Lead Plastics Molding Process & Tooling Strategist

Alcon USA•Huntington, WV

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Alcon's Engineering team drives stronger quality, smarter processes, better products, optimized packaging, and resilient materials. This role focuses on leading injection molding strategy across global operations, architecting precision mold tooling, and tuning scientific molding parameters. The ideal candidate will design for part geometry, material behavior, production volume, and cost efficiency while ensuring reliability. Responsibilities include leading IQ OQ PQ validations, building robust DOEs, and performing root cause analysis. Expertise in hot runners, auxiliary systems, and end-of-arm automation is crucial. The role involves transferring designs from R&D to manufacturing and scaling New Product Introduction (NPI) to stable, compliant production.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent directly related experience path: high school plus 13 years, Associate’s plus 9 years, M.S. plus 2 years, or PhD plus 0 years.
Fluent in English.
5 years of relevant experience.
Work hours: Exempt, 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM EST – 5:00 PM EST.
Travel up to 10 percent.
Onsite role.
Mastery of scientific molding.
Hands-on success troubleshooting and optimizing molding processes and equipment.
IQ OQ PQ validation experience.
Hot runner systems expertise and troubleshooting skills.
Automation troubleshooting, including EOA tooling.
Experience with process monitoring systems.
Experience with contact and non-contact dimensional inspection.
Experience in medical device or other regulated industries.
Injection Molding Machine Husky.

Nice To Haves

Engineering degree, with Plastics or Mechanical preferred yet other disciplines considered.

Responsibilities

Own the design and development of high precision mold tooling and optimize molding processes for quality, reliability, and throughput.
Approve improvements and validations across molds, tooling support systems, and molding equipment.
Guide mold maintenance and qualification activities and troubleshoot molding machines and equipment.
Drive investigations into process issues and deliver advanced improvements in tooling design and manufacturing techniques.
Define and refine processes using capability studies, DOE, root cause analysis, and IQ OQ PQ validation.
Lead molding trials, produce clear process documentation, and assess raw material impacts on molding performance.
Work across functions to reduce defects, enhance mold performance, and lift production throughput.
Evaluate emerging tooling technologies and auxiliary equipment to improve safety, efficiency, and cost.
Recommend capital, standardize tooling, and craft persuasive capital justifications.
Steer NPI from concept through ramp up while managing timelines, risks, and cost targets.
Partner with suppliers, contract manufacturers, and global teams to ensure robust lifecycle solutions.
Mentor engineers and technicians in molding, tooling, and process development best practices.
Ensure compliance with medical device regulatory, safety, and quality requirements.
Maintain documentation, change control, and quality compliance across internal and external systems.
Honor GxP by following SOPs, capturing accurate records, and enforcing rigorous quality control.
Champion continuous improvement and operational excellence.