Tool Designer

Forj Medical; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Forj Medical is hiring a Tool Designer to design, develop, and improve injection molds and fixtures for medical-device components. You will translate customer and engineering requirements into robust tooling while partnering with tooling, process engineering, NPI, quality, and operations at our Vadnais Heights site.

The role demands 5+ years of tooling design experience, strong 3D CAD skills (SolidWorks preferred), and a deep understanding of mold construction and DFM.

Qualifications

• Advanced proficiency with 3D CAD and detailed drawing practices.
• Strong knowledge of injection-mold construction, machining methods, tool steels, polymers, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and DFM principles.
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, specifications, and customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain detailed 3D models, assemblies, drawings, bills of materials, and design documentation for injection molds, mold components, fixtures, and related tooling.
• Develop tooling concepts that address part geometry, resin characteristics, shrink, gating, venting, cooling, ejection, manufacturability, cycle time, quality, serviceability, and expected tool life.
• Lead and support design-for-manufacturability reviews with customers and cross-functional teams; identify technical risks and recommend practical solutions early in the development process.
• Review customer models, prints, specifications, tolerances, and revision requirements to ensure tooling designs align with intended product and process requirements.
• Collaborate with toolmakers, machinists, process engineers, and external tool shops to ensure designs can be manufactured, assembled, sampled, maintained, and repaired effectively.
• Support mold-flow analysis, tolerance analysis, stack-up reviews, material selection, and tooling standards as appropriate to the program.
• Participate in tool design reviews, project meetings, mold trials, troubleshooting, qualification activities, and production-readiness reviews.
• Evaluate existing molds and recommend design changes to improve part quality, cycle time, reliability, cavitation, uptime, and ease of maintenance.
• Manage design changes and technical records in accordance with document-control, configuration-management, customer, quality-system, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide accurate technical inputs for quotations, schedules, capital requests, and supplier decisions.
• Support root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to tooling performance or molded-part quality.
• Contribute to standard work, design libraries, lessons learned, and continuous-improvement efforts across the molding organization.
• Perform other duties and support strategic projects as assigned.

Skills

3D CAD

GD&T

DFM principles

Read drawings

Problem solving

Collaboration

Education

Associate degree in Mechanical Design, Tool Design, Engineering Technology, or related field

Equivalent combination of education, apprenticeship, and directly related experience

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Exceptional People. Hard Problems. Meaningful Careers. Big Impact.

Nowhere else can you touch as many life-changing medical technologies. At Forj Medical, we work side by side with more than 100 medical device companies from startups to global giants to bring life-enhancing technologies to market. Working with us means solving hard problems with extraordinary people in a collaborative work environment. Join us.

Job Summary

The Tool Designer is responsible for designing, developing, and improving injection molds, fixtures, and related tooling used to manufacture precision components for medical-device customers. This role translates customer and engineering requirements into robust, manufacturable tooling solutions and partners closely with Tooling, Process Engineering, NPI, Quality, Operations, suppliers, and customers from concept through qualification and production support at Forj Medical's Vadnais Heights site.

Job Duties And Responsibilities

• Create and maintain detailed 3D models, assemblies, drawings, bills of materials, and design documentation for injection molds, mold components, fixtures, and related tooling.
• Develop tooling concepts that address part geometry, resin characteristics, shrink, gating, venting, cooling, ejection, manufacturability, cycle time, quality, serviceability, and expected tool life.
• Lead and support design-for-manufacturability reviews with customers and cross-functional teams; identify technical risks and recommend practical solutions early in the development process.
• Review customer models, prints, specifications, tolerances, and revision requirements to ensure tooling designs align with intended product and process requirements.
• Collaborate with toolmakers, machinists, process engineers, and external tool shops to ensure designs can be manufactured, assembled, sampled, maintained, and repaired effectively.
• Support mold-flow analysis, tolerance analysis, stack-up reviews, material selection, and tooling standards as appropriate to the program.
• Participate in tool design reviews, project meetings, mold trials, troubleshooting, qualification activities, and production-readiness reviews.
• Evaluate existing molds and recommend design changes to improve part quality, cycle time, reliability, cavitation, uptime, and ease of maintenance.
• Manage design changes and technical records in accordance with document-control, configuration-management, customer, quality-system, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide accurate technical inputs for quotations, schedules, capital requests, and supplier decisions.
• Support root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to tooling performance or molded-part quality.
• Contribute to standard work, design libraries, lessons learned, and continuous-improvement efforts across the molding organization.
• Perform other duties and support strategic projects as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

• Associate degree in Mechanical Design, Tool Design, Engineering Technology, or a related field required; bachelor's degree preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education, apprenticeship, and directly related experience may be considered.

Experience

• Five or more years of injection-mold or precision-tooling design experience preferred.
• Experience designing complex, multi-cavity, hot-runner, insert-molding, overmolding, or high-precision tooling strongly preferred.
• Experience in medical device, regulated manufacturing, or contract manufacturing preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Advanced proficiency with 3D CAD and detailed drawing practices; SolidWorks or comparable software experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of injection-mold construction, machining methods, tool steels, polymers, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and DFM principles.
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, specifications, and customer requirements.
• Practical problem-solving, organization, and communication skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with customers, suppliers, engineering, quality, operations, and hands-on technical teams.

Working Conditions

• Office environment
• Manufacturing environment

Compensation

• The expected starting salary for this position is $95,000 to $120,000 depending on qualifications. As part of your overall rewards, we offer a comprehensive benefits program.

EEO Statement

Forj Medical provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Employment Requirement

Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Compensation And Total Rewards Package

The salary range for this position is outlined below under "Job Details" and is dependent upon the individual's skills, experience, qualifications, and applicable employment laws. Beyond base salary, Forj offers a competitive Total Rewards Package. We offer health, dental, vision, 401K plans, and time off programs. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual bonus program which depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.