Tooling Engineer-1

Flex•Libertyville, IL

4d•$122,600 - $168,600•Onsite

About The Position

Flex is seeking a Tooling Engineer in Libertyville, IL to support their teams in designing, building, and delivering innovative products. The role involves designing and engineering tooling protocols for molds, jigs, and fixtures to meet product specifications. This position offers the opportunity to make a difference and invest in personal growth within a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent experience and training for 8+ years of related experience in thermoplastics, thermosets, injection molding (e.g. product design, validation of tools), mold flows, troubleshooting and resolving tooling issues, strong familiarity with molding processes.
Demonstrated capability 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, Engineering plastics including PC/ABS, Acetal (POM), and similar resins, Hot runner and valve gate systems, Tight tolerance and cosmetic parts.

Responsibilities

Prepare and maintain documentation related to tool room equipment.
Lead 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.
Own Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Tooling reviews with internal teams and toolmakers.
Evaluate and approve 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 (flash, sticking, warp, cosmetic defects, dimensional variation).
Implement cost-effective tooling improvements to increase robustness, cycle time performance, and tool life.
Review and interpret tool design files and clearly communicate design intent to cross-functional stakeholders.
Establish tooling standards, best practices, and preventive maintenance recommendations.
Support process control strategy development 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.