Mechanical Designer

Job Title: Mold Designer

Job Description

The Mold Designer develops high-quality plastic injection molds using advanced 3D CAD tools, ensuring robust, efficient, and manufacturable designs for high-volume production. This role focuses on new mold design, design-for-manufacturability reviews, and continuous improvement of existing tooling, while closely collaborating with cross-functional teams throughout the mold build and validation process.

Responsibilities

• Design plastic injection molds using 3D CAD software, with a primary focus on new mold development.
• Develop complete 3D mold assemblies and detailed manufacturing drawings for cores, cavities, slides, lifters, cooling systems, runners, and ejection systems.
• Design and optimize mold components, including cooling circuits, gating, ejection, and tooling elements, to support robust and repeatable molding processes.
• Review customer part designs and lead Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews, providing clear recommendations to improve moldability and reduce risk.
• Allocate approximately 60% of time to new mold design and 40% to DFM reviews and layout support for quoting activities.
• Support a steady workload of multiple active projects, typically managing around five quotes per week.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, tooling, manufacturing, and quality teams throughout the mold build and validation process.
• Support mold trials by reviewing performance, troubleshooting issues related to tooling and design, and implementing corrective actions.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, including design enhancements, incorporation of new technologies, and improvements to existing molds.
• Implement engineering changes and Engineering Change Orders (ECOs), ensuring modifications are accurately reflected in 3D models and drawings.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date design documentation, including CAD files, drawings, and revision histories.
• Ensure mold designs meet customer requirements, internal standards, and production objectives for quality, cost, and cycle time.
• Design and support molds of varying complexity, including two-plate and multi-cavity tools (commonly 4-, 8-, and 16-cavity configurations).
• Avoid family mold configurations when possible, aligning with internal standards and cost considerations.
• Incorporate advanced features such as cavity pressure sensors and hot runner systems when required by the application.
• Collaborate on projects in automotive, medical device, or other high-volume manufacturing environments, particularly for connector housings and similar components.

Essential Skills

• Minimum of 3 years of injection mold design experience.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD software, specifically SolidWorks, for mold design and detailing.
• Strong understanding of plastic injection molding processes, including how design decisions affect manufacturability and part quality.
• Solid knowledge of mold construction, including cores, cavities, slides, lifters, cooling systems, gating, ejection, and tooling components.
• Ability to design and document two-plate molds and multi-cavity tools (such as 4-, 8-, and 16-cavity configurations).
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, including geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Experience reviewing customer part models and performing DFM analyses for plastic components.
• Capability to support multiple active projects simultaneously, including new mold designs and quoting-related layouts.
• Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with engineering, tooling, manufacturing, and quality teams.
• Attention to detail and commitment to maintaining accurate and complete design documentation.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Associate degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Drafting, Tool Design, or a related field preferred.
• Experience with additional 3D CAD tools such as Siemens NX, Creo, AutoCAD, or similar software.
• Experience in automotive, medical device, or high-volume manufacturing environments.
• Experience designing molds for automotive connectors, housings, and components with contacts or inserts.
• Familiarity with mold flow or similar simulation software to evaluate and optimize mold designs.
• Experience designing hot runner systems and integrating them into complete mold assemblies.
• Knowledge of automation and robotic part handling, particularly in high-volume production settings.
• Experience integrating cavity pressure sensors or similar monitoring technologies into mold designs.
• Strong problem-solving skills for troubleshooting tooling issues during mold trials and production.
• Effective communication skills for presenting DFM recommendations and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.

Work Environment

The Mold Designer works in a professional engineering environment that combines office-based CAD design with close interaction with tooling and manufacturing operations. The role relies heavily on 3D CAD tools such as SolidWorks and may involve exposure to other design platforms like Siemens NX, Creo, or AutoCAD. The work focuses primarily on new mold design and DFM support for high-volume plastic injection molding applications, especially two-plate and multi-cavity tools. Designers collaborate regularly with engineering, tooling, manufacturing, and quality teams, supporting mold builds, trials, and continuous improvement initiatives. The environment emphasizes precision, documentation accuracy, and adherence to internal standards and customer requirements, particularly for demanding sectors such as automotive and medical devices.

This is a Permanent position based out of Emigsville, PA.

The pay range for this position is $31.25 - $57.70/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Emigsville,PA.

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 4, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.

Salary : $31 - $58