Tooling Engineer, Senior

Castelion; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion in Torrance, CA is seeking a Senior Tooling Engineer to own end-to-end tooling development for our aerospace products, from concept to production on the shop floor.

You will design complex tooling, lead tooling projects, and ensure quality and on-time delivery while adhering to AS9100/NADCAP standards and collaborating with design, production and supply chain teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Manufacturing Engineering and 5+ years in tooling design.
• Experience in regulated or defense environments is preferred.
• Proven ability to lead tooling projects from concept to production.

Responsibilities

• Tooling design and development of complex tooling systems for aerospace manufacturing.
• Lead projects, manage timelines, budgets, and resources.
• Perform tolerance stack-up analysis and FEA to validate tool designs.
• Collaborate with design, supplier, and production teams on manufacturability.

Skills

Tooling design

FEA

Tolerance analysis

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

CAD software

Job description

Why Castelion, Why Now

Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability.

Why Castelion, Why Now

Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you'll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function.

Senior Tooling Engineer

Castelion is seeking a Senior Tooling Engineer to join our Tooling team. In this role, you will own the end-to-end development of tooling for our products, from concept until implementation on the production floor. You will architect and implement innovative tooling solutions to achieve aggressive production cost, quality, and delivery targets.

Responsibilities

• Tooling Design and Development: Design and develop complex tooling systems, including jigs, fixtures, molds, dies, and assembly tools, for aerospace manufacturing processes. Utilize CAD software to create detailed tool designs and ensure compatibility with production requirements. Perform tolerance stack-up analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) to validate tool designs for durability and precision.
• Process Optimization: Collaborate with manufacturing and production teams to identify opportunities for improving tooling efficiency, reducing cycle times, and enhancing product quality.
• Project Leadership: Lead tooling projects from concept through to production, including requirements gathering, design reviews, prototyping, and validation. Manage project timelines, budgets, and resources to ensure on-time delivery of tooling solutions. Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior tooling engineers and technicians.
• Quality and Compliance: Ensure all tooling designs comply with aerospace industry standards (e.g., AS9100, NADCAP) and customer specifications. Conduct risk assessments and implement design for manufacturability (DFM) principles to minimize defects and ensure repeatability. Support quality assurance teams in developing inspection criteria and validating tooling performance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with design engineers to ensure tooling new product designs. Partner with supply chain teams to select appropriate materials, coatings, and manufacturing methods for tooling. Coordinate with production teams to troubleshoot tooling issues and implement corrective actions.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering (or related field).
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience in tooling design and development.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Proven record in supporting NPI, pilot runs, and transition to production; delivering robust and scalable manufacturing systems.
• Demonstrated success in troubleshooting complex build issues and driving corrective actions.
• Skilled at interfacing with design, systems, test, and supplier teams to close the loop on manufacturability and production readiness.
• Experience in regulated or defense environments
• Aptitude for mentoring and influencing cross-functional teams without direct reporting relationships.

Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply.

Affirmative Action/EEO Statement

Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact [e-mail]. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law.

Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation.

EAR/ITAR Requirements

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.