Project Engineer Tooling Jobs in Tennessee (NOW HIRING)

Description
About Meco
For over 60 years, Meco Corporation has been manufacturing quality products right here in Greeneville, Tennessee. Home of the original square grill, Meco is proud of its long-standing history of American manufacturing, hands-on craftsmanship, and commitment to building products with quality, safety, and teamwork in mind.
At Meco, good products are made by good people. We value hard work, practical problem-solving, continuous improvement, and team members who are willing to be actively involved in making our processes better.
Position Summary
Meco Corporation is seeking an experienced Tooling Engineer to provide advanced technical and operational support for metal stamping tooling design, development, and production performance.
This role is ideal for a hands-on tooling professional who can help lead technical direction while staying closely involved in die build, tryout, troubleshooting, and production support. The Tooling Engineer will work closely with Engineering, Toolroom, and Manufacturing teams to develop practical, manufacturable, and efficient tooling solutions.
This position supports tooling projects from concept through launch and ongoing production, including progressive, transfer, and tandem die applications. The role requires strong technical knowledge, shop-floor engagement, and the ability to drive improvements in quality, uptime, scrap reduction, and overall tooling performance.
Requirements
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The Tooling Engineer will:
• Lead and support tooling design strategy for progressive, transfer, and tandem dies.
• Participate in detailed design reviews and contribute to critical tooling decisions.
• Collaborate with tooling engineers, designers, toolroom personnel, and manufacturing teams to support execution from design through production readiness.
• Maintain hands-on involvement in die build, assembly, spotting, tryout, and launch activities.
• Troubleshoot stamping and tooling issues on the floor using practical adjustment techniques, press diagnostics, and root cause analysis.
• Perform and support die tuning, timing, clearancing, and process parameter optimization to achieve quality and throughput targets.
• Support press setup validation, including tonnage analysis, feed progression, strip layout validation, and sensor integration.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability efforts through practical application of forming limits, material flow, and die protection strategies.
• Support development and adherence to engineering standards focused on manufacturability and maintainability.
• Contribute to capacity planning and capital investment planning for tooling and stamping operations.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives that improve uptime, reduce scrap, and support OEE goals.
• Participate in complex root cause investigations requiring both engineering analysis and hands-on validation.
• Support supplier partnerships, including design reviews, tool builds, and runoff activities.
• Assist with predictive and preventive maintenance strategies based on tooling wear patterns and failure modes.
• Use production and tooling data to drive fact-based improvements validated through real-world trials.
Hands-On Technical Skills
Qualified candidates should have strong experience with:
• Die assembly, spotting, and tryout execution.
• Progressive and transfer die debugging and process stabilization.
• Press setup verification, including feeds, straighteners, transfer systems, tonnage monitoring, and die protection systems.
• Strip layout validation and material utilization optimization.
• Die maintenance, repair oversight, and failure mode identification.
• Practical application of GD&T in tool build and validation.
• Hands-on root cause analysis using teardown, inspection, and press-side adjustments.
• Tool steels, coatings, and heat treatment, including selection for wear surfaces.
• Working effectively in both toolroom and pressroom environments.
• CNC machining or programming knowledge is a plus.
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or equivalent technical experience.
• 8-15+ years of progressive and/or transfer die experience in metal stamping, tooling design, and manufacturing engineering.
• Deep expertise in tool and die design and stamping processes.
• Proven hands-on execution capability in die development, tryout, troubleshooting, and production support.
• Advanced proficiency in CAD systems such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or equivalent.
• Strong knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, and blueprint interpretation.
• Proven track record of supporting improvement initiatives and capital projects.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing and operational excellence practices.
• Strong digital and systems skills, including ERP, MES, and engineering systems.
• Previous supervisory or team leadership experience is a plus, but not required.