Tool Room Lead

Job Summary

The Tool Room Lead is responsible for coordinating daily tool room activities to support production priorities tool maintenance and continuous improvement initiatives. This role serves as the key link between production staff tooling engineers and the Tooling Engineering Manager. The Tool Room Lead ensures that tool room work is scheduled for best flow jobs are prioritized correctly and communication remains clear and consistent.
This position is a hybrid role with approximately 80% focus on leadership responsibilities (scheduling coordination communication oversight and feedback) and 20% on bench work (hands-on tooling or mold work as needed). The split is an initial guideline and will be evaluated and adjusted as required based on business Tool Room Lead also plays an important role in providing feedback on team performanceboth positive and constructive helping support the development of mold makers and engineers in alignment with company standards.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Production & Scheduling
• Work closely with production staff to establish daily and weekly tooling priorities.
• Schedule tool room work for optimal flow aligning with production floor needs and priorities.
• Adjust schedules based on urgent or changing production requirements.
• Provide clear daily job assignments and direction to mold makers.
• Communication & Reporting
• Issue daily shop updates on job status progress and issues to the Tooling Engineers and Tooling Engineering Manager.
• Act as the primary communication point between the Mold Makers Production staff and Tooling engineers.
• Escalate critical or urgent tooling issues promptly to the Tooling Engineering Manager.
• Provide both positive and constructive feedback on Mold makers and Tooling Engineers to the Tooling Engineering Manager supporting staff development and accountability.
• Collaboration & Continuous Improvement
• Collaborate with Tooling Engineers on production repairs and improvement projects.
• Work jointly with Tooling Engineers and the Tooling Engineering Manager on steel evaluations mold health reviews and repair planning.
• Support implementation of standardized work instructions and best practices across the tool room.
• Shop & Team Leadership
• Maintain a clean organized and safe tool room environment.
• Lead coach and provide feedback to Mold Makers.
• Ensure all repair and maintenance work is documented accurately and completed to high quality standards.
• Coordinate with Tooling Engineers on spare parts requirements and availability.

Additional Responsibilities

Education

• High School Diploma with 10-15 years related manufacturing (precision machining) experience required or
• Associates Degree with 5-10 years related manufacturing experience (or equivalent education / training / experience); required or
• Bachelors Degree with 5 years manufacturing experience required

Work Experience

Minimum 5 years (Sr Assoc) 5 years supervisory or leadership experience in a machine shop environment.

Must have effective problem solving and interpersonal skills both written and verbal.

Must be able to manage resources effectively & efficiently.

Ability to work through problems and develop appropriate successful solutions.

Able to exercise independent judgment with limited instruction and guidance.

Preferred Knowledge Skills and Abilities

License and Certifications

Travel Requirements

Physical Requirements

Additional Requirements

• Frequent standing twisting bending reaching pushing pulling and walking.
• Must have excellent organizational interpersonal and problem-solving skills and be able to interface with employees in all levels of the organization and in a variety of situations.
• Effective personal time management skills and must be able to multi-task work under time constraints and prioritize with constant interuptions.
• Must have the cognitive ability to plan execute to goal supervise and coordinate the work of a team in area of responsibility.
• Ability to quickly adapt to changes in a dynamic environment.
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality and effectively resolve conflicts.
• Able to routinely use standard office equipment such as computers phones photocopiers filing cabinets and fax machines. Position operates in a professional office environment. May stand or sit for extended periods of time.
• Leadership skills and must be able to communicate effectively with written and oral skills make quick decisions interpret data read and write speak in front of groups express and exchange ideas understand direction and adhere to procedures.
• Read and interpret data information and documents.
• Observe and interpret situations analyze and solve problems.
• Ability to make independent and sound judgments with guidance from management as needed.