Principal, Molding & Tooling Engineering

About the role

Alcon is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead molding and tooling initiatives across its global medical‑device manufacturing network. The role will drive innovation, improve throughput, and support new‑product introductions for plastic components.

Key responsibilities

• Design and develop precision mold tooling and optimise injection‑moulding processes for efficiency, reliability and part quality.
• Lead and approve improvements, validations and qualification of moulds, tooling support systems and moulding equipment.
• Provide technical guidance during mould maintenance, qualification and equipment troubleshooting.
• Investigate process issues and implement advanced improvements using capability studies, DOE, root‑cause analysis and validation activities (IQ/OQ/PQ).
• Oversee mould trials, document processes and assess raw‑material impacts on performance.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional partners to reduce defects, enhance mould performance and increase production throughput.
• Scout and evaluate advanced tooling technologies, recommend capital investments and support tooling standardisation.
• Manage New Product Introduction from concept through production ramp‑up, partnering with suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians and ensure compliance with regulatory, safety and quality requirements.

Required profile

• Subject‑matter expert in injection‑moulding processes and mould/tooling design.
• Proven experience leading technical initiatives in a global manufacturing environment.
• Strong background in New Product Introduction and continuous‑improvement projects.
• Ability to work with suppliers, contract manufacturers and cross‑functional teams.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and technicians.

Required skills

• Injection moulding
• Mould and tooling design
• Design of Experiments (DOE)
• Root‑cause analysis
• Capability studies
• Validation protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ)
• Automation performance optimisation
• Quality control for medical‑device components
• Capital investment justification