Advanced Quality Tooling Engineer- Plastics

Slate Auto•Troy, MI

About The Position

At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them. SLATE is looking for an energetic, organized, experienced Senior Supplier Tooling Engineer-Plastics to join our growing team. The Senior Supplier Tooling Engineer will serve as Slate’s primary technical authority on vendor tooling, molds, and dies across the supply base. This role owns tooling compliance, asset tracking, runoff readiness, and launch support — ensuring that supplier tooling is capable, documented, and production-ready at every program milestone. As a senior-level contributor, this individual also provides technical mentorship to SQEs interfacing with tooling-intensive suppliers.

Requirements

Engineering Degree or equiv. or previous working level experience.
8+ years of experience in supplier tooling, tool engineering, or supplier quality with significant hands-on exposure to mold, die, and fixture design, construction, and runoff in an automotive or high-volume manufacturing environment.
Excellent communication and supplier relationship skills, with the ability to hold tooling vendors accountable while maintaining productive working partnerships.
Deep experience across tooling types for varied commodity groups including injection-molded plastics.
Ability to identify tooling root causes for dimensional, cosmetic, or process capability issues and drive timely corrective action through structured problem-solving methods (8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa).
Strong understanding of tooling program metrics including tool trial status, T1/T2/T3 build milestones, first article acceptance rates, and capacity verification results.
Proficient in reading and interpreting GD&T, tool drawings, and die/mold design prints; experience working with CMM data, dimensional reports, and capability studies (Cpk, Ppk, Gauge R&R).
Strong analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills.
High level of integrity, with the ability to communicate tooling risk clearly and escalate issues to program leadership without delay.
Ability to manage multiple tooling programs simultaneously in a fast-paced launch environment, prioritizing effectively under program pressure.

Responsibilities

Managing Slate’s vendor tooling program across all commodity types — including injection-molded plastics, and soft trim — from tool award through production runoff and PPAP approval.
Tracking tooling build status and milestone adherence.
Conducting tool trials and first article inspections.
Evaluating dimensional and process capability data from tool-sourced parts.
Driving corrective action on tooling-related non-conformances.
Overseeing Slate’s tooling asset register.
Coordinating Engineering Change implementation at the tool level.
Supporting capacity verification activities.
Partnering with Purchasing and Program Management to protect tooling budgets and timing.
Guiding less experienced SQEs on tooling evaluation methods and supplier engagement strategies.