Thermoforming Tooling Manager Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Position Summary

Growscape is seeking an experienced Tooling Engineering Manager to lead the design, development, maintenance, and performance of injection molding and thermoforming tooling used in high-volume plastic manufacturing. This role holds both technical ownership and managerial accountability for tooling systems, on-site tooling teams, engineering resources, and external tool shop partners. The Tooling Engineering Manager is expected to maintain a strong hands-on presence on the shop floor while driving tooling strategy, team performance, cost control, and continuous improvement.

Key ResponsibilitiesPeople Leadership & Management

• Lead, coach, and develop on-site tooling maintenance, tool build, and tooling engineering teams, including mold makers, tooling technicians, and tooling/engineering staff.
• Provide functional leadership and direction to tooling-related engineering resources supporting injection molding and thermoforming operations.
• Establish clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards for tooling and engineering teams aligned with production, quality, and business objectives.
• Assign work, set schedules, and balance resources across tooling maintenance, engineering support, and new tool development activities.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing skills development for tooling and engineering personnel.
• Drive accountability for safety, workmanship, documentation, and adherence to engineering and tooling standards.

Tooling Engineering & Technical Oversight

• Provide technical leadership for the design and engineering of injection molding and thermoforming tools, including mold layouts, cooling strategies, venting, gating, and trim solutions.
• Ensure tooling designs support part quality, dimensional stability, cycle time targets, uptime, and long-term tool life.
• Review and approve part and tooling designs for manufacturability (DFM/DFA) prior to release.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex tooling, quality, or processing challenges.

Hands-On Shop Floor & Tooling Maintenance Management

• Maintain a regular, hands-on presence on the manufacturing floor to assess tooling condition, performance, and production readiness.
• Oversee mold and thermoform tool maintenance programs, including preventative, corrective, and emergency repair activities.
• Prioritize tooling maintenance and repair work based on downtime risk, quality impact, and production schedules.
• Partner with operations and maintenance leadership to rapidly resolve tooling-related downtime and defects.
• Ensure tools are safe, documented, validated, and capable prior to production release.

Supplier & Tool Build Management

• Manage relationships with external tool shops and equipment suppliers.
• Lead tooling projects from concept and sourcing through build, tryout (T0, T1), qualification, and production release.
• Conduct design reviews, tool buy-offs, and capability assessments.
• Control tooling budgets, quotes, timing, and scope changes to meet cost and launch targets.

Continuous Improvement & Strategy

• Develop and execute tooling and tooling-engineering strategies to improve uptime, reduce maintenance cost, and increase manufacturing efficiency.
• Analyze tooling performance metrics to drive root cause corrective actions and long-term improvements.
• Lead standardization efforts across tooling designs, components, spare parts, engineering practices, and maintenance procedures.
• Support capital planning and long-term tooling roadmaps aligned with business growth.

Documentation & Compliance

• Ensure tooling and engineering specifications, build standards, maintenance procedures, and validation documentation are established and maintained.
• Ensure compliance with internal engineering standards, safety requirements, and customer or regulatory expectations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of experience with injection molding and/or thermoforming tooling in a production manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading tooling and engineering teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Mandatory proficiency in SolidWorks for tooling, mold layout, and part design.
• Strong knowledge of thermoplastics, mold steel selection, tool construction methods, and forming technologies.
• Proven ability to manage external tool shops, engineering resources, and multiple tooling programs in parallel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-cavitation injection molds and large-format thermoforming tools.
• Experience with additional CAD platforms such as AutoCAD, Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, or similar.
• Fluency with simulation tools such as Moldflow or equivalent.
• Experience supporting automation, robotics, and downstream trimming or assembly processes.
• Background in cost estimation, capital planning, and full tooling lifecycle management.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong technical credibility combined with effective people leadership.
• Hands-on problem-solving mindset with a strong shop floor presence.
• Ability to translate business and engineering needs into executable tooling strategies.
• Excellent project management, prioritization, and communication skills.

Comfortable leading cross-functional teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.