Job Description

Overview

The Tool/Die Maker is responsible for making and repairing tools, dies, and fixtures for metal fabricating machines, with duties including operating machine tools, inspecting dies, and performing repairs. This position may involve training others and requires adherence to safety standards.

Responsibilities

  • Receives engineering drawings or blueprints.
  • Operates various machine tools to build dies, construct fixtures, and fabricate prototypes.
  • Checks and inspects dies for damage and implements solutions for repairs.
  • Sets up and operates machine tools for making or repairing tools and dies.
  • Reads blueprints and die specifications to ensure repairs meet tolerances.
  • Operates material handling equipment to lift and move dies safely.
  • Performs routine maintenance on machines and troubleshoots production lines.
  • Maintains records related to die repair and quality standards.
  • May train or instruct others on machining techniques.
  • Recommends improvements and revisions to designs.
  • Maintains inventory levels of spare die components.
  • Completes all paperwork accurately and timely.
  • Complies with company policies and participates in safety activities.
  • Resolves day-to-day issues by collaborating with others.

Requirements

  • Ability to use assigned machinery and equipment.
  • Read and understand blueprints and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GDT).
  • Advanced math skills including calculation of feeds, speeds, and distances.
  • Understand and use measuring equipment such as calipers and micrometers.
  • Use CNC computer programs and control panels.
  • Understand machining properties of various raw materials.
  • Good communication skills for receiving and giving instructions.

Additional Information

  • Location: Wood Dale, IL
  • Reports to: Tool Room Manager
  • Sedentary position with occasional exposure to loud noises and dust.

How this job compares in Wood Dale, IL

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs across Illinois currently run a median of $31/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $26–$38/hr across 271 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Wood Dale, IL

Wood Dale, IL is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 374 other active welding openings from 233 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are S&C Electric Company (15), Gerber Collision & Glass (14), and Staff on Site (13). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $36/hr, Itasca at $36/hr, and Elk Grove Village at $34/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Wood Dale, IL

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Tool & Die Maker Progressive Tooling figures were last recalculated when this page was built.