LFAM Mould / Tooling Designer
Location: Exeter, UK (Clyst Honiton) — office-based, with occasional site travel
Travel: Occasional, UK and international | Salary: Competitive, DOE | Type: Full-time, permanent
About Rapid Fusion
Rapid Fusion designs and manufactures large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) systems built around KUKA robotics, serving the defence, aerospace, marine, and commercial sectors. Our Zeus, Apollo, Cerberus, and Medusa platforms are installed at customer sites across the UK and internationally. Rapid Fusion is part of Evolution AM Holdings, alongside Evo 3D and Evolution Media.
The Role
We're looking for an LFAM Mould/Tooling Designer to join our engineering team at our Exeter office. You'll design large-format moulds, patterns and tooling for production on our LFAM robotic platforms, working closely with our applications, materials and manufacturing teams to turn customer requirements into manufacturable, print-ready tooling for sectors including marine, aerospace, defence and industrial composites.
This is a hands-on design role at a fast-growing company, offering direct exposure to live customer projects — from large-scale mould tooling for marine and composite applications through to bespoke fixtures and jigs — and the chance to shape best practice in an emerging manufacturing technology.
Key Responsibilities
• Design large-format moulds, tools, patterns, jigs and fixtures for production via LFAM robotic printing (pellet and filament-based systems)
• Translate customer requirements, CAD models and surface data into manufacturable, print-optimised tooling designs
• Apply design-for-additive-manufacturing (DfAM) principles, including toolpath, infill, shrinkage, thermal and post-machining allowances specific to LFAM processes
• Work closely with materials, applications and production engineering colleagues to select appropriate materials (e.g. Reinforced pellet composites) for each tooling application
• Prepare detailed design packs, drawings and specifications suitable for internal manufacture and, where relevant, CNC post-machining
• Support slicing/toolpath validation and liaise with software partners and internal teams on build simulation and print strategy
• Contribute to costing and technical proposals for tooling projects, working with sales and commercial colleagues
• Support root-cause investigation and design iteration where print or in-service tooling issues arise
• Maintain design documentation and contribute to the continuous development of Rapid Fusion's tooling design standards and best practice
Requirements
• Proven experience in mould, tooling, pattern or fixture design, ideally within composites, marine, aerospace, automotive or industrial manufacturing
• Strong 3D CAD skills (e.g. SolidWorks, Siemens NX, Fusion 360, Autodesk Inventor or similar)
• Solid understanding of manufacturing processes and DfM principles; exposure to additive manufacturing, composites layup or large-format tooling highly desirable
• Ability to interpret customer surface data, GD&T and engineering drawings, and to produce clear, manufacture-ready documentation
• Good understanding of materials behaviour (shrinkage, thermal expansion, warping) as it relates to mould/tool design
• Strong problem-solving skills and comfort working on novel, first-of-a-kind tooling challenges
• Clear communicator, able to work cross-functionally with applications, production and commercial teams
• Right to work in the UK
Desirable
• Direct experience designing tooling for large-format/robotic additive manufacturing (LFAM) or 3D-printed patterns and moulds
• Familiarity with slicing software for robotic/LFAM systems (e.g. AI Build or similar)
• Experience in marine, defence or aerospace tooling applications
• Knowledge of CNC post-processing/machining of additively manufactured tooling
What We Offer
• Competitive salary
• Company benefits package
• Direct exposure to landmark projects across defence, marine and aerospace sectors
• Small, fast-moving engineering team with hands-on exposure to cutting-edge robotic manufacturing technology
• Genuine opportunity to grow with a rapidly expanding company
How to Apply
Send your CV and a brief note on your relevant experience to enquiries@rapidfusion.co.uk.