Injection Molding Mold Setter / Technician

Our client is a global manufacturer supplying the automotive industry, with production operations across North America, Europe, and Asia and a century-long track record in the sector. Their Middle Tennessee plant runs a busy injection molding operation, and they are hiring an experienced mold setter for first shift.

This is a hands-on changeover role. You will run several mold changes across the shift according to the day’s production schedule — pulling the outgoing mold with the overhead crane, setting and clamping the incoming mold, making the water, hydraulic, and electrical connections, loading the correct program at the press, and running first-off parts until the process is stable and the machine is handed back to production ready to run.

The plant pays to skill level, not to a single flat rate. Candidates who bring true setup experience start higher, and candidates with five or more years who can take on process work are hired into the top tier from day one.

Level is determined during the interview process based on demonstrated experience.

What You Will Do

• Mold changes and material handling
• Perform multiple mold changeovers per shift according to the daily production schedule
• Operate overhead cranes and hoists to remove and install molds safely and efficiently, using proper rigging, slings, and lifting hardware
• Set, square, and clamp molds to the platens and verify safe, correct mounting before startup
• Connect and verify water lines and manifolds, hydraulic core pulls, air lines, hot runner controllers, and thermolators
• Set up and verify auxiliary equipment including material dryers, loaders, temperature control units, conveyors, and robots or take-out devices
• Startup, programming, and process
• Load, recall, and verify the correct setup and program at the press controller for each job
• Bring the press up, purge and transition material or color as needed, and run first-off parts
• Confirm parts meet print and quality standards before releasing the machine to production
• Make process adjustments to bring a job into spec and troubleshoot common defects such as short shots, flash, sink, burn, and dimensional drift
• Document setup sheets, process parameters, and changeover records accurately
• Reliability and safety
• Follow lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and safe lifting procedures without exception
• Support preventive maintenance on molds and presses, and flag tooling issues before they become downtime
• Work with production, quality, and maintenance to keep changeover time down and hit the schedule
• Support and help train less experienced technicians (Process Technician level)

Requirements

What You Bring

• Required
• Previous hands-on experience in an injection molding production environment — this is not an entry-level opening
• Demonstrated ability to operate overhead cranes and rig loads safely; comfort working around heavy tooling
• Mechanical aptitude with hand and power tools, and the ability to read setup sheets, prints, and work instructions
• Comfort working at a press controller: recalling programs, entering parameters, and verifying settings
• Ability to work first shift on-site, stand for extended periods, and lift and maneuver as the job requires
• Preferred
• Direct mold setting experience in an automotive or high-volume production plant
• 5+ years of injection molding setup and process experience (Process Technician level)
• Scientific or decoupled molding training, RJG coursework, or Master Molder certification
• Experience with hot runner systems, multi-cavity tooling, and quick mold change systems
• Familiarity with robots and end-of-arm tooling
• Overhead crane, rigging, forklift, or lockout/tagout certification
• The Details
• Shift: 1st shift, on-site, full time
• Pay: $23.68 to $33.26 per hour, set by demonstrated skill and experience level
• Direct hire — this is a permanent position with the client, not a contract or temp-to-hire role
• Full benefits package