Tooling Planner

NWI Aerostructures; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive wages

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Education assistance programs

Paid vacation

Job summary

NWI Aerostructures, located in Nashville, TN, seeks a Tooling Planner to manage tooling planning, records, and lifecycle for major aerospace programs. You will work with Tool Build, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality Assurance, and customers to ensure tooling availability, accuracy, and documentation.

The role requires strong organization, attention to detail, and excellent communication across departments to meet deadlines and maintain compliance with customer requirements.

Qualifications

• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in tooling records.
• Ability to communicate effectively with engineering, planning, quality, and customers.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and tooling management is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Plan, schedule, and control manufacturing tooling to support aerospace programs.
• Maintain and reconcile tooling records, management of CycleMaster data and attachments.
• Coordinate tooling maintenance, recertification, and disposition with multiple departments.
• Ensure tooling is available, properly documented, and accountable throughout its lifecycle.

Skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Problem solving

Education

High school diploma

Engineering degree preferred

Tools

Epicor ERP

ERP/MRP systems

CycleMaster

Job description

A new career is waiting for you at NWI Aerostructures!
Become part of a growing team that leads the aerospace supply base.

We machine, form, process, and assemble structural components on Airbus A330, Gulfstream G400/G500/G600/G650/G700/G800, Boeing T-7A, Boeing F15/F18, Sikorsky Black Hawk, Textron Longitude, Textron CJ1/CJ2/CJ3/CJ4 and more.

Join our team of talent with some of the finest in the industry and experience a collaborative, creative environment with a streamlined approach that allows for a culture of unmatched innovation. See NWI Aerostructures career opportunities below,

• Competitive wages
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Education assistance programs
• Paid vacation

We’re ready to share our success with you!

Job Openings

Position:Tooling Planner

Location: Nashville, TN

Job Id:470

# of Openings:1

Tooling Planner

Location: Nashville, TN
Company: NWI Nashville, LLC
Status: Full-time, on-site

Position Summary

The Tooling Planner is a specialist responsible for the planning, scheduling, accountability, configuration, control, and disposition of manufacturing tooling used to support aerospace production programs. This position maintains accurate tooling records, coordinates tooling maintenance and recertification activities, manages tooling production orders, and supports customer tooling accountability requirements.

The position works closely with Tool Build, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality Assurance, Production Planning, Program Management, Shop Supervision, and customers to ensure tooling is available when required, properly documented, maintained, and accurately accounted for throughout its lifecycle.

The position requires a high level of organization, attention to detail, follow-through, and the ability to research and reconcile information across multiple systems and departments. Experience working with aerospace tooling and customer property requirements is highly desirable.

Tooling Cycle Management

• Maintain the tooling CycleMaster database and ensure tooling maintenance and recertification information is current and accurate.
• Distribute CycleMaster reports for review and follow up on required updates.
• Coordinate with Industrial Engineering and other responsible personnel to establish correct tooling availability dates, quantities, and unit requirements.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance when tooling-related production orders are completed.
• Chair and coordinate the weekly CycleMaster/tooling review meeting.
• Monitor tooling approaching or exceeding required maintenance intervals and coordinate appropriate action.
• Maintain records for tooling subject to periodic maintenance or inspection requirements.
• Ensure applicable customer tooling is maintained in accordance with established requirements, procedures, and customer specifications.
• Identify tooling that is exempt from scheduled maintenance due to conditions such as obsolete status, storage, loss, or classification as soft tooling.

Tool Accountability and Control

• Maintain the Tool Master and associated tooling records within Epicor.
• Create equipment masters for new tooling and establish the required records throughout the tooling lifecycle.
• Enter and maintain tool identification, type, part number, category, construction year, customer information, plant code, and other required data.
• Maintain accurate tooling locations through inventory adjustments, transfers, and physical verification.
• Obtain and maintain photographs of tooling when required for identification and accountability.
• Research and assist in locating misplaced or lost tooling.
• Process required documentation for lost, excess, obsolete, or otherwise unaccounted-for tooling.
• Create Control Folders and prepare Relief of Responsibility documentation when required.
• Coordinate Relief of Responsibility activities and obtain required internal approvals.
• Interface with management and Program Management regarding tooling disposition and scrap authorization.
• Obtain customer authorization before disposition or scrapping of customer-owned tooling when required.
• Conduct periodic tooling audits and inventories to ensure compliance with internal procedures and customer requirements.
• Assist with customer property and tooling audits conducted by external customers.
• Maintain compliance with applicable Standard Operating Procedures and customer-specific tooling requirements.

Tool Planning

• Review tooling audit and planning reports to identify tooling requiring orders to be released.
• Verify that the appropriate Corrective Action / Process Change Request (CA/PCR), or other required authorization, exists in Epicor before routing creation.
• Verify that required CA/PCR documentation has received appropriate approval before tooling orders are released.
• Create and release tooling manufacturing jobs in Epicor.
• Coordinate with Tooling and Manufacturing Engineering to ensure tooling requirements are properly planned and released.
• Create, release, and print production orders for tooling manufacturing and related activities.
• Distribute released production orders to the appropriate shop supervision.
• Monitor production orders for completion and required documentation.
• Close production orders after verifying that all required operations have been completed and properly recorded.
• Create and release production orders associated with CycleMaster maintenance activities.
• Print and distribute CycleMaster work orders to the appropriate personnel.
• Coordinate with shop supervision, Quality Assurance, Planning, and Tooling personnel to resolve production-order issues and ensure timely completion.

Tooling Equipment Master Maintenance

Maintain complete and accurate equipment master records for tooling throughout the tooling lifecycle, including:

• Equipment number and tool identification
• Tool type, Categories and manufactured Part Number
• Construction year
• Customer number and ownership information
• Plant and location information
• Acquisition cost and acquisition date
• Customer tool serial number
• Program and accountable contract
• Tool movement and location history
• Shipping location information
• Tool status and inventory information
• Customer-specific tooling information
• Airbus-specific tooling information
• Applicable manufacturing/routing information

Tooling Registries and Customer Reporting

• Prepare tooling lists, registries, and accountability reports for customers as required.
• Maintain accurate information necessary to respond to customer requests for tooling status, location, availability, condition, and history.
• Support periodic wall-to-wall tooling inventories and random inventory audits.
• Prepare customer-specific tooling registries, including detailed Airbus tooling information when required.
• Ensure equipment masters are updated when tooling is completed, moved, transferred, shipped, placed in storage, declared excess, lost, scrapped, or otherwise changes status.
• Research and compile tooling information such as:
  • ATA Chapter and Subchapter
  • Tool function and tooling level
  • Customer number
  • Tool revision level
  • Ship set information
  • Remaining ship sets
  • Tool lead time
  • Recertification requirements and history
  • Recertification due dates
  • Required media/documentation
  • Tool location
  • Tool condition
  • Movement outside the facility
  • Tool dimensions and weight
  • Acquisition cost
• Ensure tooling information is accurate and readily accessible for customer audits, production requirements, and customer inquiries.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in manufacturing planning, production control, tooling control, inventory control, or a related manufacturing discipline.
• Strong computer skills and experience working with ERP/MRP systems.
• Ability to maintain and research large quantities of detailed records.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to communicate effectively with engineering, planning, quality, production, management, and customers.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet required deadlines.
• Ability to investigate discrepancies and determine appropriate corrective actions.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating activities across multiple departments.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in an Engineering technical discipline preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education, technical training, and directly related professional experience may be considered.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace manufacturing.
• Experience with aircraft tooling and tooling accountability.
• Experience with customer-owned or government/customer property.
• Experience with Airbus or other major aerospace customer tooling requirements.
• Experience with Epicor or a similar ERP/MRP system.
• Experience with tooling maintenance, recertification, or calibration systems.
• Experience conducting physical inventories, tooling audits, or customer property audits.
• Experience interpreting manufacturing routings, engineering documentation, and customer requirements.
• Previous experience in production planning, shop floor control, or manufacturing engineering support.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Exceptional attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Strong investigative and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to track items through their complete lifecycle.
• Ability to recognize discrepancies between physical tooling, ERP records, and customer records.
• Ability to work effectively with personnel at all levels of the organization.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage confidential and customer-sensitive information.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with changing priorities.
• Ability to maintain accurate records while managing multiple projects and deadlines.
• Strong ownership and follow-through on assigned responsibilities.

Physical / Work Environment

• Primarily an office and manufacturing-floor environment.
• Regular interaction with shopfloor tooling, manufacturing, production, quality, and planning personnel.
• May require periodic movement throughout the manufacturing facility to verify tooling locations and conduct inventories.
• Must comply with all company safety, quality, security, and operating procedures.

Position Impact

This position plays a critical role in ensuring that manufacturing tooling is available when needed, accurately identified and located, properly maintained, correctly documented, and fully accountable throughout its lifecycle.

Accurate tooling records are essential to production continuity, customer property accountability, audit compliance, and the ability to quickly locate tooling required to support manufacturing operations.

NWI Aerostructures provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants, prohibiting discrimination and harassment of any type based on 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.