Senior Tooling Engineer: Automation & Field Deployment

Industrious Ventures; Torrance, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood Space is seeking a Senior Tooling Engineer to design, build, commission, and improve tools for manufacturing and deploying ground systems. You will work across mechanical, electrical, test, operations, and deployment teams to turn process needs into robust tooling.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on hardware experience, strong CAD capabilities, and experience with automation, PLCs, and safety systems in a fast-paced aerospace-adjacent environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and delivery of production tooling from initial concept through deployment on the shop floor or in the field.
• Partner with engineers, technicians, and operators to understand the underlying process and improve quality, speed, safety, and repeatability.
• Build quick prototypes when speed matters and mature the design into robust, documented equipment.
• Bring up automated production equipment with sensor integration, actuator selection, PLC logic, HMIs, and safety features.
• Troubleshoot tooling and equipment issues in real time including mechanical failures and process variation.
• Create CAD models, detailed drawings, BOMs, work instructions, commissioning plans, and maintenance documentation.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external vendors to fabricate and improve tooling and production equipment.
• Drive continuous improvement across manufacturing and deployment to reduce cycle time and improve first-pass yield.
• Establish practical tooling standards and best practices as production scales.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD & drawing release

Hands-on hardware prototyping

Electromechanical systems

Automation & controls

Cross-functional collaboration

Production tooling experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechatronics, robotics, electrical engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Tools

CAD software

PLC platforms (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff, AutomationDirect)

Job description

Northwood Space is seeking a Senior Tooling Engineer to design, build, commission, and improve tools for manufacturing and deploying ground systems. You will work across mechanical, electrical, test, operations, and deployment teams to turn process needs into robust tooling.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on hardware experience, strong CAD capabilities, and experience with automation, PLCs, and safety systems in a fast-paced aerospace-adjacent environment.