About this role
Weld Fixture & Tooling Strategy
- Develop and execute the company's weld fixture and tooling strategy.
- Establish long-term plans to improve fixture quality, lead time, cost, and standardization.
- Develop fixture design philosophies and best practices to support manufacturing excellence.
- Create and maintain standardized fixture specifications, requirements, and acceptance criteria.
- Drive continuous improvement in tooling processes across the organization.
Program Management
- Manage the development and implementation of 50-200 weld fixtures and tooling projects annually.
- Lead tooling activities from concept through production readiness.
- Establish project timelines, milestones, and readiness reviews.
- Ensure tooling availability aligns with prototype, pilot, and production schedules.
- Identify and mitigate tooling-related launch risks.
Supplier Development & Strategic Sourcing
- Identify, qualify, and develop domestic and international tooling suppliers.
- Establish strategic supplier partnerships that support quality, responsiveness, and cost objectives.
- Manage RFQ activities, supplier selection, contract negotiations, and commercial agreements.
- Develop supplier performance scorecards and improvement plans.
- Evaluate supplier capacity and capabilities to support future growth.
Design & Engineering Collaboration
- Partner closely with Product Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering to define fixture requirements.
- Ensure fixtures support safety, ergonomics, quality, manufacturability, and productivity objectives.
- Participate in design reviews and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) activities.
- Promote fixture standardization and reuse across product families when appropriate.
- Support implementation of new manufacturing technologies and tooling innovations.
Quality & Launch Readiness
- Establish tooling validation and approval processes.
- Coordinate fixture try-outs, runoffs, and production readiness reviews.
- Develop acceptance criteria and quality standards for tooling suppliers.
- Resolve tooling-related quality issues through structured corrective action processes.
- Ensure tooling supports product quality and customer requirements.
Operational Excellence
- Lead initiatives to reduce tooling lead times, improve launch performance, and lower total tooling costs.
- Drive process improvements through standard work, metrics, and best practices.
- Establish tooling performance dashboards and KPI reporting.
- Create a culture of continuous improvement within tooling development and sourcing activities.
- Identify opportunities for automation, digital tools, and technology advancements.
Leadership Responsibilities
- Provide leadership for tooling-related activities across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Quality.
- Influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
- Facilitate decision-making and issue resolution during project execution.
- Build strong relationships with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
- Promote accountability for timelines, quality, and results.
Cost
- Tooling cost versus budget
- Annual cost reduction initiatives
- Supplier competitiveness
- Tooling ROI and productivity improvements
Quality
- First-pass tooling acceptance rate
- Tooling-related production disruptions
- Tooling corrective actions
- Supplier quality performance
Continuous Improvement
- Fixture standardization improvements
- Design reuse opportunities implemented
- Supplier performance improvements
- Lead time reduction achievements