Assembly Tool Design Lead - Aerospace Tooling

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Key Responsibilities

• Define assembly philosophy, assembly stages, datum strategy, and tooling concepts for aerospace structural assemblies.
• Participate in CFT reviews to determine assembly sequence, tooling requirements, manufacturing feasibility, and risk mitigation plans.
• Lead assembly fixture design activities from concept, detailed design, analysis, manufacturing, validation, and customer buy-off.
• Guide tool design engineers on locating, clamping, tolerance control, ergonomic requirements, maintainability, and manufacturability.
• Perform and review GD&T analysis, tolerance stack-up studies, variation analysis, and dimensional control plans.
• Establish tooling validation criteria and ensure fixture rigidity, repeatability, dimensional stability, and process capability.
• Drive structural, ergonomic, accessibility, and assembly feasibility studies to achieve safe and efficient operations.
• Plan and prioritize tooling projects, allocate resources, and monitor execution against program milestones.
• Track daily and weekly plan versus actual status, highlight risks, forecast challenges, and implement recovery actions.
• Interface with customers during technical reviews, design approvals, qualification activities, and final tool acceptance.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing, Quality, Metrology, Production, Procurement, and Tool Manufacturing teams to ensure successful tool delivery.
• Support tool prove-out, dimensional validation, capability demonstration, and production release.
• Mentor and develop tooling engineers, standardize best practices, and strengthen organizational capability in aerospace tooling.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or Production Engineering.
• Significant experience in aerospace assembly tooling, fixtures, jigs, industrialization, or manufacturing engineering.
• Proven leadership experience in customer-facing tooling programs.

Key Technical Competencies

• Aerospace Assembly Fixture Design
• GD&T and Tolerance Stack-Up Analysis
• Datum Management and Dimensional Control
• Assembly Process Engineering
• Structural and Rigidity Assessment of Fixtures
• Ergonomic and Manufacturing Feasibility Studies
• CATIA V5 / 3DEXPERIENCE
• Tool Validation and Customer Buy-Off
• Metrology and Laser Tracker Applications
• Root Cause Analysis and Problem Solving
• Project Planning and Resource Management
• Aerospace OEM Standards and Requirements

Key Success Indicators

• First-time-right tooling solutions
• On-time tool delivery and customer approval
• Consistent dimensional conformity and assembly quality
• Effective risk forecasting and program execution
• Strong team capability development and customer satisfaction