Senior Tooling Designer in Sandpoint, Idaho - #73320 | VanderHouwen

Description

Job Id: 73320

Senior Tooling Designer
Our client is seeking a Senior Tooling Designer to develop practical, reliable tooling solutions that improve the consistency, efficiency, and quality of aircraft manufacturing operations. This role is ideal for an experienced aerospace tooling professional who combines strong CAD and fixture design expertise with hands-on manufacturing knowledge, independent judgment, and a continuous improvement mindset.

This role is on-site in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Senior Tooling Designer Responsibilities

• Design production tooling, fixtures, jigs, assembly aids, and related solutions supporting aircraft structures, subassemblies, fabrication, machining, final assembly, and installation processes.
• Partner directly with manufacturing engineers, production personnel, quality teams, and tooling stakeholders to identify shop-floor constraints and develop effective tooling solutions.
• Create detailed tooling models, drawings, and documentation that support fabrication, assembly, inspection, maintenance, repair, and external supplier requirements.
• Apply sound fixture design principles, including locating strategies, tolerance management, repeatability, accessibility, ergonomics, and manufacturability.
• Evaluate existing tooling and production processes to identify opportunities to reduce rework, improve cycle time, address bottlenecks, and increase manufacturing efficiency.
• Validate new and modified tooling in the production environment, troubleshoot performance issues, and implement design improvements when needed.
• Use production data and hands-on observations to help prioritize tooling projects based on quality, labor, safety, ergonomic, and operational impact.
• Collaborate with internal fabrication resources and external suppliers to ensure tooling can be produced, implemented, and maintained effectively.
• Provide technical guidance and practical recommendations while constructively challenging tooling requests or established approaches when a more effective solution is available.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that simplify tooling processes, strengthen manufacturing capabilities, and support consistent aircraft production.

Senior Tooling Designer Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of tooling design and fabrication experience within aerospace, aviation, or a similarly complex manufacturing environment, with aerospace or aviation experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise designing fixtures, jigs, assembly tooling, and other production aids for manufacturing and assembly operations.
• Strong understanding of fixture locating principles, tolerance stack-up, dimensional control, repeatability, assembly constraints, and practical shop-floor application.
• Hands-on knowledge of manufacturing and fabrication processes such as machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, mechanical assembly, or related disciplines.
• Advanced proficiency with 3D CAD software; NX experience is strongly preferred, with CATIA, SolidWorks, or comparable platforms also considered.
• Strong working knowledge of GD&T and the application of ASME Y14.5 principles to tooling, fixturing, and manufacturing drawings.
• Proven ability to translate production challenges into practical tooling solutions that improve quality, ergonomics, repeatability, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound technical judgment, solve ambiguous problems, and drive solutions without relying on highly prescriptive processes.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, suppliers, and diverse international teams.
• Experience with low-rate, high-mix manufacturing, supplier-fabricated tooling, Lean or continuous improvement practices, and tooling safety standards is preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical discipline is preferred but not required with equivalent relevant experience.

Salary: $80K-$100K/year + Bonus. (DOE)

Benefits
Benefits are available to eligible full-time employees and include coverage for medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability, and matching 401k.

Meet VanderHouwen
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VanderHouwen is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify. VanderHouwen does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal civil rights laws.