The Foundry Tooling Engineer designs and develops the physical molds, patterns, cores, and fixtures required to produce cast metal parts. They optimize tooling designs for manufacturing efficiency, simulate the casting process, and troubleshoot tooling-related defects to minimize production scrap. The Foundry Tooling Engineer is also responsible for the Pattern Shop's engineering lead for gating, risering, and tooling, supporting the DISA 250C vertical green sand molding line and the future North Line. The role is the first line of defense on tooling-driven scrap and the engineering owner for pattern fabrication, maintenance, and life cycle.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
• 1st Responsibility – Ensuring personal safety and the safety of team members.
• Proactively promotes The McWane Way principles.
• Ensuring personal safety and the safety of team members.
• Wears appropriate PPE, including hearing, foot, hand, head, and eye protection.
• Specify pattern construction details including draft, parting line, shrinkage allowance, vent placement, and core print geometry.
• Maintain the master tooling drawing set and the as-built record for every active pattern in the Pattern Shop.
• Coordinate tooling rework, repair, and replacement with internal patternmakers and external suppliers.
• Partner with Quality Engineering to correlate top defect categories to specific tooling, gating geometry, or pattern condition.
• Lead or co-lead A3 problem-solving on tooling-attributable scrap categories within the active scrap reduction initiative.
• Drive root cause closure on shift mismatch, fin, swell, blow, and dimensional defects originating in pattern condition.
• Own the Pattern Shop preventive maintenance schedule for active patterns.
• Track pattern usage, wear, and end-of-life triggers; recommend replacement timing against production demand.
• Support tooling-side execution of the foundry modernization project, including BCT CT-6, Magaldi conveyors, and Viking ALP-900 commissioning.
• Support tooling capacity planning for the North Line second DISA D5, including pattern duplication, scheduling, and changeover protocols.
• Lead trial pour campaigns for new and revised tooling, including data collection, defect mapping, and qualification reports.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, Materials, or related discipline).
• Prior exposure to a manufacturing environment through internships, co-ops, or full-time roles.
• Working knowledge of root cause analysis methods (5 Why, Fishbone, A3, or equivalent).
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Ability to spend extended time on the shop floor in foundry conditions and to perform light hands-on tooling work.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
McWane is a Federal VEVRAA contractor, and an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices. McWane will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran or service member status, marital status, citizenship status (In IL - sex, including same sex, ancestry, order of protection status, physical or mental disability, military status, pregnancy, unfavorable discharge status, genetic information), (In IA - gender identity), (In CA- gender identity or expression, and genetic information) or any other category protected by federal, state or local law.