Principal Engineer, Tooling

Job Description

The Principal Engineer, Tooling is responsible for new tooling for new products and supporting product improvements through adherence to good engineering and documentation practices. The key responsibility of this position is to lead, maintain timeline and budget, support and manage tooling & molding projects and be action-oriented while adhering to defined procedures. The incumbent will also liaise with the Molding Engineer, Production, Quality, and Maintenance. Monitor and coach junior level engineer. It is expected that the Principal Engineer completes complex engineering projects with peer input and guidance from engineering management. They will work on advanced, complex technical projects or business issues requiring state of the art technical or industry knowledge. Work will be accomplished autonomously where goals are generally communicated in solution or project goal terms. The Principal Engineer will consistently make decisions regarding the overall goals and objectives of significant programs or segments of the organization and may provide a leadership role for the work group through knowledge in the area of specialization. They will work directly with management to turn product strategy into action.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Immediate Expectations
  • Develops project direction together with management. Accepts the highest level of accountability.
  • Analyzes, evaluates and plans methods for the solution of complex problems. Conducts investigations of considerable complexity pertaining to the development of new designs, methods, materials or processes, and investigates possible applications of the results. Contributes to strategy. Defines parameters and boundaries for lower-level design activities. Establishes metrics for key aspects of system performance. Requires multi-disciplinary expertise or in-depth knowledge in a single discipline.
  • Support initiatives for new product tools and tool changes.
  • Work closely with product development teams and manufacturing in designing & sourcing molds, working with external vendors, and investigating and improving existing molds with an emphasis on product manufacturing and cost reduction
  • Under the guidance of the Tooling Engineering leadership, work to deliver tooling solutions that meet expectations, e.g. yield, cycle-time, quality requirements, maintenance's needs
  • Lead Tooling Design reviews and generate tooling FMEAs as well as recommend risk mitigations
  • Support project timelines and milestones and bring them to completion on time and within budget
  • Own and complete CAPA tasks and deliverables (Corrective and Preventive)
  • Initiate and manage projects with adherence to program management guidelines
  • Proficiency with the use of SPC, DOE and Six Sigma techniques.
  • Procedure development for tooling areas.
  • Be able to independently lead a team navigating through hurdles, achieve performance, consider input from multiple functional areas & address the problem through a holistic method
  • Supervises the work of engineers. Responsible for training/mentoring less-experienced engineers in area of expertise.
  • Responsible for the performance evaluations of all reports. Resolves complex problems within teams, departments, projects, programs and cross-functionally. Manages activities of reports to achieve goals consistent with team objectives.
  • Delivers communications tailored to the needs of the receiver (managers, peers, customers) with appropriate frequency to maximize its utility and promote cross-functional collaboration. Brings substantive conflicts and disagreements into the open and attempts to resolve them collaboratively; builds consensus. Contributes to IP portfolio growth through regular invention submissions.
  • Work on special projects as they arise
• Longer term expectations
  • Use broad understanding from start to end of the product manufacturing process in the company to help drive win-win solutions for both product quality and manufacturing
  • Develop and maintain tooling scorecard for internal and external tools
  • Mentor lower level tooling engineers

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong knowledge of plastic part design for manufacturability, and plastic processing.
• Knowledge and experience with cold and hot runner high cavitation tools.
• Knowledge of mold manufacturing processes and their capabilities.
• Proficient in Solid works or similar.
• Knowledge and experience in scientific molding/RJG molding
• Knowledge and experience in Mold Simulation
• Knowledge and experience with Silicone Molding
• Strong skills in project management
• Demonstrate problem analysis skills and provide solutions.
• Review and understand tool & product drawings, tolerance stack up, understanding molding processing documents, data collection and analysis and development of standard work instructions.
• Company leader in your domain of expertise. Quickly and easily obtain effective expertise within scope of influence.
• Has deep knowledge of best practices. Has subject matter expertise on engineering discipline

Minimum Qualifications, Education & Experience

• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university (Engineering, Technology, or STEM) or 10+ years' experience in Medical Device and Molding Tools
• Scientific molding/RJG molding knowledge/training.
• Mold Simulation experience is a plus
• Experience with Silicone Molding is a plus

Work Environment

• This is largely a sedentary role.
• This job operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment.
• Work may be performed in a clean room environment
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be required to sit or stand for long periods of time; depending on the machine they are operating
• Must be able to occasionally move and lift objects of up to 25 lbs
• Requires some traveling

About Us

ICU Medical has consistently provided you with clinical innovations that help solve real-world challenges.

With the acquisition of Hospira Infusion Systems in 2017 and Smiths Medical in 2022, we are now a global market leader with a complete line of clinically-essential IV therapy and high-value critical care products for hospital, alternate site, and home care settings.

We're ready to bring you consistent quality, innovation, and value in more areas than ever. Our focus allows us to bring you:

• Dedicated and non-dedicated IV sets and needlefree connectors clinically proven to provide an effective barrier against bacterial transfer and colonization.
• The industry's broadest IV smart pump offering covering large volume, pain management, and ambulatory needs.
• IV medication safety software providing full IV-EHR interoperability with the highest customer satisfaction and compatibility with more EHR systems than any other company.
• Significant US IV solutions manufacturing and supply capabilities.

ICU Medical EEO Statement:

ICU Medical is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. We ensure that all qualified applicants receive fair consideration for employment regardless of race, color, nationality or national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to participate in the employment selection process, please contact us at We are committed to providing equal access and opportunities for all candidates.

ICU Medical EEO Policy Statement

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