NPI Tooling Fabrication Specialist

A day in the life

You arrive at Hadrian with a build list that truly moves the program forward. Today, tooling is the gate on a new product introduction, and you own the path to green. You walk the floor with engineering, discuss design intent, and decide whether to iterate an existing fixture or craft a brand-new tool from scratch. By mid-morning, you are hands-on at the mill and lathe, validating fits, then over to the water jet for quick stock prep. A laser tracker session confirms alignment, and a quick TIG pass completes a critical bracket. Before the day ends, you document a tweak that will save hours on the next run and share it with the team as we scale our practices.

Tooling is trending as an early blocker on our production ramp. From day one, you will operate on program-critical timelines, working shoulder-to-shoulder with engineering to modify existing tools and design and fabricate new ones. You will be part of a small, tight-knit team that is set to triple over the next six months, giving you meaningful influence on how the function grows.

Your impact

• Build and adapt tooling that directly supports new product introduction across multiple manufacturing programs.
• Co-develop new tools with engineering, from concept to finished fixture.
• Run welding, water jet, laser tracking, manual mills and lathes, and general assembly equipment to support rapid builds.
• Maintain, refine, and iterate existing tooling as part geometries and requirements change.
• Establish and scale tooling processes and best practices as the team grows 3x in the next 6 months.

What you bring

• 6+ years of hands-on tooling fabrication experience, including both new builds and modification of established tools.
• Proficiency with welding, water jet operation, laser tracking, manual machine shop equipment (mills and lathes), and general assembly.
• Comfort operating autonomously with minimal oversight on deadlines that are critical to program success.
• Ability to collaborate directly with engineers to develop and design new tools.
• Sharp troubleshooting instincts and a bias for quickly unblocking the program.

Bonus points

• Experience on programs where tooling was the critical-path item during a ramp.
• Background in standing up or scaling a small tooling team or function.
• Cross-training across multiple fabrication processes beyond welding and water jet.
• A record of mentoring junior technicians in tooling fabrication.

Technical proficiencies

• CNC Tooling
• Manual Machining Skills