The Tooling Engineer is responsible for the Thermoforming Tooling Design, Tooling Project Management and sourcing, and supporting existing tooling. This position works with Design Engineers, CNC programmers, Account Managers, and suppliers meet our customers New Product Development timelines. The Tooling Engineer is also responsible for performing engineering and technical duties through development, release, and production. Performs tooling design, innovation, technology development, process cost reduction and product cost reduction.
Essential Accountabilities
- Support the New Product Development team by designing and managing new tool designs.
- Develops and maintains the standards for tool design and manufacturing for new tools.
- Analyzes design proposals and makes recommendations regarding manufacturability and compatibility with current manufacturing standards and operations.
- Assist Sales Team with technical support for specific projects.
- Creates and maintains the timelines associated with new tooling projects and updates Account Management throughout the process.
- Manages tooling process and tooling projects.
- Performs root cause analysis to prevent, correct and improve all aspects of tooling development cycle.
- Analyzes and interprets data to make engineering recommendations regarding performance or process improvements.
- Research new tooling technology and processing methods.
- Lead the creation of a plan and brainstorm solutions for difficult production situations.
- Work on multiple projects at once and prioritize workload according to demand.
- Keep projects up to date and complete documentation associated with project flow.
- Work with Production and Process Engineers to improve the manufacturability of existing thermoform tools.
- Integrate full proficiency of thermoforming and manufacturing processes with projects and needs. Relate knowledge of plastic formulation and characteristics to customer requirements.
- Assist with ongoing production questions and quality issues, and brainstorm solutions for difficult production issues.
- Provide development support to process engineering and production teams for tooling with additional input to product design, machine, process operation, and material suitability.
- Comply with all safety, ISO procedures and work instructions related to job responsibilities.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering or other related field or Associate degree with 3-5 years design (product or tooling) experience in the plastics industry that includes project management and leadership responsibilities.
- Proficient in the use of Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems.
Desired Skills
- 2-3 years design experience (production or tooling)
- Standard office professional software (i.e. word processing, spreadsheets)
- Thermoform plastics manufacturing experience.
- Knowledge of quality systems and controlled documentation systems.
- Self-directed with ability to work without close direction.
Position Requirements
Work Environment Conditions:
Inside: Office, Manufacturing floor, Tool Room.
Equipment/Tools Used:
Computer, phone, copier, measurement tools, 3D Modeling software, MS Office, Oracle ERP System
Physical Requirements: Light work (lift 10 lbs.): consistently (samples, cases of parts)
Medium Work (lift 11-30 lbs.): frequently (cases of parts, tooling) Heavy Work (lift 31-50 lbs.) occasionally (tooling)
Mental Requirements Reading, writing, calculating
Interpersonal skills
Reasoning / Analysis
Works with minimal supervision
Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously