Principal Manufacturing Tooling Engineer

About the role:

As a Principal Manufacturing Tooling Engineer, you will develop and support fabrication of complex technical products and systems. Communicate with internal customers to understand their needs and help the customer understand their problems, develop a solution, and test and implement solutions.

You will report to the Manager of Tooling and be located at Columbia, SC. You will support this role 100% onsite.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

• Design and develop advanced tooling, fixtures, dies, and jigs.
• Establish tooling standards, best practices, and engineering methodologies.
• Provide subject matter expertise in tooling design, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Review and approve complex tooling designs and engineering changes.

Tooling Design & Development

• Develop tooling concepts to support new product introduction.
• Optimize tooling for manufacturability, durability, and cost efficiency.
• Perform CAD modeling, drafting, and simulation, with the objective of creating technical drawings to support fabrication.
• Participate in prototyping, testing, and qualification of tooling solutions.

Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve safety, production efficiency, quality, and throughput.
• Support causal analysis for tooling-related failures and implement corrective actions.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support optimization of tool life, maintenance strategies, and cycle times.

Project & Program Management

• Lead cross-functional tooling projects from concept to production launch.
• Collaborate with product engineering, manufacturing, quality, and suppliers.
• Be the technical lead for complex, high-impact initiatives.

Supplier & Vendor Management

• Work with external partners on tooling fabrication and validation.
• Ensure supplier quality through consultation.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field
• 5 + years of experience
• Experience using SolidWorks for design, drafting and AutoCAD required,
• Experience working with shop floor fabrication, machinist, or tool makers.
• Knowledge tolerance stack-ups, DFM/DFA, GD&T principles required, .
• Experience with manufacturing processes