Tooling Engineering Manager

Position Summary

Growscape is seeking an experienced Tooling Engineering Manager to lead the design, development, maintenance, and performance of injection molding and thermoforming tooling used in high-volume plastic manufacturing. This role holds both technical ownership and managerial accountability for tooling systems, on-site tooling teams, engineering resources, and external tool shop partners. The Tooling Engineering Manager is expected to maintain a strong hands-on presence on the shop floor while driving tooling strategy, team performance, cost control, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership & Management

• Lead, coach, and develop on-site tooling maintenance, tool build, and tooling engineering teams, including mold makers, tooling technicians, and tooling/engineering staff.
• Provide functional leadership and direction to tooling-related engineering resources supporting injection molding and thermoforming operations.
• Establish clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards for tooling and engineering teams aligned with production, quality, and business objectives.
• Assign work, set schedules, and balance resources across tooling maintenance, engineering support, and new tool development activities.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing skills development for tooling and engineering personnel.
• Drive accountability for safety, workmanship, documentation, and adherence to engineering and tooling standards.

Tooling Engineering & Technical Oversight

• Provide technical leadership for the design and engineering of injection molding and thermoforming tools, including mold layouts, cooling strategies, venting, gating, and trim solutions.
• Ensure tooling designs support part quality, dimensional stability, cycle time targets, uptime, and long-term tool life.
• Review and approve part and tooling designs for manufacturability (DFM/DFA) prior to release.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex tooling, quality, or processing challenges.

Hands-On Shop Floor & Tooling Maintenance Management

• Maintain a regular, hands-on presence on the manufacturing floor to assess tooling condition, performance, and production readiness.
• Oversee mold and thermoform tool maintenance programs, including preventative, corrective, and emergency repair activities.
• Prioritize tooling maintenance and repair work based on downtime risk, quality impact, and production schedules.
• Partner with operations and maintenance leadership to rapidly resolve tooling-related downtime and defects.
• Ensure tools are safe, documented, validated, and capable prior to production release.

Supplier & Tool Build Management

• Manage relationships with external tool shops and equipment suppliers.
• Lead tooling projects from concept and sourcing through build, tryout (T0, T1), qualification, and production release.
• Conduct design reviews, tool buy-offs, and capability assessments.
• Control tooling budgets, quotes, timing, and scope changes to meet cost and launch targets.

Continuous Improvement & Strategy

• Develop and execute tooling and tooling-engineering strategies to improve uptime, reduce maintenance cost, and increase manufacturing efficiency.
• Analyze tooling performance metrics to drive root cause corrective actions and long-term improvements.
• Lead standardization efforts across tooling designs, components, spare parts, engineering practices, and maintenance procedures.
• Support capital planning and long-term tooling roadmaps aligned with business growth.

Documentation & Compliance

• Ensure tooling and engineering specifications, build standards, maintenance procedures, and validation documentation are established and maintained.
• Ensure compliance with internal engineering standards, safety requirements, and customer or regulatory expectations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7 years of experience with injection molding and/or thermoforming tooling in a production manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading tooling and engineering teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Mandatory proficiency in SolidWorks for tooling, mold layout, and part design.
• Strong knowledge of thermoplastics, mold steel selection, tool construction methods, and forming technologies.
• Proven ability to manage external tool shops, engineering resources, and multiple tooling programs in parallel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-cavitation injection molds and large-format thermoforming tools.
• Experience with additional CAD platforms such as AutoCAD, Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, or similar.
• Fluency with simulation tools such as Moldflow or equivalent.
• Experience supporting automation, robotics, and downstream trimming or assembly processes.
• Background in cost estimation, capital planning, and full tooling lifecycle management.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong technical credibility combined with effective people leadership.
• Hands-on problem-solving mindset with a strong shop floor presence.
• Ability to translate business and engineering needs into executable tooling strategies.
• Excellent project management, prioritization, and communication skills.

Comfortable leading cross-functional teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.