Tooling Specialist

Tooling Specialist

The Tooling Specialist supports production by managing, sourcing, preparing, maintaining, and improving punch, bending, and machining tooling. This role owns tooling inventory and purchasing activities, develops and evaluates quotes for new tools, prepares production tooling through offline setup, and partners with Engineering and Operations to confirm part manufacturability before release. The position also provides basic CAD drafting support for tooling, fixtures, setup documentation, and minor design revisions while maintaining accurate records and promoting safe, efficient, and repeatable production processes.

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Tooling ownership: Manage punch, press brake/bending, and machining tooling to ensure tools are properly identified, organized, protected, maintained, and available when needed.

• Inventory management: Maintain accurate tooling inventory records, storage locations, usage history, reorder points, and minimum/maximum stock levels. Conduct routine audits and resolve discrepancies.

• Purchasing: Source replacement and new tooling, request vendor pricing and lead times, prepare purchase requests, track open orders, and coordinate deliveries with production priorities.

• New-tool quoting: Develop and compare quotations for punches, dies, bending tools, cutting tools, holders, workholding, fixtures, and related components; document cost, capability, lead time, and supplier recommendations.

• Offline tooling setup: Prepare, assemble, preset, inspect, label, and stage production tooling away from the machine so scheduled jobs can be changed over safely and efficiently.

• Manufacturability quoting: Review drawings, models, tolerances, materials, quantities, and required operations to determine whether parts can be manufactured using available punch, bending, and machining capabilities; identify tooling needs, process risks, estimated setup requirements, and cost inputs.

• Basic CAD drafting: Create and revise basic 2D drawings and simple 3D models for tooling, fixtures, setup aids, and minor part changes; maintain clear dimensions, notes, revisions, and file organization.

• Production support: Assist operators with tooling selection, installation, setup, workholding, quality concerns, and troubleshooting; coordinate repairs or replacements when tooling becomes damaged or worn.

• Tool maintenance: Inspect tooling, perform or coordinate preventive maintenance and minor repairs, monitor tool condition and life, and remove unsafe or nonconforming tooling from service.

• Continuous improvement: Work with Production, Engineering, Quality, and suppliers to reduce setup time, improve tool life, address recurring process issues, and standardize tooling and setup practices.

• Documentation and safety: Maintain setup sheets, tooling lists, inspection and repair records, vendor information, and work instructions while following all applicable safety requirements.

Requirements

• Practical knowledge of punch tooling, press brake/bending tooling, machining cutting tools, toolholding, fixtures, and workholding.

• Ability to read and interpret part drawings, tolerances, specifications, setup sheets, and basic 2D/3D CAD files.

• Basic CAD drafting capability for simple tooling, fixture, setup, and minor part-detail drawings.

• Experience managing tooling inventories, storage locations, reorder levels, and transaction accuracy; familiarity with ERP, MRP, or inventory systems is preferred.

• Ability to obtain and evaluate supplier quotations, compare total cost and lead time, communicate technical requirements, and follow purchasing processes.

• Ability to assess manufacturability and identify required operations, tooling, setup needs, constraints, and production risks for quotation support.

• Hands-on ability to assemble, preset, inspect, maintain, repair, and stage tooling for production use.

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with attention to safety, quality, tool life, setup reduction, and production efficiency.

• Effective organization, documentation, vendor communication, and cross-functional teamwork skills.

• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical or vocational training in machining, tool and die, manufacturing, or CAD is preferred.

• Previous experience in metal manufacturing, fabrication, machining, tooling, or an industrial production environment is preferred.