Supervisor, Platinum, Refractory and Mold Shop Services

Supervisor, Platinum, Refractory and Mold Shop Services

Lead and coordinate refractory, mold shop and precious metal casting operations with a focus on platinum and other precious metals. The Supervisor is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient, and compliant production of molds and castings, maintaining refractory systems and furnaces, managing a skilled team, and delivering high-quality components to print and tolerance. This role balances hands-on technical oversight with personnel leadership, quality control, process improvement and adherence to safety and regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise day-to-day refractory, mold shop and casting activities, including scheduling work, allocating resources and monitoring progress to meet production targets and delivery dates.
• Provide technical leadership and hands-on support for mold making (ceramic shell, investment/lost-wax, sand), mold shop operations and pattern/tooling development.
• Oversee high-temperature operations including induction melting, vacuum induction melting (VIM), crucible maintenance, furnace lining and kiln operation; ensure proper melting and pouring procedures for platinum and other precious metals.
• Manage refractory installation, repair and maintenance tasks including gunning, ramming, troweling, mixing refractory mortars and castables, and lining furnaces to maintain thermal performance and equipment life.
• Implement and enforce safety and environmental controls (OSHA, HAZMAT, MSDS), including safe handling of platinum/precious metals, hot work permits and use of personal protective equipment.
• Maintain and improve quality systems (ISO) and process control (SPC); coordinate non-destructive testing (NDT), dimensional inspection and metrology to verify conformance to blueprints and tolerance requirements.
• Lead troubleshooting and root cause analysis for casting defects, furnace or refractory failures and process variability; implement corrective actions and preventive measures.
• Coordinate heat treatment, annealing and post-cast finishing operations including grinding, polishing and other finishing steps required for precision/platinum castings.
• Supervise toolroom practices, pattern making and CAD/CAM interface for tooling and mold design; coordinate CNC machining for molds and tooling when required.
• Manage inventory of crucibles, refractory materials, consumables and tooling; order supplies, control costs and maintain documentation for traceability of precious metals and materials.
• Train, mentor and evaluate shop staff; develop skills in mold making, refractory work, furnace operation, safe metal handling and inspection techniques.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality and Maintenance to support new product introductions, tooling updates and continuous improvement projects to increase yield and reduce cycle time.
• Ensure proper material handling practices are followed, including use of cranes, hoists, forklifts and secure precious metal storage and transport procedures.
• Prepare and maintain production records, work instructions and safety/quality documentation; report metrics and KPIs to management and participate in audits.

Qualifications

• Associate degree, trade certification or equivalent experience in foundry technology, metallurgy, materials engineering, manufacturing or a related field;
  Bachelors degree preferred.
• Minimum 7+ years hands-on experience in refractory and mold shop operations with at least 3 years in a supervisory or lead role, preferably in platinum or precious metal casting environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in mold making techniques: ceramic shell building, investment (lost-wax) casting, sand casting and mold shop workflow.
• Strong experience with high-temperature furnace operation, vacuum induction melting (VIM), induction melting, melting and pouring procedures and crucible maintenance.
• Proven skills in refractory installation and repair (lining furnaces, gunning, ramming, troweling) and mixing of refractory mortars and castables.
• Experience with heat treatment and annealing processes, casting defect analysis and troubleshooting methods.
• Familiarity with non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques and dimensional inspection/metrology; ability to read and interpret blueprints and tolerance specifications.
• Working knowledge of CAD/CAM for tooling and pattern design, and practical understanding of CNC machining applied to molds and tooling.
• Hands-on toolroom experience and pattern making, plus finishing skills including grinding, polishing and welding; brazing and soldering skills a plus.
• Strong process control and statistical process control (SPC) experience; experience supporting ISO quality systems and audit requirements.
• Demonstrated commitment to safety and regulatory compliance (OSHA, HAZMAT, MSDS) with experience implementing safety programs.
• Certifications or experience operating material handling equipment such as cranes, hoists and forklifts; experience with secure precious metal handling procedures.
• Excellent leadership,…