Project Engineer

Versatile Mold & Design•Rutledge, GA

4h•Hybrid

About The Position

Versatile Mold and Design, Inc. (VMD), a Heico company, is seeking a Project Engineer to manage assigned mold and tooling projects from kickoff through completion, validation, and customer acceptance. This role serves as a primary technical point of contact for customers, involving quoting, project timeline development, and coordination between various internal departments and external suppliers. The Project Engineer will review customer specifications, drawings, and CAD models to ensure project expectations are clearly defined, monitor project progress, identify risks, and provide technical support throughout the mold design, manufacturing, and sampling phases. This position also involves tracking project costs, communicating project status, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives. The role requires ensuring projects comply with safety, quality, and engineering standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or a related technical field preferred.
3–5 years of engineering or project management experience in mold making, tooling, plastics manufacturing, injection molding, or a related manufacturing environment preferred.
Experience managing technical projects from concept through manufacturing and completion strongly preferred.
Experience working directly with customers in a technical or project management capacity preferred.
Experience in a custom mold-making or tooling environment is highly desirable.
Working knowledge of injection mold design, mold construction, machining, tooling, and manufacturing processes.
Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, CAD models, GD&T, specifications, and technical documentation.
Understanding of mold components, materials, tolerances, machining processes, and manufacturing methods.
Familiarity with CAD software such as SolidWorks, Siemens NX, Creo, or similar platforms preferred.
Knowledge of CNC machining, EDM, grinding, mold assembly, sampling, and troubleshooting is beneficial.
Understanding of injection molding processes and plastic part design is preferred.
Strong project planning, scheduling, organization, and documentation skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Outlook, Word, and Teams.
Experience with ERP, project management, or manufacturing systems preferred.
Strong project management and organizational skills.
Excellent technical problem-solving and analytical abilities.
Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to communicate technical information effectively with customers, engineers, machinists, toolmakers, suppliers, and leadership.
Strong sense of urgency and accountability for project commitments.
Ability to anticipate project risks and proactively develop solutions.
Strong teamwork and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to work independently while effectively coordinating resources across multiple departments.
Customer-focused approach with the ability to build and maintain strong professional relationships.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or a related technical field.
3–5 years of engineering or project management experience in mold making, tooling, plastics manufacturing, injection molding, or a related manufacturing environment.
Experience managing technical projects from concept through manufacturing and completion.
Experience working directly with customers in a technical or project management capacity.
Experience in a custom mold-making or tooling environment.
Familiarity with CAD software such as SolidWorks, Siemens NX, Creo, or similar platforms.
Knowledge of CNC machining, EDM, grinding, mold assembly, sampling, and troubleshooting.
Understanding of injection molding processes and plastic part design.
Experience with ERP, project management, or manufacturing systems.

Responsibilities

Manage assigned mold and tooling projects from kickoff through completion, validation, and customer acceptance.
Serve as a primary technical point of contact for customers throughout the project lifecycle.
Provide quoting for potential customers and assist with billing.
Create tooling folders.
Review customer specifications, drawings, CAD models, purchase orders, timelines, and other technical requirements to ensure project expectations are clearly defined.
Develop and maintain project timelines, milestones, priorities, and deliverables.
Coordinate activities between Mold Design, Engineering, Tooling, CNC/Machining, Quality, Purchasing, Production, and outside suppliers.
Monitor project progress and proactively identify risks, delays, technical issues, and resource constraints.
Lead or participate in project kickoff meetings, design reviews, manufacturing reviews, and customer project updates.
Review mold designs and engineering documentation for manufacturability, functionality, quality, and compliance with customer requirements.
Provide technical support and problem-solving throughout mold design, manufacturing, assembly, sampling, troubleshooting, and validation.
Coordinate engineering changes and ensure revisions are properly communicated, documented, and implemented.
Support mold trials and sampling activities and coordinate corrective actions resulting from trial findings.
Assist with troubleshooting mold performance, dimensional, manufacturing, and processing concerns.
Track project costs, engineering changes, outside services, and other factors that may impact project profitability.
Communicate project status, schedule changes, technical concerns, and potential cost impacts to internal leadership and customers.
Work with Purchasing and suppliers to coordinate outsourced components, materials, heat treatment, coatings, and specialty services as required.
Ensure project documentation, drawings, specifications, engineering changes, and customer approvals are maintained accurately.
Support continuous improvement initiatives related to engineering processes, project execution, mold design, manufacturing efficiency, quality, and cost reduction.
Participate in root cause analysis and corrective action activities when technical or quality issues arise.
Ensure projects comply with applicable company safety, quality, and engineering standards.
Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.