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Job Description

Overview

Our client is an established, family-run jewellery manufacturer in Chatsworth, producing jewellery for major retailers. They are looking for an experienced Manual Lathe Operator to join their small production team, offering an opportunity to work in a specialist manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

  • Operate a manual lathe to manufacture precision components.
  • Measure parts using calipers and check dimensions against requirements.
  • Maintain consistent quality and accuracy throughout production.
  • Identify and report machining issues.
  • Handle precious metals carefully and minimise material waste.
  • Maintain a clean, organised and safe working environment.
  • Work closely with the owner and production team to meet production requirements.

Requirements

  • Previous hands-on experience operating a manual lathe.
  • Ability to use calipers and work to specified dimensions and tolerances.
  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality.
  • A careful, reliable and practical approach to work.
  • Willingness to learn specialist manufacturing processes.
  • Hardinge lathe experience is beneficial but not essential.

Additional Information

  • Monday–Friday, 7:30 am–4:00 pm.
  • Contract-to-hire opportunity, with the potential to transfer to permanent employment after 13 weeks.
  • Initial W-2 employment through RPS Recruitment.
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How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $33/hr, this posting comes in about 24% below the $43/hr median for welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA, where the middle half runs $36–$64/hr across 52 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 19% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

The local market in Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 81 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 51 different employers. 33 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 565 other active welding openings from 258 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Los Angeles, or widen the search to California.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (37), Relativity Space (21), and Honeywell Aerospace (17). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Long Beach at $49/hr, Santa Ana at $48/hr, and Los Angeles at $43/hr. Los Angeles is among them.

Similar openings near Los Angeles, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Operator figures were last recalculated when this page was built.