Senior Tool Design Engineer – Progressive Dies & Press Tools

Celestix Industries; Ahmedabad District; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Celestix Industries is expanding its tooling capabilities and seeks a Senior Tool Design Engineer to independently design progressive dies, stamping dies and sheet metal press tools. You will solve practical tooling issues on the shop floor, coordinate tool room activities and drive tooling improvements for high-volume production.

The role emphasizes CAD-based design, tool tryouts, and direct shop-floor problem solving, with the opportunity to advance to leadership roles for the right candidate.

Qualifications

• Diploma/B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering with hands-on tool design experience.
• Hands-on experience in progressive die and press tool design and assembly.
• Experience with strip progression and die clearance considerations.
• Familiarity with copper/brass stamping and non-ferrous components is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Independently design progressive dies and press tools and prepare detailed manufacturing drawings.
• Coordinate with tool room during manufacture and participate in tool tryouts and trials.
• Troubleshoot tooling issues on trials and production to improve quality and productivity.
• Lead tool design reviews and specify tooling BOMs and component selections.
• Mentor junior designers and support new product development from concept to production.

Skills

Progressive Die Design

Press Tool Design

Sheet Metal Tooling

Stamping Operations

Strip Layout

Tool Troubleshooting

Tool Maintenance

High-Volume Manufacturing

Education

Mechanical Engineering degree

Tools

SolidWorks

AutoCAD

Creo

CATIA

NX/Unigraphics

Job description

About the Role

About the Role Celestix Industries is expanding its manufacturing capabilities for copper cable lugs, electrical terminals, connectors and precision sheet metal components. We are looking for a strong, hands-on Senior Tool Design Engineer / Progressive Die & Press Tool Design Specialist who can independently design progressive dies, stamping dies and sheet metal press tools while also solving practical tooling problems on the shop floor. This role combines press tool design, progressive die design, tool and die engineering, tool room coordination, tool tryout and press shop troubleshooting. Candidates do not need to be people managers to apply. A highly experienced Senior Tool Design Engineer, Assistant Manager, Deputy Manager or Tool Design Manager with the right technical capabilities will be considered.

What You Will Design

The role involves designing tooling for metal stamping and precision sheet metal components, including:

• Progressive Dies: Multi-stage tooling for high-volume stamping operations.
• Compound Dies: Tooling for combined cutting operations.
• Piercing Tools: Tools for producing holes and openings.
• Blanking Tools: Tools for producing component blanks.
• Bending Tools: Sheet metal bending and forming applications.
• Forming Tools: Tooling for producing specified component geometries.
• Press Tools: Production tooling for mechanical press operations.
• Copper Terminal Tooling: Tooling for electrical terminals and copper stamping.
• Cable Lug Tooling: Tooling for manufacturing cable lugs.
• Precision Sheet Metal Tooling: Tools for manufacturing precision stamped sheet metal components.

Key Responsibilities

• Progressive Die & Press Tool Design - Independently develop progressive die and press tool concepts. Create strip layouts for optimum material utilization. Prepare detailed tool designs and manufacturing drawings. Create 2D drawings and 3D tool assemblies. Determine tooling stages and manufacturing sequence. Perform press tonnage and force calculations. Select appropriate tool steels, punches, dies, springs and standard components. Prepare tooling BOMs. Conduct design reviews before tool manufacturing.
• Tool Room Coordination, Tool Tryout & Troubleshooting - Coordinate closely with the Tool Room during tool manufacture. Participate personally in tool assembly and trials, including tool tryout and tool proving. Troubleshoot tooling problems during trials and production. Correct issues including burrs, dimensional variation, tool breakage, misfeeds and forming defects.
• Production Tooling & Continuous Improvement - Improve tool life and production speed. Optimize material utilization and strip design. Support high-volume production. Modify existing tooling for engineering changes or productivity improvement. Support new product development and prototype tooling. Mentor junior tool designers where required. The role requires the ability to take a tool from initial design through manufacture, assembly, trials and production troubleshooting.

Required Hands-On Experience

• Progressive Die Design: Independent design of progressive dies for sheet metal components.
• Sheet Metal Press Tooling: Design and application of press tools for stamping operations.
• Stamping Operations: Understanding production tooling and metal stamping processes.
• Strip Layout Development: Designing strip progression and optimizing material utilization.
• Tool Trials: Hands-on participation in tool tryout, tool proving and production validation.
• Tool Troubleshooting: Identifying and correcting problems with progressive dies and press tooling.
• Tool Maintenance Principles: Understanding die maintenance, tool repair, tool modification and tooling reliability.
• High-Volume Manufacturing: Designing and supporting tools for repeatable production.

Experience designing tools for copper, brass or other non-ferrous components is highly desirable.

Engineering Knowledge

• GD&T: Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing.
• Tool Tolerances: Dimensional accuracy and manufacturing requirements.
• Punch and Die Clearances: Appropriate die clearance and clearance calculations.
• Press Tonnage Calculations: Calculating the forces required for stamping operations.
• Bend Allowances: Calculating material requirements for bending.
• Springback: Understanding and compensating for material springback during forming.
• Strip Progression: Strip layout, tooling stages and material flow through progressive dies.
• Material Utilization: Improving strip efficiency and minimizing material waste.
• Tool Steel Selection: Selecting appropriate tool steels for specific tooling applications.
• Tool Life: Understanding tooling wear, reliability and maintenance considerations.
• Press Shop Operations: Practical knowledge of production stamping and press shop troubleshooting.
• Manufacturing Drawings: Preparing accurate and complete tooling drawings.

Software

Strong hands-on capability in: SolidWorks AutoCAD Candidates experienced with Creo, CATIA, NX / Unigraphics or equivalent tooling CAD packages are also encouraged to apply.

Qualification

Diploma / B.E. / B.Tech in: Mechanical Engineering Tool Engineering Production Engineering Manufacturing Engineering Tool & Die Making qualifications are strongly valued. Hands-on engineering ability and direct progressive die / press tool design experience are particularly important for this position.

Preferred Industry Background Experience

• Electrical terminals
• Automotive stampings
• Connector manufacturing
• Cable lugs
• Precision sheet metal
• Switchgear components
• Appliance components
• Electrical contacts
• Pressed metal components
• Tool and die manufacturing
• Experience with copper stamping, brass components, precision sheet metal stamping or high-volume metal stamping operations will be particularly relevant.

Most Important Requirement

This is a hands-on engineering role. We are looking for someone who can both design the progressive die on CAD and walk into the Tool Room or Press Shop to diagnose why it is not producing the correct part. The ideal candidate should be comfortable with: Developing a strip layout and progressive die design independently. Preparing detailed press tool drawings and assemblies. Coordinating with toolmakers during tool manufacturing. Participating personally in tool assembly and trials. Diagnosing burrs, dimensional problems, tool breakage, misfeeds and forming defects. Implementing tooling modifications to improve quality, tool life and production speed. Supporting production teams until the tool performs reliably. The most important qualification is the ability to combine progressive die design, press tool design and hands-on tool room troubleshooting. We are seeking practical engineering expertise, not someone limited to preparing CAD drawings or managing a tool room without direct design experience.