CNC Operator

Rocket Lab · Warkworth, NZ

Posted Oct 15, 2026

Est. total comp~$76K–$110K

Apply on Rocket Lab's site ↗

From the posting

ABOUT ROCKET LAB

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

ABOUT MANUFACTURING AT ROCKET LAB:

Rocket Lab’s Manufacturing team are the builders and the doers who work with our advanced machinery across our global manufacturing sites to get our satellites, satellite components, and rockets out the door. They bring the designs of our engineers to life by using advanced manufacturing techniques and are responsible for delivering our projects and missions on time and on budget to our customers.

WHAT YOU'LL GET TO DO:

As a CNC Operator at Rocket Lab you will play a crucial role in the production of highly complex components that are destined for space. You will work in a clean, environment alongside other skilled professionals, using modern CNC equipment. Your attention to detail, technical expertise, and commitment to quality will contribute to our overall manufacturing success.

Our machining facility operates the following repeating fortnightly pattern: Day & Night Shifts Available.

Week 1: Four days on, three days off. 230pm – 230am

Week 2: Three days on, four days off. 230pm – 230am

Key aspects of the role include: …

Excerpt from Rocket Lab's public job board. Read the full posting.

Job inventory

This posting has no clear required and preferred sections in the text we have, so these are the items it names.

Named in the posting 5 items

Skills and tools: Machining, CNC, Blueprints

Clearance and work authorization: US person (ITAR / export control), US citizenship

We have not read this posting carefully yet, so it cannot show as Mission Ready. These items come from a keyword scan.

Based on the posting text we have. Check the full posting.

Get ready for this role

Crew department: Drilling

Skills Rocket Lab names in this posting:

Machining
Budgeting
Customer-facing work

Train for it: the Drilling Track: Rigs, Well Control and Geothermal. 4 short modules, a quiz after each one and a final test. Pass it and you get the Mars Mining Certificate in Drilling Fundamentals, with its own public page you can link from your resume.

Join the crew and train for this role About Drilling

Quick self-check: are you ready for this one?Free, no signup. Your answers stay in this browser tab.

I can do Machining on the job, or have used it in a class or project I can do Budgeting on the job, or have used it in a class or project I can do Customer-facing work on the job, or have used it in a class or project I have a project or work sample I could show an interviewer My resume is tailored to this kind of role I've practiced answering interview questions for this kind of job

Free. The department comes from the job title and can be off. A Mars Mining certificate shows you studied and passed our test; it isn't a license or academic credit.

About this listing. Pulled automatically from Rocket Lab's public job board and refreshed daily; closed roles are removed. Mars Mining Co. is not the employer, does not take applications and does not screen candidates. Field and level labels come from the job title and can be wrong.

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All Rocket Lab roles on our board →

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