How To Become A Tooling Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tooling manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A tooling manager supervises the production, maintenance, storage, and utilization of industrial tools. They typically oversee the gathering and analyzing of data on different tools as well as the storage of records and keeping of inventory. As a result, you need a wide knowledge of industrial tools to function as a tooling manager. Tooling managers manage and assess the performance of tooling suppliers while keeping a database of qualified tooling suppliers. They also oversee the design and technical support teams. Plus, they work hand in hand with technical support teams to resolve hardware and software-related issues.

Tooling managers earn an average annual salary of $122,780 and $59.03 per hour. However, you need a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or other related fields to work as a tooling manager. The skills that stand out the most for preferred candidates are project management, technical writing skills, maintenance of facilities, use of CAD, and effective administration skills.

ScoreTooling ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $118,897

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 5.47%

Black or African American 12.36%

Hispanic or Latino 14.45%

Unknown 4.22%

White 62.79%

Gender

female 10.46%

male 89.54%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tooling manager

Explore tooling manager education requirements

Most common tooling manager degrees

Bachelor's

43.4 %

Associate

24.5 %

High School Diploma

16.9 %

Start to develop specific tooling manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	20.99%
Continuous Improvement	8.66%
CNC	5.44%
CAD	4.61%
Preventative Maintenance	4.57%

Complete relevant tooling manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tooling managers 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 tooling manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tooling manager resumes.

Gain additional tooling manager certifications

Tooling manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific tooling manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for tooling managers include Master of Die Casting Tooling and National Certification in Plastics (NCP).

More About Certifications

Research tooling manager duties and responsibilities

Manage fastener development and prototyping, and work to reduce cost across large part of fastener commodities.
Lead JSA prior to picking up tools to run in wellbore and to pulling out wellbore and laying down tools.
Supervise fishing operations and manage rig controls and risk analyses.
Manage daily operations of precision machining facility that produces components for the medical and aerospace industry.

Prepare your tooling manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tooling manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tooling manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tooling manager resume templates

Build a professional tooling manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your tooling manager resume.