified machinist or CNC programmer.

A practical mindset, good attention to detail and the willingness to learn will go a long way.

Why consider it?

This is a chance to join a well-established specialist engineering business with a large manufacturing site and a strong focus on training and development.

Rather than being limited to one machine, there is scope to build experience across different areas of the Machine Shop and develop into more skilled manufacturing work over time.

You’ll be joining a business producing components for highly technical applications, so the work has a bit more substance to it than standard high-volume production.

The company also has a strong track record of developing people internally and is looking for people who want somewhere they can genuinely settle and progress.

If you’ve got machine operating, engineering or manufacturing experience and want to build on it, apply and we’ll have an initial conversation about your background and the opportunity