Tooling Enginner

Sterling Engineering; Manchester (CT); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Engineering seeks a Senior Injection Molding Tooling Engineer in Manchester, CT to lead complex tooling programs from concept through production launch. You will collaborate with customers, mold makers, and internal teams to deliver reliable, cost-effective tooling solutions and ensure quality across high-cavitation molds.

The ideal candidate has 6+ years of experience in injection mold tooling, strong knowledge of mold design, DFM/PFMEA, process validation, and tooling qualification,

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience managing injection mold tooling projects in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of plastic injection mold design, mold construction, and injection molding processes.
• Hands-on experience qualifying complex, tight-tolerance, multi-cavity, and/or high-cavitation injection molds.
• Experience with DFM, FMEA/PFMEA, process validation, and tooling qualification

Responsibilities

• Lead injection mold tooling projects from design through qualification, validation, and production release.
• Manage new mold builds, tool refurbishments, engineering changes, repairs, and spare tooling programs.
• Partner with customers, mold suppliers, mold makers, and internal cross-functional teams throughout the tooling lifecycle.
• Review component and part designs for manufacturability and provide DFM recommendations to improve quality, cycle time, and tooling performance.
• Coordinate mold design reviews, tool trials, process optimization, qualification activities, and final customer approvals.
• Support PFMEA/FMEA activities and tooling-related risk mitigation efforts.
• Troubleshoot injection molding and tooling issues to improve reliability, performance, and product quality.
• Develop tooling quotations, project schedules, technical specifications, and cost estimates.
• Manage multiple tooling projects simultaneously while maintaining project timelines and providing status updates to customers and leadership.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on tool life, process capability, productivity, quality, and cost reduction.

Skills

Injection mold tooling management

Mold design

Multi-cavity / high-cavitation molds

DFM / PFMEA

Process validation

Tooling qualification

Troubleshooting molding

Cross-functional collaboration

Customer/supplier coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related

Job description

Location: Manchester, CT

Compensation: $110,000–$150,000/year

Must have Skill Set:

• 6+ years of experience managing injection mold tooling projects in a manufacturing environment
• Strong plastic injection mold design, mold construction, and injection molding experience
• Experience with complex, tight-tolerance, multi-cavity and/or high-cavitation injection molds
• Experience with DFM, FMEA/PFMEA, process validation, and tooling qualification
• Experience troubleshooting mold and tooling issues and driving corrective actions
• Experience managing tooling projects from concept and design through qualification, validation, and production launch
• Experience working with customers, suppliers, mold makers, engineering, and manufacturing teams
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent industry experience may be considered

Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Senior Injection Molding Tooling Engineer to lead complex injection molding tooling projects within a highly regulated manufacturing environment. This position will oversee tooling programs from initial concept and design through qualification, validation, and production launch. The ideal candidate will have strong experience with plastic injection mold design, new mold builds, tooling qualification, DFM, troubleshooting, and multi-cavity/high-cavitation molds. This individual will work closely with customers, mold makers, suppliers, manufacturing teams, and cross-functional engineering groups to deliver reliable, cost-effective tooling solutions.

Job Duties:

• Lead injection mold tooling projects from design through qualification, validation, and production release.
• Manage new mold builds, tool refurbishments, engineering changes, repairs, and spare tooling programs.
• Partner with customers, mold suppliers, mold makers, and internal cross-functional teams throughout the tooling lifecycle.
• Review component and part designs for manufacturability and provide DFM recommendations to improve quality, cycle time, and tooling performance.
• Coordinate mold design reviews, tool trials, process optimization, qualification activities, and final customer approvals.
• Support PFMEA/FMEA activities and tooling-related risk mitigation efforts.
• Troubleshoot injection molding and tooling issues to improve reliability, performance, and product quality.
• Develop tooling quotations, project schedules, technical specifications, and cost estimates.
• Manage multiple tooling projects simultaneously while maintaining project timelines and providing status updates to customers and leadership.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on tool life, process capability, productivity, quality, and cost reduction.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent industry experience may also be considered.
• 6+ years of experience managing injection mold tooling projects within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of plastic injection mold design, mold construction, and injection molding processes.
• Hands-on experience qualifying complex, tight-tolerance, multi-cavity, and/or high-cavitation injection molds.
• Experience with DFM, FMEA/PFMEA, process validation, and tooling qualification

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.