How To Become A Tool Design Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tool design engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

A Tool Design Engineer designs new tools and also make design improvement to existing ones. You are responsible for creating blueprints and schematics for tools. You will also determine the specifications on tools to ensure efficiency and work with the production team to implement designs based on specifications.

The tool design engineer also carries out calculations to determine the dimension, materials, and cost of producing newly designed tools. You may also be responsible for communicating with the production team, tracking performance, and suggesting an improvement to reduce tool breakdown and reduce maintenance costs. A tool design engineer has a creative mind. This is a basic requirement for this role.

Academic qualifications may vary from one employer to the other. Maths skills and a good knowledge of basic engineering may also be necessary. An ability to use AutoCAD systems and other design tools may also be necessary. The average annual income for a tool design engineer is $75,000.

What general advice would you give to a tool design engineer?

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University

Stay current. Engineering evolves continuously; new tools, new technologies, and new areas where engineers can contribute, learn, and work. When graduating, students have the feeling they are set for their careers. However, this is not true; they might be set to start their careers. To be consistently successful in their pages, they need to stay informed and updated.

ScoreTool Design EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $76,918

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 10.34%

Black or African American 3.39%

Hispanic or Latino 9.25%

Unknown 4.59%

White 72.32%

Gender

female 6.51%

male 93.49%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tool design engineer

Explore tool design engineer education requirements

Most common tool design engineer degrees

Bachelor's

59.7 %

Associate

28.8 %

Master's

6.3 %

Start to develop specific tool design engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Solidworks	8.12%
Jigs	7.51%
GD	6.10%
Engineering Drawings	5.87%
Aerospace	5.44%

Complete relevant tool design engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tool design engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tool design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tool design engineer resumes.

Research tool design engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
Design, document and procure prototype and production ready tooling using AutoCad, ProE and SolidWorks.
Draft and revise new and current drawings using computer aid programs such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks.
Used both manual drafting techniques and CAD/CAM systems.

Prepare your tool design engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tool design engineer resume.

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