Tool & Fixture Manager

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