Qualifications:
Senior Tooling Engineer - Diecast
Position Summary
This position supports tooling readiness through technical procurement, tooling spare component management, and coordination of internal and external tooling repair activities. The role works closely with engineering, toolroom, and production teams to maintain tooling availability, minimize downtime, and support continuous improvement initiatives.
Responsibilities include spare component planning, toolroom workflow coordination, outsourced tooling repair management, and maintenance documentation in the CMMS.
Key Responsibilities
Tooling Engineering & Continuous Improvement
- Provide technical support for tooling design modifications, repairs, and component improvements.
- Support implementation of Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives to improve tooling performance, reliability, and maintainability.
- Assist with tooling conversions and tooling standardization initiatives.
- Support troubleshooting of tooling issues impacting production quality, uptime, or cycle efficiency.
- Collaborate with manufacturing engineering and toolroom personnel to improve tooling life and serviceability.
Tooling Availability & Production Support
- Ensure tooling readiness to support production schedules.
- Manage emergency tooling repair work orders to minimize production downtime.
- Coordinate internal toolroom repairs and external vendor repairs for all required tooling.
- Monitor tooling repair status and communicate progress to required areas of the organization.
Spare Components & Inventory Management
- Maintain tooling spare component inventory.
- Establish and manage critical spare component lists for high-risk tooling systems.
- Develop spare component replenishment plans to support production continuity.
- Coordinate internal manufacturing or external sourcing of tooling and spare components.
Technical Procurement
- Procure tooling-related materials and services, including:
- Specialty tooling services
- Work with approved suppliers to ensure compliance with specifications, delivery timelines, and quality standards.
- Support cost control and purchasing documentation where required.
Toolroom Production Coordination
- Collaborate with Toolroom Manager, Supervisors, and Team Leads to establish daily, weekly, and monthly spare component production targets.
- Monitor work order progression through the toolroom and external vendors to ensure alignment with production priorities.
- Identify workflow inefficiencies and support continuous improvement initiatives to improve repair lead time and tooling availability.
Outsourced Tooling Repair Management
- Coordinate external suppliers for tolling repairs, preventive maintenance, and continuous improvement projects.
- Maintain outsource tracking, including:
- Repair timelines and completion status.
- Vendor quality and budgetary requirements are met.
- Incoming inspections as required
Maintenance Systems & Work Order Management
- Manage tooling work orders in CMMS and other supporting software.
- Track tooling repair history, spare component usage, and maintenance activities.
- Maintain documentation and reporting related to tooling, maintenance and outsourcing.
Vendor & Supplier Development
- Maintain relationships with external tooling vendors and repair facilities.
- Support supplier performance evaluation and improvement initiatives.
- Identify opportunities to improve lead times, cost efficiency, and service quality.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Tooling uptime and production support response time
- Tool repair turnaround time
- Spare component availability
- Reduction in emergency tooling failures
- Tooling maintenance cost control to budget
- Lead and support CI initiatives focused on tooling reliability, downtime reduction, and toolroom process efficiency.
- Identify opportunities for tooling standardization, spare component optimization, and repair process improvements.
Required Skills
- Strong understanding of die casting and stamping tool tooling.
- Knowledge of tool materials, tooling applications, heat treatment, and machining processes
- Experience with tooling repair, preventive maintenance, and spare component management
- Ability to interpret tooling prints, CAD drawings, and technical specifications
- Familiarity with CMMS systems (Megamation or similar maintenance software)
- Knowledge of inventory management and procurement processes
- Strong coordination and communication skills between engineering, production, and vendors
- Problem-solving and troubleshooting capability for tooling-related production issues
- Understanding of continuous improvement methods (Lean Manufacturing, CI initiatives)