Tooling Manager
Job Description
Shift: 1st Shift
Hire Type: Direct Hire
Salary: $95k - 115k per year + monthly bonus (typically around 25-30%)
- Lead daily operations of the Tool Room, Tool Service, and Punch Departments
- Foster a strong safety-first culture while ensuring compliance with company standards
- Supervise, mentor, train, and develop tooling personnel to maximize performance and career growth
- Improve tooling quality, reliability, and manufacturing efficiency throughout production
- Develop and implement tooling standards, processes, and best practices that reduce costs and improve productivity
- Oversee preventative maintenance, repair, and development of production tooling
- Manage vendor relationships, tooling procurement, and outside tooling services
- Partner with Engineering and Production teams to troubleshoot tooling issues and minimize downtime
- Manage tooling inventory, departmental budgets, and purchasing activities
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on standardization, efficiency, and process optimization
- Support new tooling development and implementation for new and existing manufacturing programs
- Must have Bachelor's Degree, Associate Degree in Engineering, or Journeyman Tool & Die Maker certification
- Must have 5+ years of experience working in a tool room or tooling environment
- Must have strong knowledge of progressive punching and blanking dies
- Experience with CAD and CAM software
- Hands-on experience with CNC machining, conventional machining, and grinding operations
- Three or more years of supervisory or leadership experience
- Opportunity to build and develop a skilled tooling team
- Work with advanced machining, tooling, and manufacturing technologies
- Join a stable manufacturing organization that values innovation, quality, and employee development
- Long-term career growth with opportunities to expand leadership responsibilities
Meet Your Recruiter
Galen Schloming
Senior Technical Recruiter
Galen is a Senior Technical Recruiter at Sterling Engineering with nearly 14 years of recruiting and talent acquisition experience, spanning agency leadership, high-volume technical recruiting, and executive-level client partnership. Since joining Sterling in February 2026, he has brought a strategic, relationship-driven approach to supporting candidates and clients across manufacturing, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and more.
Galen is dedicated to solving complex hiring challenges and building trusted, long-term partnerships with candidates, hiring managers, and executives. He takes the time to understand each person’s experience, goals, and career ambitions so he can help connect them with opportunities that align with both their skills and long-term direction.
For Galen, recruiting is about being an advocate and facilitator during important moments of transition and opportunity. He genuinely enjoys learning what motivates people and helping them take meaningful next steps in their careers while supporting companies in building strong, high-performing teams.