| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Tool Room Manager |
| Direct reports | Tool Room Operator, Tool Room Fitter |
| Experience | 3 to 7 years in a tool room or die shop |
Tool Room Engineer job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Tool Room Engineer
Department: Production
Reports to: Tool Room Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Tool Room Engineer designs, builds and maintains the tooling a plant runs on: dies, moulds, jigs, fixtures and gauges. They read part drawings, plan tool manufacture, supervise tool room operators, prove out new tools on the machine, and fix tools that break or drift during production. The role reports to the Tool Room Manager or Production Manager. A good tool room engineer delivers accurate tools on time, keeps existing tools ready for production, and cuts the tooling downtime that stops lines.
Key responsibilities
- Study part and assembly drawings and decide the tool, die or fixture design needed to make each part.
- Design tools in CAD and prepare manufacturing drawings, material lists and process plans for the tool room.
- Plan and schedule tool manufacture across the tool room machines to meet production and new-project deadlines.
- Supervise tool room operators on grinding, milling, wire cut and EDM work, and check tolerances at each stage.
- Prove out new dies and moulds on the production machine, correct fit and function, and release them for production.
- Diagnose tool breakdowns during production, plan the repair, and return the tool to the line quickly.
- Maintain a preventive maintenance schedule for high-use dies and moulds, with polishing, resharpening and spare inserts.
- Keep a history card for every tool covering repairs, shots or strokes run and modifications made.
- Estimate tooling cost and time for new parts and support the costing and quality teams during development.
- Manage tool room spares, cutters and consumables, and order them against consumption and planned jobs.
Requirements
- Diploma or degree in Mechanical or Tool and Die Engineering
- NTTF or CIPET tool making certificate is an advantage
- Reading of GD and T drawings
- 3 to 7 years in a tool room or die shop
KRAs and KPIs for a Tool Room Engineer
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Tool delivery | New tools and fixtures delivered by the committed date on at least 90 percent of jobs |
| Tool accuracy | New tools cleared at first trial without major rework on at least 85 percent of jobs |
| Tooling downtime | Line stoppage from tool failure held below the monthly target hours |
| Preventive upkeep | Planned die and mould maintenance completed on schedule for every high-use tool |
| Tool life | Average strokes or shots per tool kept at or above the set standard |
| Cost control | Tool room spares and consumable spend held within the monthly budget |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: AutoCAD or SolidWorks, EDM and wire cut machine, Surface grinder, Height gauge and micrometer, Die spotting press.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior Tool Room Engineer, Tool Room Manager, Design Engineer
Interview questions for a Tool Room Engineer
- Walk me through how you design a progressive die for a simple sheet metal bracket.
- A mould gives flash after fifty thousand shots. How do you find and fix the cause?
- How do you plan tool room jobs when a running die fails during production and a new project is also due?
- What checks do you make when proving out a new die on the press?
- How do you decide the preventive maintenance interval for a high-use mould?
- Tell me about a tool you redesigned to raise tool life or cut cycle time.
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What does a tool room engineer do?
A tool room engineer designs, builds and maintains dies, moulds, jigs and fixtures. They read drawings, design tooling in CAD, plan its manufacture, prove out new tools on the machine, and repair tools that fail during production. Their goal is accurate tooling delivered on time and kept ready so production lines are not stopped.
What is the difference between a tool room engineer and a production engineer?
A tool room engineer specialises in the tooling that makes parts: designing and maintaining dies, moulds and fixtures. A production engineer focuses on running the process that uses those tools, including cycle time, line balancing and output. They work closely during new part development and problem solving.
What qualifications do you need to be a tool room engineer?
Most tool room engineers hold a diploma or degree in mechanical or tool and die engineering. A tool making course from an institute such as NTTF or CIPET is a strong advantage. Employers look for CAD skills, hands-on die and mould experience, and a firm grasp of tolerances and GD and T.