Senior Injection Molding Process Engineer – Scientific Molding & Validation

Role details

Location: Rochester, New York

Full-Time | Direct Hire | Onsite

Relocation to the Rochester, NY area is required. Candidates outside the area are encouraged to apply if they are genuinely willing to relocate.

The Opportunity

We are partnering with an established, highly engineered manufacturing organization seeking an experienced

Senior Injection Molding Process Engineer

to serve as a senior technical resource for its molding operation.

This is a highly hands-on engineering position for someone who enjoys being close to the process, solving difficult molding problems, developing robust processes, qualifying new molds, and using data rather than trial-and-error to make technical decisions.

You will have significant influence over how injection molding processes are developed, validated, standardized, troubleshot, and continuously improved.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced molding engineer who wants to remain technically engaged while taking on greater ownership, visibility, and influence within a sophisticated manufacturing environment.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead hands-on

injection molding process development and optimization

for new and existing products.

• Apply

scientific molding principles

to establish robust, repeatable, and sustainable processing windows.

• Plan and execute mold trials, process characterization studies, and production qualification activities.
• Evaluate molding parameters including fill, pack, hold, cooling, recovery, pressure, temperature, cycle time, cavity balance, and process capability.
• Serve as a senior technical escalation point for difficult or recurring injection molding problems.
• Troubleshoot molding defects, variation, downtime, and process instability using structured root-cause analysis and manufacturing data.
• Design and execute

DOE studies

to identify critical process inputs, interactions, and optimal operating conditions.

• Analyze manufacturing and quality data using statistical tools such as

Minitab or equivalent software

.

• Support and execute formal process qualification and validation activities, including

IQ, OQ, and PQ

.

• Develop validation protocols, analyze results, resolve deviations, and document technical conclusions.
• Participate in

DFM and mold-design reviews

before tooling is released.

• Work closely with tooling specialists to evaluate gate location, runners, cooling, venting, ejection, steel conditions, tolerances, resin behavior, and overall manufacturability.
• Support new mold builds from design review through sampling, qualification, process development, and production release.
• Recommend tooling modifications based on mold-trial data and verify that corrective changes produce the intended results.
• Develop and maintain standardized processing documentation, setup requirements, process windows, troubleshooting guides, and production standards.
• Provide technical coaching and support to Process Engineers, Setup Technicians, and production personnel.
• Remain directly engaged at the press during development, validation, and complex troubleshooting activities.
• Lead or support investigations involving nonconforming product, recurring defects, corrective actions, and manufacturing concerns.
• Drive measurable improvements in

scrap, cycle time, OEE, downtime, process capability, quality, automation performance, and consistency .

• Evaluate molding machines, molds, automation, auxiliary equipment, and new manufacturing technologies.
• Manage technical projects and cross-functional engineering actions from initial problem identification through sustainable implementation.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who is a

true injection molding process engineer

, not simply someone who has managed molding projects from a distance.

The strongest candidates will have:

• 8+ years of hands-on injection molding process engineering experience
• Advanced experience developing, optimizing, and troubleshooting molding processes directly at the press
• Strong knowledge of

scientific molding and process characterization

• Experience establishing robust process windows and process-control limits
• Strong knowledge of injection molding machines, molds, hot runners, resins, dryers, temperature-control systems, material handling, and molding auxiliaries
• Experience developing and qualifying new molds and transferred tooling
• Experience with mold trials and production-readiness activities
• Strong structured troubleshooting and root-cause-analysis capabilities
• Experience using manufacturing data and statistics to make engineering decisions
• Practical experience with

DOE and process capability analysis

• Experience with

IQ/OQ/PQ or comparable formal manufacturing-process validation

• Strong understanding of mold construction and Design for Manufacturability
• Ability to work effectively with Tooling, Quality, Automation, Manufacturing, Product Engineering, and Production
• Ability to communicate complex technical findings clearly to both engineers and manufacturing personnel
• Ability to coach less-experienced engineers and technicians without needing formal supervisory authority

Preferred Background

The following experience would be particularly valuable:

• RJG Master Molder, AIM, Paulson, Routsis, or comparable advanced scientific-molding training
• Experience in a regulated or highly controlled manufacturing environment
• Medical, pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, or other precision-manufacturing experience
• Minitab or equivalent statistical-analysis software
• Multi-cavity molding
• Hot-runner systems
• Insert molding or overmolding
• Robotics and automated molding cells
• Vision inspection
• High-performance engineering resins
• Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement

A bachelor's degree in Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field is preferred; however, significant advanced injection molding experience may be considered in place of a traditional engineering degree .

Why This Role Is Worth Considering

This position offers something increasingly difficult to find for experienced molding engineers: the opportunity to remain

deeply technical

while having significant influence over manufacturing performance.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Own challenging injection molding problems from root cause through permanent resolution
• Work with new molds, equipment, automation, and manufacturing technology
• Influence tooling and process decisions before products reach production
• Use scientific molding and statistical engineering methods rather than trial-and-error processing
• Work directly with experienced engineering, tooling, quality, and operations teams
• Develop and mentor other technical personnel
• See measurable results from your work in quality, efficiency, capability, and production performance
• Build toward future technical-leadership or engineering-management opportunities

Compensation

Base salary: up to $125,000 , depending on injection molding expertise, technical experience, and overall qualifications.

Location / Relocation

This position is located in Rochester, New York and requires relocation to the Rochester area.

This is an onsite manufacturing-engineering position. Candidates currently living outside Rochester are encouraged to apply if they are willing to relocate for the opportunity.