Tooling Supervisor

An established plastic and aerospace manufacturing organisation is seeking a Tooling Supervisor to lead tooling operations at its Southern California facility. This position combines technical engineering expertise with leadership responsibility, overseeing tooling technicians and engineers while supporting production, maintenance, continuous improvement initiatives, and new product introduction programmes.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced tooling or manufacturing engineering professional looking to take ownership of tooling performance, team development, and operational excellence within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the daily activities of tooling technicians, managing workloads and priorities to support production requirements.
• Drive safety, quality, delivery, cost, and labour utilisation performance through KPI management and daily operational reviews.
• Provide hands-on technical support and troubleshooting guidance for tooling-related issues across the manufacturing facility.
• Support tooling engineers with project coordination, workflow planning, and resource allocation.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, production, and quality teams to resolve manufacturing challenges and improve tooling performance.
• Develop and mentor technical teams through coaching, training, and performance management.
• Support tooling design activities, ensuring solutions are practical, maintainable, and meet operational requirements.
• Assist with new product introduction programmes by coordinating tooling activities and resources across multiple projects.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on cycle time reduction, safety enhancements, ergonomics, and process optimisation.
• Improve tooling documentation, communication processes, and maintenance practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 5 years' experience within tooling, manufacturing engineering, or a related technical environment.
• Previous supervisory or team leadership experience within a manufacturing or production setting.
• Strong knowledge of hard tooling processes including machining, CNC machining, and welding.
• Experience with soft tooling processes including composites, resin systems, epoxy, and fiberglass layup.
• Experience supporting tooling requirements for new product introduction (NPI) programmes.
• Strong understanding of safety leadership and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ability to lead, develop, and motivate technical teams.
• Experience planning workloads, managing priorities, and coordinating resources.
• Proficiency with CAD/CAM software such as SolidWorks, CATIA, Siemens NX, and MasterCAM.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Benefits

• Competitive salary of $100,000 - $135,000.
• Annual bonus opportunity.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and life insurance coverage.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Generous paid vacation and holiday allowance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Disability and leave benefits.
• Additional voluntary benefits package.