Lead Encapsulation Tooling Engineer, Automotive Glazing

At Magna Engineered Glass, your day starts where precision meets innovation. You’ll begin with a quick sync across Product Engineering and Program Management to align on open items, review last night’s Moldflow results for a new encapsulated quarter window, and prepare feedback for an overseas toolmaker. By mid-morning, you’re on the floor validating glass loading and overmold sealing on a sample run, then closing the loop with Supplier Quality on CMM layouts and texture approvals. In the afternoon, you’ll finalize tooling quotes, update timing, and document process changes to ensure a flawless launch.

Core Accountabilities

• Tooling development and standards
  • Apply and evolve corporate standards for injection-molded encapsulation tools.
  • Qualify and manage domestic and international suppliers capable of vertical press molding, robot-assisted glass loading, and automated demold.
  • Develop and validate processes for: encapsulation overmold, dynamic pressure pad systems, magnetized bezel/stiffener insert molding, and soft-seal tooling with integrated glass fixturing.
  • Lead mold design reviews covering parting strategy, gating and runner systems (hot/cold), steel selection, shrinkage, cooling, and texturing.
  • Ensure designs protect glass edges, achieve dimensional stability, meet adhesion and sealing targets, and maintain full data retention (2D/3D, CMM, process sheets, hot runner and material/manifold records).
• Manufacturability and product integration
  • Assess quotes and concepts for encapsulation feasibility: glass edge tolerances/flatness, cross-sections for seals/beads/retention, adhesion and bonding needs, and gate impacts on polymer and glass stress.
  • Partner with Designers, Program Managers, Tooling Suppliers, and Project Engineers to ensure product geometry (draft, shut-offs, retention, gaging datums, warp/shrink predictions) meets specifications.
• Tool build management and launch
  • Prepare and approve quotes; manage builds through timing plans, supplier visits, milestones, and PPAP readiness.
  • Lead sampling and launch: validate glass loading, sealing performance, adhesion/peel tests, and debug short shots, flash, sinks, voids, and stress marks.
  • Validate via CMM layouts, fixture verification, and encapsulation profile checks; oversee texture (grain) and surface quality approvals.
  • Release spares and PM plans, define critical spare steel, and support packaging, racking, and gage design reviews.
• Analysis, testing, and supplier interaction
  • Direct Moldflow/CAE for glass encapsulation: flow front behavior, knit lines and adhesion risks, cooling of non-uniform walls, and polymer stress transfer to glass edges.
  • Maintain material line cards (TPE, PVC, PC/ABS, TPU, specialty compounds) and assess supplier tryout capability, machining quality, and process stability.
  • Support component/system testing: glass adhesion pulls, weathering/UV, thermal cycling, and expansion mismatch; troubleshoot delamination, cracking, warp, and dimensional issues.
  • Contribute to formal supplier performance reviews post-launch.
• Documentation and reporting
  • Capture technical decisions, tool changes, sampling outcomes, and validation results.
  • Maintain accurate timing charts and program status; produce cost reports and variance analyses; support budgeting and forecasting.
• Process and continuous improvement
  • Stay current with advanced encapsulation tooling: hot runners for hybrid materials, tool steel for glass-contact areas, and adhesion-promoting treatments.
  • Support new material introductions (TPE, low-gloss PVC, PC/ABS, and future compounds).
  • Author and update work instructions, quality procedures, and tooling standards; train Tool Room teams on PM, repair, and safe handling of glass molds.
• Compliance and safety
  • Adhere to Magna Engineered Glass safety policies and environmental regulations.
  • Comply with ISO/IATF 16949 and ISO 14001; complete required safety and environmental training.
• Culture
  • Perform additional duties as needed; contribute to a collaborative environment and adapt to evolving priorities.

What You’ll Bring

• BS in Engineering or related technical discipline preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 8+ years in tooling/plastics/program engineering within manufacturing, with deep expertise in injection molding for encapsulated automotive glass.
• Advanced knowledge of mold design, polymer behavior, manufacturing processes, and Moldflow/CAE interpretation.
• Expertise in glass handling/fixturing, polymer-to-glass adhesion, overmold material selection, and encapsulated window mold strategies.
• Proven leadership on complex, multi-tool programs with supplier management and budget ownership.
• Ability to manage multiple programs while meeting quality, timing, and cost goals.
• Fluency in interpreting drawings, CAD models, and tooling layouts; strong presentation and continuous improvement mindset.
• Effective communicator and organizer across cross-functional teams; knowledge of manufacturing safety standards.
• English proficiency required; Spanish bilingual a plus.

Work Environment

• Office: ~60%; Plant: ~40%.
• Requires near/far/depth/color vision for extended computer work; frequent keyboard/mouse use (approx. 6 hours/day).
• Plant exposure to machinery, moving equipment/material, moderate noise, airborne particles/fumes, and variable temperatures.
• Primary base in a manufacturing facility; occasional supplier/site travel 5–10% (domestic and international).

Physical Demands

• Extended sitting/standing; walking and bending as needed to perform essential duties.
• Prolonged standing up to 8–12 hours/day.
• Lift up to 40 pounds multiple times per day.
• Repetitive bending, twisting, turning, lifting; frequent hand use for gripping, grasping, pinching, and squeezing.

Core Competencies

• Technical leadership in injection-molded encapsulation tooling.
• Excellence in design review, manufacturability assessments, and tooling problem solving.
• Cross-functional communication and supplier management.
• Integration of glass, polymer, and tooling requirements for robust production.

Technical Proficiencies

• Automotive Manufacturing Systems
• Launch
• Product Development
• Tooling