Project Tooling Engineer

TOOLING ENGINEER

Location: Akron, OH

Hours: Monday–Friday, approximately 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with flexibility to adjust hours as needed to support 2nd- and 3rd-shift production needs.

Pay: $90,000–$110,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications. Strong plastics and tooling experience is required.

Travel: Very limited; occasional travel may be required to visit an outside site or supplier prior to transferring tooling to the facility.

POSITION PURPOSE

To perform a variety of duties ensuring appropriate, functional, and well-designed injection molds are procured and prepared for production, as well as ensuring effective project/program management and customer communication.

The Tooling Engineer will have a strong background in plastics and injection molding, with significant responsibility for ensuring tooling is properly designed, built, brought into the facility, and successfully aligned with production requirements. This position will work closely with technical, manufacturing, quality, operations, suppliers, and customer teams to ensure molds are production-ready and projects meet schedule, cost, quality, and performance expectations.

The position demands the ability to make independent judgments and perform duties with minimal supervision. Well-developed leadership, communication, and project management skills are required.

Reason for opening: Planned retirement.

KEY FUNCTION SUMMARY

• Interfacing with customers, suppliers, and internal employees.
• Assisting Cost Estimating with preparing and communicating customer quotations.
• Providing the primary technical liaison with the customer.
• Coordinating outside tooling and ensuring timely completion and procurement of quality tools.
• Managing the APQP process and effectively communicating project progress and issues to all project stakeholders.
• Taking responsibility for the overall financial and schedule status of assigned projects; working with Manufacturing, Quality Control, Scheduling, Procurement, and suppliers as needed to ensure projects are on budget, on time, and meet expectations.
• Reviewing customer products to identify moldability issues, steel conditions, potential cost-saving opportunities, and ways to reduce mold lead time and improve quality.
• Reviewing mold designs to ensure adherence to customer specifications and requirements, as well as conformance with internal tool design standards.
• Scheduling and leading project review meetings and providing oversight for all project activities.
• Working with tool shop suppliers to oversee and approve the designs of all injection molds, including new molds and modifications.
• Approving molds for shipment to the facility and releasing molds to production.
• Taking a hands-on role in ensuring tooling is successfully brought into the press and aligned with production requirements.
• Working closely with manufacturing, operations, technical, quality, and administrative personnel to ensure tooling and projects transition effectively into production.
• Collaborating with production and operations teams to identify and resolve tooling issues and ensure molds perform effectively in the press.
• Effectively communicating using ERP systems, APQP systems, and standard reporting mechanisms available.
• Developing, maintaining, and publishing project timelines.
• Tracking and managing changes to project scope to ensure schedule and financial issues are properly documented and resolved.
• Working closely with production-oriented technical and operations staff to ensure tooling decisions support safe, efficient, and reliable manufacturing processes.

KEY REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

Education

B.S. in Plastics, Polymer, Mechanical, or related engineering discipline, or equivalent experience gained through mold making, mold design, tooling engineering, or related plastics manufacturing experience.

Tool Engineering Knowledge

• Must have a strong working knowledge of plastics injection molds and mold designs, including mold building, thermoplastic resins, engineering resins, plastic injection equipment, and injection methodology.
• Strong plastics industry experience is required, with hands-on understanding of injection molding and the relationship between tooling, molding equipment, and production processes.
• Must understand the practical requirements of getting injection molds successfully into the press and transitioning tooling into production.
• Must have knowledge and experience using 3D CAD for product and/or tool design; SolidWorks preferred.
• Must have experience with setting up, running, and interpreting Mold Filling Analysis (MFA).
• Must be able to review mold designs and identify potential tooling, moldability, quality, cost, and production concerns.
• Experience working directly with outside tool shops and overseeing mold construction, modifications, testing, and approval is required.

Project Management Knowledge

• Must have demonstrable project management skills.
• Must be experienced with use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Knowledge of formal project management methods and project management software is desirable.
• Must be able to manage multiple projects, timelines, budgets, suppliers, and stakeholders simultaneously.

Additional Qualifications

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with customers, suppliers, engineers, production personnel, and operations leadership.
• Ability to work independently, make sound technical decisions, and drive projects to completion with minimal supervision.
• Ability and willingness to flex work hours when necessary to support 2nd- and 3rd-shift production needs.
• Ability to travel occasionally when required to support tooling transfers, supplier visits, or project needs.