Tooling Engineer II for Space Systems & Automation

Northwood; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood is seeking a Tooling Engineer to design, build, commission, and improve tooling and production equipment for our ground systems. You will work cross‑functionally with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, test, and deployment teams to turn process needs into robust, repeatable tooling.

You will create CAD models, detailed drawings, BOMs, and maintenance plans, bring up automated production equipment, and drive continuous improvement to reduce cycle times while ensuring safety and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent.
• 3+ years designing, building, or supporting tooling or automation.
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals and manufacturability.
• Experience with CAD and drawing release workflows.
• Hands-on hardware experience in shop, lab, or field.
• Experience developing tools for operators and teams.
• Knowledge of electromechanical systems and motion control.
• Familiarity with PLCs, HMIs, sensors, and machine safety.
• Ability to translate ambiguous needs into working hardware.
• Strong communication across teams.
• High ownership and bias toward action in fast-paced hardware settings.
• Experience taking tooling from prototype to production release.

Responsibilities

• Own design and delivery of production tooling from concept through deployment.
• Collaborate with engineers, technicians, and operators to improve quality, speed, safety, and repeatability.
• Build quick prototypes and mature designs into robust, documented equipment.
• Bring up automated and semi‑automated production equipment with sensors, actuators, PLCs, HMIs, and safety features.
• Troubleshoot tooling and equipment issues across mechanical, control, and usability aspects.
• Create CAD models, drawings, BOMs, work instructions, commissioning plans, and maintenance docs.
• Work with internal teams and external vendors to fabricate and improve tooling and production equipment.
• Drive continuous improvement to reduce cycle time and increase first‑pass success.
• Establish practical tooling standards as production scales.

Skills

Mechanical design

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Ownership & action

Hardware prototyping

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

CAD software

Drawing release workflows

PLC programming

HMI development

Job description

Northwood is seeking a Tooling Engineer to design, build, commission, and improve tooling and production equipment for our ground systems. You will work cross‑functionally with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, test, and deployment teams to turn process needs into robust, repeatable tooling.

You will create CAD models, detailed drawings, BOMs, and maintenance plans, bring up automated production equipment, and drive continuous improvement to reduce cycle times while ensuring safety and