Senior Tooling Designer

DAHER; Sandpoint (ID); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

DAHER's Kodiak Aircraft facility in Sandpoint, Idaho is seeking a highly capable Senior Tooling Designer to create practical, reliable tooling solutions that support stable, repeatable, and efficient aircraft production.

The role connects Tooling, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, Supply Chain and suppliers, requiring hands-on manufacturing insight and strong tooling judgment to improve ergonomics, repeatability, and quality in a low‑rate aerospace environment.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years in tooling design and fabrication within aerospace or complex manufacturing.
• Hands-on fabrication background: machining, welding, sheet metal, and tooling assembly.
• Deep understanding of fixture design, locator strategies, tolerance stack‑up, repeatability, and assembly constraints.
• Proficiency in CAD; NX strongly preferred, with CATIA/SolidWorks as alternatives.
• Knowledge of GD&T per ASME Y14.5 and gaging/fixturing principles.
• Proven ability to design tooling that improves production efficiency, ergonomics and quality.

Responsibilities

• Work with mechanics, Manufacturing Engineers, and Tooling Lead to identify high‑impact tooling needs.
• Design tooling, fixtures, jigs, and assembly aids for structures, subassemblies, machining, fabrication, and final assembly.
• Create detailed tool drawings supporting manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, repair, and supplier fabrication.
• Ensure tooling is practical, robust, repeatable, ergonomic and fabricable with available resources.
• Use production data to prioritize tooling improvements based on rework, cycle time, bottlenecks and labor impact.
• Validate tooling performance in production and redesign tooling to add value.

Skills

Tooling design

Fabrication

CAD NX

GD&T ASME Y14.5

Fixture design

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX

CATIA

SolidWorks

Job description

Who are we?

As an aircraft manufacturer, industrialist, industrial service provider and logistician, Daher currently has approximately 14,500 employees and achieved a revenue of 1.9 billion euros in 2025. With its family ownership, Daher has been focused on innovation since its creation in 1863. With locations in 15 countries across Europe, North America and Asia, Daher designs and develops value-added solutions for its aeronautical and industrial customers and partners.

Job Title

Senior Tooling Designer

Who are we?

As an aircraft manufacturer, industrialist, industrial service provider and logistician, Daher currently has approximately 14,500 employees and achieved a revenue of 1.9 billion euros in 2025. With its family ownership, Daher has been focused on innovation since its creation in 1863. With locations in 15 countries across Europe, North America and Asia, Daher designs and develops value-added solutions for its aeronautical and industrial customers and partners.

Daher's Idaho site, located in Sandpoint Idaho, a small outdoor community located between Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain, is home to Kodiak, a rugged mission ready 10-seat short takeoff and landing turboprop. The facility supports design, manufacturing, development, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities for the Kodiak 100 and Kodiak 900, serving customers worldwide. The team of approximately 300 employees builds airplanes starting largely from raw materials, all the way through painting, to final assembly, defining built by hand in Sandpoint Idaho. Beyond final assembly is comprehensive customer service, aircraft maintenance, technical support, and quality oversight, while continuing to engineer the next generation of Kodiak capability.

Kodiak Aircraft is seeking a highly capable Senior Tooling Designer to create practical, reliable tooling solutions that support stable, repeatable, and efficient aircraft production.

This role connects Tooling, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, Supply Chain, and suppliers. You will design fixtures, jigs, assembly aids, and tooling solutions that reflect real shop‑floor needs and improve how aircraft are built.

This is more than a CAD design role. It is an opportunity to use hands‑on manufacturing insight, production data, and strong tooling judgment to improve ergonomics, repeatability, flow, and quality in a low‑rate aerospace production environment.

Why this role matters:

the right tooling can reduce rework, improve ergonomics, increase repeatability, and help mechanics build aircraft more efficiently and consistently.

What Makes This Role Senior

Senior does not simply mean more years of tooling experience. We are looking for someone who can operate with independent judgment, bring practical ideas from prior roles, challenge tooling requests when needed, and help improve how tooling is designed, fabricated, validated, and maintained.

What You Will Do

• Work directly with mechanics, Manufacturing Engineers, and the Tooling Lead to understand real build constraints and high‑impact tooling needs.
• Design tooling, fixtures, jigs, and assembly aids for structures, subassemblies, machining, fabrication, final assembly, and installation.
• Create detailed tool drawings that support manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, repair, and supplier fabrication.
• Ensure tooling designs are practical, robust, repeatable, ergonomic, maintainable, and realistic to fabricate with available resources.
• Use production data such as rework, cycle time, bottlenecks, and labor impact to support tooling prioritization recommendations.
• Validate tooling performance in production and improve or redesign tooling that does not add value.

What We Are Looking For

• 7-10+ years of experience in tooling design and fabrication within aerospace or complex manufacturing.
• Strong hands‑on background in fabrication such as machining, welding, sheet metal, assembly tooling, or related processes.
• Deep understanding of fixture design, locator strategies, tolerance stack‑up, repeatability, and assembly constraints.
• Proficiency in CAD; NX strongly preferred, with CATIA, SolidWorks, or equivalent platforms considered.
• Competence applying GD&T per ASME Y14.5 and familiarity with gaging and fixturing principles.
• Proven ability to design tooling that works on the floor and measurably improves production efficiency, ergonomics, and quality.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field, experience in low‑rate high‑mix production, supplier‑built tooling validation, Lean or continuous improvement, and knowledge of tooling‑related safety standards.

Why Kodiak Aircraft in Sandpoint?

At Kodiak Aircraft, tooling decisions are visible in the way aircraft are actually built. This role gives you the opportunity to stay close to the shop floor, solve practical production problems, and create tools that mechanics trust and use.

Sandpoint offers meaningful aerospace work in a unique location, with Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain nearby. If you enjoy turning real production constraints into better tooling solutions, we would like to hear from you.

Information Related To The Position

• The compensation range is $80,000 to $100,000 in base salary plus an annual target bonus.
• The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Daher considers a number of factors when determining salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, skills, and current market conditions.
• At Daher, your total rewards package is more than just your base salary as we offer a full benefit package including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Life insurance, Short- and Long-Term Disability, Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays and more.

All applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, ancestry, physical/mental disability, medical condition, military/veteran status, genetic information, marital status, ethnicity, alienage, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. By completing an application with Daher, you are seeking to join a team of hardworking professionals dedicated to consistently delivering outstanding service to our customers and contributing to the financial success of the organization, its clients, and its employees. Equal access to programs, services, and employment is available to all qualified persons. Those applicants requiring accommodation to complete the application and/or interview process should contact an HR representative.

Daher complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local law.