CNC Machine Operator

You load raw stock into Haas and Mazak machines, set the zero point, and start the program for the day's run. Through the shift you swap worn inserts, check finished parts with calipers and micrometers, and write the measurements into the control sheet. When a dimension drifts you adjust the offsets yourself instead of waiting for the setter. The work is mostly metal parts for the auto and white-goods trade, batches of a few hundred at a time. You keep the machine clean, top up coolant, and clear chips between cycles. Shifts run six in the morning to two, and two to ten, swapping week to week.

At least two years on CNC lathes or mills

Reading technical drawings and GD&T symbols

Measuring with calipers, micrometers and gauges

Basic edits to offsets and tool changes

Functional English (B1) to follow programs and manuals

Shared accommodation arranged and paid for the first three months

Daily transport from the housing to the plant

Hot meal on every shift in the canteen

Full health insurance from day one

You start at 680 net while the setter signs off your setups. Once you can rig a job and run it without help, pay moves to 780 net and you take on the harder five-axis work. Most operators reach that mark inside the first year.

The hall is a clean machining floor with good extraction, so the air stays clear of oil mist. It gets loud near the lathes, and ear protection and safety boots are handed out and expected. Floors are marked, forklifts have their own lanes, and the supervisor speaks both Macedonian and English.