Job Title
Senior Tooling Designer

Kodiak Aircraft is seeking a highly capable Senior Tooling Designer to create practical, reliable tooling solutions that support stable, repeatable, and efficient aircraft production.

This role connects Tooling, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, Supply Chain, and suppliers. You will design fixtures, jigs, assembly aids, and tooling solutions that reflect real shop-floor needs and improve how aircraft are built.

This is more than a CAD design role. It is an opportunity to use hands-on manufacturing insight, production data, and strong tooling judgment to improve ergonomics, repeatability, flow, and quality in a low-rate aerospace production environment.

Why this role matters: the right tooling can reduce rework, improve ergonomics, increase repeatability, and help mechanics build aircraft more efficiently and consistently.

What Makes This Role Senior

Senior does not simply mean more years of tooling experience. We are looking for someone who can operate with independent judgment, bring practical ideas from prior roles, challenge tooling requests when needed, and help improve how tooling is designed, fabricated, validated, and maintained.

What You Will Do

• Work directly with mechanics, Manufacturing Engineers, and the Tooling Lead to understand real build constraints and high-impact tooling needs.

• Design tooling, fixtures, jigs, and assembly aids for structures, subassemblies, machining, fabrication, final assembly, and installation.

• Create detailed tool drawings that support manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, repair, and supplier fabrication.

• Ensure tooling designs are practical, robust, repeatable, ergonomic, maintainable, and realistic to fabricate with available resources.

• Use production data such as rework, cycle time, bottlenecks, and labor impact to support tooling prioritization recommendations.

• Validate tooling performance in production and improve or redesign tooling that does not add value.

What We Are Looking For

• 7-10+ years of experience in tooling design and fabrication within aerospace or complex manufacturing.

• Strong hands-on background in fabrication such as machining, welding, sheet metal, assembly tooling, or related processes.

• Deep understanding of fixture design, locator strategies, tolerance stack-up, repeatability, and assembly constraints.

• Proficiency in CAD; NX strongly preferred, with CATIA, SolidWorks, or equivalent platforms considered.

• Competence applying GD&T per ASME Y14.5 and familiarity with gaging and fixturing principles.

• Proven ability to design tooling that works on the floor and measurably improves production efficiency, ergonomics, and quality.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field, experience in low-rate high-mix production, supplier-built tooling validation, Lean or continuous improvement, and knowledge of tooling-related safety standards.

Why Kodiak Aircraft in Sandpoint?

At Kodiak Aircraft, tooling decisions are visible in the way aircraft are actually built. This role gives you the opportunity to stay close to the shop floor, solve practical production problems, and create tools that mechanics trust and use.

Sandpoint offers meaningful aerospace work in a unique location, with Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain nearby. If you enjoy turning real production constraints into better tooling solutions, we would like to hear from you.

Information related to the position:

• The compensation range is $80,000 to $100,000 in base salary plus an annual target bonus.

• The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Daher considers a number of factors when determining salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, skills, and current market conditions.

• At Daher, your total rewards package is more than just your base salary as we offer a full benefit package including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Life insurance, Short- and Long-Term Disability, Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays and more.

Your next opportunity starts here - here are the next steps:

• Review of your application

• An initial conversation with a recruiter

• One or more interviews depending on the position, with the relevant team members and manager(s)

• After the interviews, constructive feedback regardless of the outcome