Process Engineer – Injection Molding

Process Engineer – Injection Molding

Location: Lynchburg, VA 24501
Client: Total Plastic Solutions
Website: https://total-ps.com/
Salary: Not specified
Job Type: Full-time | Exempt
Department: Engineering / Production
Reports To: Engineering Manager or Production Director

About the Client

Total Plastic Solutions is a plastics manufacturing company specializing in plastic processing and manufacturing solutions. The company operates in a hands-on production environment where safety, quality, efficiency, process stability, and continuous improvement are critical.

The organization is seeking an experienced Process Engineer who can take ownership of injection molding processes, troubleshoot production issues, improve process performance, and help develop stable, repeatable manufacturing processes.

Job Summary

Seeking an experienced Process Engineer – Injection Molding to develop, optimize, troubleshoot, and sustain injection molding processes.

This is a hands-on, production-floor-focused engineering role. The Process Engineer will establish scientifically controlled process windows, lead mold trials and production launches, troubleshoot molding defects, reduce scrap and downtime, optimize cycle times, and ensure processes remain stable and repeatable.

The ideal candidate will have 3–5+ years of injection molding process engineering or process development experience, strong knowledge of thermoplastic materials and molding equipment, and a disciplined scientific molding and root-cause problem-solving approach.

Blow molding experience is strongly preferred and can provide additional consideration.

Key Responsibilities

Process Development & Optimization

Develop, validate, document, and maintain robust injection molding processes.

Establish process windows using scientific molding principles, material characteristics, mold requirements, and machine capabilities.

Lead new mold trials, sampling, qualification, process development, and production launches.

Conduct process studies, including fill analysis, gate-seal studies, pressure-loss studies, cooling evaluations, and process-window development.

Optimize cycle times while maintaining product quality, mold protection, equipment reliability, and validated requirements.

Analyze production data, scrap trends, downtime, cavity performance, and other manufacturing metrics.

Troubleshooting & Root-Cause Analysis

Provide hands-on technical support when presses are down or processes become unstable.

Troubleshoot defects including:

Short shots

Flash

Burns

Splay

Contamination

Dimensional variation

Sink

Warpage

Voids

Weld lines

Cosmetic defects

Identify root causes related to machines, molds, materials, methods, personnel, and environmental conditions.

Reduce scrap, downtime, start-up waste, cycle time, and unnecessary process adjustments.

Ensure machines are returned to approved process settings after troubleshooting or maintenance.

Documentation & Quality

Develop and maintain process sheets, setup instructions, standard work, troubleshooting guides, and process-control documentation.

Support change-control and process-validation activities.

Support IQ, OQ, and PQ installation and qualification activities when required.

Support PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, DOE activities, corrective actions, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

Maintain compliance with applicable quality and regulatory requirements, including ISO 9001, ISO 13485, AS9100, customer specifications, and internal procedures.

Collaboration & Leadership

Work closely with Production, Quality, Tooling, Maintenance, Materials, Automation, and Project Management.

Train and mentor Process Technicians, Junior Process Engineers, Setup Technicians, and Production Supervisors.

Promote standardized, documented technical processes rather than relying on tribal knowledge.

Participate in customer, supplier, and regulatory audits as needed.

Respond with urgency to critical production and technical issues.

Blow Molding Experience – Strongly Preferred

Candidates with blow molding experience will receive additional consideration.

Relevant experience may include:

Extrusion blow molding

Injection blow molding

Injection stretch blow molding

Parison programming and wall-thickness control

Blow pressure optimization

Mold cooling and venting

Pinch-off and flash optimization

Leak-test optimization

Troubleshooting uneven wall thickness, thinning, distortion, leaks, weak weld lines, and excessive flash

Blow molding equipment setup and processing

Automation and maintenance coordination

Developing and validating stable blow molding process windows

Qualifications

Required

Associate or Bachelor's degree in Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.

Equivalent hands-on plastics-processing experience may be considered.

3–5+ years of injection molding process development or process-engineering experience.

Strong understanding of:

Thermoplastic materials

Material drying and handling

Mold construction

Cooling systems

Hot runners

Auxiliary equipment

Demonstrated ability to independently troubleshoot complex molding and tooling problems.

Experience with hydraulic, electric, or hybrid injection molding machines.

Ability to interpret part drawings, specifications, tolerances, process data, and quality requirements.

Working knowledge of SPC, process capability, root-cause analysis, and structured problem-solving.

Ability and willingness to work directly on the production floor.

Strong written, verbal, organizational, and interpersonal skills.

Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and manufacturing ERP or production-monitoring systems.

Preferred

Scientific molding training through RJG, Paulson, AIM Institute, or equivalent.

Experience with RJG eDART, cavity-pressure monitoring, or similar technology.

Blow molding experience.

Experience in medical device, aerospace, automotive, or other regulated manufacturing.

Experience with IQMS / DELMIAWorks.

Familiarity with automation, robotics, vision systems, and secondary operations.

Experience with DOE, Gage R&R, capability studies, and molding-process validations.

Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous-improvement experience.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on injection molding Process Engineer who understands both the science and practical realities of plastics processing.

The strongest candidate will:

Have 3–5+ years of injection molding process engineering experience.

Be highly experienced troubleshooting molding defects and unstable processes.

Understand scientific molding and process-window development.

Be comfortable working directly on the production floor.

Use data and structured root-cause analysis rather than trial-and-error adjustments.

Have experience with mold trials, new-tool launches, validation, and process optimization.

Be knowledgeable about thermoplastics, molds, cooling, hot runners, and auxiliary equipment.

Have experience reducing scrap, downtime, and cycle time.

Have blow molding experience as an additional advantage.

Communicate effectively with Production, Quality, Maintenance, Tooling, and Engineering teams.

Be willing to train and mentor less-experienced processing personnel.

Simple Explanation of the Job

This person will be the technical expert responsible for making the plastic molding process run correctly and consistently.

They will develop the settings used to run injection molding machines, test new molds, troubleshoot defects, reduce scrap and downtime, improve cycle times, and make sure machines consistently produce quality parts.

When a machine or molding process has a problem, this person will go to the production floor, determine why the problem is happening, fix the root cause, and document the correct process so the same issue does not keep coming back.

In short: You will make the molding process stable, efficient, repeatable, and capable of producing good parts consistently.

Screening Questions

How many years of hands-on injection molding process engineering or process development experience do you have?

What types of injection molding machines have you worked with (hydraulic, electric, or hybrid), and what brands/models?

How experienced are you with scientific molding and developing process windows? Do you have RJG, Paulson, AIM Institute, or similar training?

What types of molding defects have you independently troubleshot? Please provide an example of a difficult process problem you solved and the root cause.

Do you have experience with mold trials, new-tool launches, process validation, IQ/OQ/PQ, DOE, SPC, or capability studies? Please describe.

Do you have blow molding experience? If yes, what type—extrusion, injection, or injection stretch blow molding?

Which process monitoring, ERP, or manufacturing systems have you used? For example, RJG eDART, IQMS/DELMIAWorks, or similar systems.

Are you comfortable working hands-on in a manufacturing environment and providing urgent technical support when production problems occur?

Are you comfortable working in Lynchburg, VA 24501 and providing technical support across shifts when needed?

What are your salary expectations?