Lead Engineer - Tooling Process

The Howmet Engines Lead Tooling Process Owner may be located at any of the US Howmet Engines Business Unit facilities. He or she provides enterprise leadership for tooling technologies and standards supporting investment casting operations across Howmet Engine Products. This position is responsible for developing, implementing, and governing standardized tooling practices for wax injection dies and ceramic core dies to improve safety, quality, productivity, tooling longevity, and manufacturing consistency across all facilities.

Essential Functions

• Serve as the Business Unit technical authority for wax injection tooling and ceramic core tooling across all manufacturing locations.

• Develop, implement, and maintain standardized tooling requirements and specifications for the business unit, including die materials, tool steel specifications, heat treatment, design rules, tool manufacturing requirements, maintenance practices, inspection standards, and supplier quality requirements.

• Author, maintain, and continuously improve the Business Unit Tooling Manual documenting tooling standards, engineering requirements, and best practices.

• Lead cross-functional workshops with manufacturing, engineering, quality, operations, and tooling suppliers to establish consensus standards and drive enterprise adoption.

• Develop standardized tooling design guidelines to improve manufacturability, tool life, dimensional capability, wax injection quality, and ceramic core quality.

• Standardize tool steel specifications, heat treatment processes, hardness requirements, and metallurgical acceptance criteria to improve tooling durability and coating performance.

• Partner with tooling manufacturers and heat treatment suppliers to improve tooling quality, consistency, and delivery performance.

• Lead development and implementation of standardized die maintenance practices that maximize tool life while minimizing downtime and repair costs.

• Evaluate and implement advanced tooling technologies, including machining methods, artificial intelligence, coatings, surface treatments, wear-resistant materials, and inspection technologies.

• Partner with engineering teams and external suppliers to improve die coating technologies that enhance tool life, wax release, ceramic core quality, dimensional capability, and overall casting quality.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on reducing tooling defects, improving first-pass yield, extending tool life, and reducing tool costs.

• Establish tooling-related KPIs and monitor business unit performance to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Support new product introduction by ensuring tooling designs incorporate business unit standards and best practices.

• Provide technical support and mentoring to manufacturing engineers, tooling engineers, and plant technical teams.

• Benchmark internal and external best practices and identify emerging technologies applicable to investment casting tooling.

• Travel to manufacturing facilities and suppliers as required to support tooling development, audits, training, and continuous improvement initiatives. 

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years of engineering or manufacturing experience in tooling, manufacturing processes, or investment casting.
• Demonstrated expertise in tooling design, manufacturing, maintenance, or process engineering.
• Strong understanding of tool steels, heat treatment, machining processes, dimensional tolerancing, and tooling wear mechanisms.
• Experience developing engineering standards, technical specifications, or manufacturing procedures.
• Experience leading cross-functional technical projects across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Strong technical writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction and drive standardization without direct organizational authority. 
• Willingness to travel up to 30% to manufacturing facilities and suppliers.
• Employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States, verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire, visa sponsorship is not available for this position
• This position is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) which requires U.S. person status.  ITAR defines U.S. person as a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (i.e. "Green Card Holder"), Political Asylee, or Refugee

 Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace investment casting manufacturing.
• Extensive experience with wax injection tooling and/or ceramic core tooling.
• Knowledge of tool steel metallurgy, vacuum heat treatment, tool coatings, and advanced surface engineering technologies.
• Experience developing tooling standards for multi-site manufacturing organizations.
• Familiarity with CAD, tooling simulation, mold flow analysis, and finite element analysis.
• Experience qualifying tooling suppliers and developing supplier engineering specifications.
• Knowledge of precision machining, EDM, and advanced tooling manufacturing technologies.
• Experience implementing predictive maintenance or digital tooling management systems.
• Experience leading enterprise best practice initiatives and technology roadmaps.
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Project management experience leading large, cross-functional technical initiatives.