Machinist job description: template and real figures
A machinist makes precise metal and plastic parts on lathes, mills and CNC machines from engineering drawings. A template for hiring a machinist, with what employers in today’s 182 open postings for this work ask for and offer. Copy it, fill in the brackets, then post the job free.
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- Open postings today
- 182
- Experience asked, median
- 3 years
- Postings that state pay
- 14%
- Open to remote work
- 1%
Machinist [Company] · [City, or Remote and the countries it is open to] · [Full-time] About us [Two sentences: what the company does, for whom, and one number that shows where it is now.] About the role Our Machinist makes precise metal and plastic parts on lathes, mills and CNC machines from engineering drawings. You will report to [manager’s title] and work with [team]. What you will do - [The most important result of the first year, with a number] - [One more duty that is specific to this job] What we are looking for - [3]+ years of experience as a machinist - [One or two must-haves that are specific to this job] Pay and benefits - Pay range: $[lowest] – $[highest] a year, [plus equity or bonus if any] - Parental leave - Equity - Unlimited PTO - [Paid time off, health cover and the rest of your benefits] How to apply [What to send, the interview steps and how long they take. Name the date you will reply by.]
What today’s machinist postings say
| Experience asked | Median 3 years; the middle half ask 1–5 years (137 postings name a number) |
|---|---|
| Benefits named most | Parental leave (37%), Equity (29%), Unlimited PTO (5%) |
| Most common level | Senior (12% of postings) |
| Titles employers use | Machinist, CNC Machinist, CNC Programmer, CNC Operator, Senior CNC Programmer, Laser Tracker Toolmaker (Starship Launch Hardware) |
Counted from the 182 open postings for this work on Nov 15, 2026, read from employers’ own careers pages. Recounted on every update.
Questions about hiring a machinist
- What should a machinist job description include?
- What the person will achieve in the first year, the duties, the must-have experience, the pay range and how the hiring steps work. Use the words candidates search for, not internal team names.
- Should a machinist job posting show the salary?
- Yes, if you can: 14% of today’s 182 open machinist postings here do. A range filters out people who would turn the offer down, and several US states and EU countries now require it.
- How many years of experience should I ask for?
- The median in today’s machinist postings is 3 years. Ask for what the work needs: every extra year you require shrinks the pool of applicants.
- What does a machinist do?
- A machinist makes precise metal and plastic parts on lathes, mills and CNC machines from engineering drawings.
- Is a machinist an IT job?
- It sits in skilled trades on Jobs Every Hour. Not in the narrow sense: it is its own field, though most postings here are at technology companies.
- Can I become a machinist with no experience?
- 6 of today’s 182 postings (3%) are junior roles or internships, and the median posting asks for 3 years. The steps, with today’s figures, are on the how-to-become page for this work.
- Can I learn machinist work in three months?
- Enough to start on the skills postings name first, and to build one or two projects to show; most employers still ask for a result you have delivered, so a first junior role or internship is the usual next step.
Everything about machinist work
See also: 182 open machinist jobs · how to hire a machinist · all job description templates