Senior Composite Tooling Manager - Lead Class-A Molds

Piedmont Composites & Tooling; Taylorsville (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Piedmont Composites & Tooling in Taylorsville, NC is seeking an experienced Composite Tooling Manager to build and lead our tooling department. This hands‑on leadership role focuses on producing plugs, patterns and molds from fiberglass and other composites.

You will oversee a growing team, establish repeatable processes, train employees, manage multiple projects, and ensure high quality, on‑schedule tooling with Class‑A finishes for automotive and other appearance‑critical industries.

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of advanced composite tooling experience.
• Experience producing Class‑A plugs and molds.
• Supervisory or team‑lead experience.
• Strong knowledge of fiberglass and composite tooling construction.
• Ability to train employees and enforce defined standards.
• Strong understanding of surface preparation and finishing procedures.
• Excellent attention to detail and a highly developed eye for surface quality.
• Ability to plan work, solve problems, and make independent manufacturing decisions.
• Strong character, work ethic, professionalism, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and changing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a skilled composite tooling team.
• Establish tooling procedures, inspection points, and workmanship standards.
• Manage multiple tooling projects, labor, schedules, and priorities.
• Construct and supervise plugs, patterns, master models, and composite molds.
• Produce tooling capable of delivering consistent, production‑ready Class‑A surfaces.
• Review tooling throughout the build process and identify quality concerns.
• Diagnose and correct surface defects and finish issues.
• Oversee sanding, fairing, blocking, priming, polishing, sealing, and mold release prep.
• Perform splash layups, mold fabrication, mold repair, and mold maintenance.
• Estimate labor, materials, build methods, and project timelines.
• Provide technical input for customer quotations and new tooling opportunities.
• Read and interpret CAD drawings, models, dimensions, tolerances, and customer specifications.
• Coordinate finishing requirements for CNC‑machined plugs, patterns, and tooling components.
• Track labor hours, material usage, project status, and completion dates.
• Maintain a clean, organized, efficient, and safe tooling department.
• Lead by example and perform hands‑on tooling work when needed.

Skills

Composite tooling

Class-A tooling

Team leadership

CAD reading

Surface finishing

Project management

Quality control

Training

Fiberglass tooling

Tools

CNC machining

CAD/CAM

Job description

Piedmont Composites & Tooling in Taylorsville, NC is seeking an experienced Composite Tooling Manager to build and lead our tooling department. This hands‑on leadership role focuses on producing plugs, patterns and molds from fiberglass and other composites.

You will oversee a growing team, establish repeatable processes, train employees, manage multiple projects, and ensure high quality, on‑schedule tooling with Class‑A finishes for automotive and other appearance‑critical industries.