Jason Vice

Background

About Jason Vice

My name is Jason Al Vice. I am a machinist, CNC programmer, machine shop manager, senior technologist, safety officer, inventor, tool designer, curriculum developer, teacher and volunteer in my community. I am passionate about manufacturing education, as I love teaching other people how to do what I do (make anything). After getting a degree in precision machining, I worked as a manual machinist in support of the fishing industry for a while. This is where I learned the basics of machining, like what the size, shape and color of the metal chips mean. After that, I pursued a career in CNC machining in the aerospace industry. I worked my way up from machine operator to set-up technician very quickly, but what I really wanted to do was everything. I wanted to design the tooling, make the solid models, write the code, set-up the job, optimize it, automate it, then train the next guy in line so that I could keep learning. I found it challenging to get access to programming software at work, so eventually (after learning to interpret G-code) I bought my own industrial license of Mastercam. The man who sold it to me was so impressed that he first gave me free classes, then within a year was sending me on customer technical support calls. We are great friends to this day. Once armed with my own legal copy of CAD CAM, I set out to make a name for myself. I started a consulting company providing process development, G-code, set-up sheets, and tool lists to various companies around the Puget Sound. I started teaching aerospace machining students for an apprenticeship. I helped millionaires set up successful medical device companies out of their executive hangars on Paine Field (okay; maybe just one). I helped a company develop custom camera rigging equipment for the film industry. I wrote G-code for multiple aerospace shops. I worked for FAA approved repair stations. In 2013, I got hired by an amazing company, and I have my dream job running a prototype shop there. They treat me like family. I still teach because I fell in love with it, and my employer graciously allows me to continue to do it. I consider myself the luckiest man on the planet, despite not having had the easiest of journeys. I strive to excel in everything that I choose to do, and I love making things that are difficult to make. If you share my passion for aerospace education and making the "impossible" happen, I would love to hear from you!