Japan Plastic Injection Molding Jobs in Kentucky

Summary
The Toyoda Gosei Group is a leading global manufacturer of rubber and plastic automotive components, safety systems and LEDs. Globally Headquartered in Japan with a network of 67 group companies in 17 countries and regions, the Group brings its extensive range of products to customers all over the world.

Toyoda Gosei Texas (located in San Antonio, TX) has an opening for an Injection Molding Engineer in the Interior/Exterior Plastic Engineering department. The Injection Molding Engineer functions with a high degree of autonomy, and is responsible for developing processes for new products and optimizing existing ones to achieve target for quality level, cycle time, and yield, by hands on setup and processing of injection molds for Toyoda Gosei (TG) Texas (TGTX) and TGNA Manufacturing Companies (AMCs).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform studies on customer product designs for tooling feasibility utilizing CATIA
• Oversee and manage new tool design and construction with mold suppliers
• Write Mold Design Specifications for new tooling and maintain mold standards
• Attend new mold tryouts to identify and troubleshoot problems
• Sales support involving cost estimation and tooling cost down proposals
• Quoting and scheduling of new tooling and modification to existing tools
• Communicate with design and manufacturing in order to solve technical problems
• Process Optimization: Establish and refine molding parameters to maximize efficiency, minimize scrap, and ensure consistent quality.
• Troubleshooting & Problem-Solving: Diagnose and resolve defects, machine issues, and process inefficiencies scientific molding principles.
• Tooling & Equipment Management: Work with tooling suppliers and internal teams to ensure proper mold maintenance, modifications, and performance optimization.
• Material & Machine Parameters: Select appropriate materials (PP, ABS, Nylon, and other automotive-grade resins) and set up injection molding machines for optimal production.
• Continuous Improvement: Apply Toyota Production System (TPS), Kaizen, and Lean Manufacturing principles to drive cost savings and efficiency improvements.
• Quality Control: Ensure parts meet IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 quality standards, utilizing DOE (Design of Experiments) and other statistical methodologies.
• Collaboration: Work closely with production, maintenance, and quality teams to drive improvements in safety, efficiency, and defect reduction.
• New Product Development: Assist in launching new molds, engineering changes, and process development for upcoming Toyota model updates.
• Compliance & Safety: Ensure molding processes comply with OSHA regulations, internal safety policies, and environmental standards.
• Waste Reduction: Decrease scrap rates and improve first-pass yield.
• Quality Performance: Ensure defect-free parts that meet Toyota’s stringent quality expectations.
• Process Efficiency: Reduce cycle times and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Drive optimization by being actively engaged in continuous improvement efforts (kaizen)
• This role requires the completion of other duties as assigned

Required Education, Experience, and Skills

Certifications and Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or equivalent years of relevant experience is required
• RJG Master Molder Certification is preferred
• Six Sigma Green Belt is preferred

Experience

• 1-4 years of experience in an engineering role is required
• 1 to 4 years of experience in injection molding at a manufacturing environment is preferred
• Prior knowledge of Injection Molding Machines (Yushin, Yaskawa, Start, Fanuc, UR Robots) is preferred
• Understanding of hot runner systems, mold flow analysis and mold maintenance is preferred
• Experienced in scientific molding, decoupled molding and root cause analysis is preferred
• Familiar with Toyota Production Systems (TPS), Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies is preferred

Physical Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suites 2016 or newer is required
• Previous experience with Moldflow is preferred
• Previous experience with SolidWorks is preferred
• Ability to consistently meet deadlines is required
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus
• Effective verbal, non-verbal, negotiation and written communication skills are required
• Ability to sustain a high degree of professionalism in interacting with internal and external customers is required
• Effective attention to detail, problem solving, analytical and organizational skills are required
• Strong organizational skills, analytical thinking skills, problem solving and project scheduling skills is required

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.