Tooling Engineer-1

Flex•Libertyville, IL

5d•$122,600 - $168,600•Onsite

About The Position

Flex is seeking a Tooling Engineer in Libertyville, Illinois, to design and engineer tooling protocols for molds, jigs, and fixtures that meet product specifications. The role supports manufacturing teams and contributes to the design, build, validation, performance, and maintenance of injection-molding tools. The position reports to the Sr. Process Engineering Manager.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience and training.
Eight or more years of related experience in thermoplastics, thermosets, injection molding, tool design or validation, mold flow, tooling troubleshooting, and molding processes.
Demonstrated capability in troubleshooting tooling-related defects and performance issues.
Experience working directly with external toolmakers and global suppliers.
Ability to read and interpret complex CAD models and tooling assemblies.
Strong understanding of injection-molding processes and their interaction with tool design.
Experience with multi-cavity mold design and validation.
Experience with engineering plastics, including PC/ABS, Acetal (POM), and similar resins.
Experience with hot runner and valve gate systems.
Experience with tight-tolerance and cosmetic parts.

Responsibilities

Prepare and maintain documentation related to tool room equipment.
Lead the design and engineering of complex injection molds to meet product and process requirements.
Review and approve mold designs for multi-cavity, tight-tolerance tools, including hot runner and valve gate systems.
Lead Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Tooling reviews with internal teams and toolmakers.
Evaluate mold-flow analysis results and recommend design changes based on simulation and processing needs.
Define tooling specifications, including steel selection, cooling strategy, gating, venting, ejection, and wear components.
Serve as technical lead with tool vendors from concept through design, build, FAT, and tool qualification.
Support mold trials, sampling, and validation activities; analyze results and drive corrective actions.
Troubleshoot complex tooling and part-quality issues, including flash, sticking, warpage, cosmetic defects, and dimensional variation.
Implement cost-effective tooling improvements to increase robustness, cycle-time performance, and tool life.
Review and interpret tool-design files and communicate design intent to cross-functional stakeholders.
Establish tooling standards, best practices, and preventive-maintenance recommendations.
Support development of process-control strategies in partnership with process engineering.
Provide regular tooling status updates and technical risk assessments to program and engineering leadership.
Maintain tooling documentation, including design records, change history, qualification reports, and maintenance plans.