Senior Plastics Product Development Manager

About the role

This role serves as the technical authority for tooling, mold design, product manufacturability, and process optimization from concept through production for injection molding operations.

Responsibilities

• Support, validate, and revise mold design and fabrication for prototype and final tooling.
• Use mold-filling simulation software to simulate molten plastic flow into mold geometries.
• Evaluate and optimize new mold designs before steel is cut and solve problems with existing molds.
• Direct, review, and approve design and changes to the molds within the facility.
• Perform Cooling Time studies, Gate Seal studies, Cosmetic Process Window (CPW) studies, Pressure Drop studies, Fill analysis, Cavity Balance studies, Mold Viscosity tests, etc.
• Model packing, warpage, and cooling to predict sinks and distortions.
• Participate in new process design and process troubleshooting through design for manufacturability (DFM) and simulations using mold-filling software.
• Update future mold builds and/or part geometry to improve the molding process.
• Manage tool health and create tool retirement plan.
• Define and standardize tool builds.
• Oversee the tooling build, testing, and validation of new molds and tooling.
• Support new mold run-offs and work with mold techs and Quality to resolve issues as they arise.
• Implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance tooling performance and reduce cycle times.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including R&D, Quality, and Manufacturing, to ensure tooling designs meet product specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Drive root cause analysis of production issues impacting product quality or yield, support implementation of improvements, countermeasures, and preventative action.
• Identify sources of variation (procedure, process, equipment, people) within the manufacturing process and design solutions.
• Collect process data and perform trending and statistical evaluation to monitor process performance to understand stability and areas for improvement.
• Maintain quality control and safety standards.
• Actively contribute to meeting business objectives around compliance, cost savings, and potentially capital spend requirements.
• Assist Quality in completing validation activities as required.
• Assist in non-conformance and CAPA investigations.
• All other duties as required by business needs.

Requirements

• BA in Mechanical Engineering and minimum 7-10 years experience working in a high-speed manufacturing environment as a Mold Shop Manager.
• Advanced knowledge of molds and mold systems and their application in a manufacturing setting.
• Advanced knowledge of mold building concepts and plastic part designs.
• Advanced knowledge of injection molds, blow molds, mold construction, tooling systems, and mold maintenance.
• Extensive understanding of plastic materials, resin behavior, shrinkage, cooling, and processing characteristics.
• Knowledge of raw materials, production equipment and processes, quality control, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Knowledge of business and management principles involved in planning, resource allocation, employee relations, leadership techniques, in the coordination of people and resources.
• Knowledge of machines, molds, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Knowledge of steel types, alternate materials, plastic molding improvements.
• Lean background in SMED and VSM for process flow of the mold designs and understanding of concepts.
• Advanced skills in CAD & 3D modeling.
• Ability to manage a program from part design to prototype molds, and into production molds.

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Wellness Program
• Vacation
• 12 Paid Holidays
• 401k