Location: Yokohama, Japan
Work Style: Hybrid
Salary: 10–11 million JPY (depending on experience)
Overview
An exciting opportunity for an Automotive Plastics Engineer to join a global automotive supplier developing advanced plastic components for next-generation vehicle platforms.
In this role, you will support the development of automotive plastic products from concept through mass production, working closely with manufacturing, tooling suppliers, production engineering teams, and global engineering organizations. The position offers a broad range of responsibilities across product development, injection molding, and manufacturing support.
The company provides a collaborative engineering environment, hybrid work flexibility, an experienced leadership team, and products with strong long-term growth potential.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the development of automotive plastic components from concept through mass production
- Collaborate with manufacturing, production engineering, and tooling suppliers throughout the product lifecycle
- Support injection mold development, mold trials, tooling validation, and process improvements
- Review product designs and provide recommendations to improve manufacturability, quality, and cost
- Support new product launches and ensure a smooth transition into mass production
- Investigate and resolve molding, tooling, and production-related technical issues
- Coordinate engineering changes and support continuous improvement initiatives
- Work closely with Japanese and global engineering teams to resolve technical challenges
- Communicate with suppliers and internal stakeholders to achieve quality, cost, and delivery objectives
Requirements
- Experience in automotive plastic component development, injection molding, mold design, tooling, or production engineering
- Understanding of plastic injection molding processes and molded product development
- Experience working with tooling suppliers, mold manufacturers, or production teams
- Experience supporting products from development through mass production
- Background in mechanical engineering, product development, manufacturing engineering, or a related discipline
- Business-level Japanese
- English communication skills are an advantage
Nice to Have
- Experience with an automotive Tier 1 supplier
- Experience with injection mold trials, mold modification, or tooling development
- Knowledge of DFM, APQP, PPAP, FMEA, or automotive quality processes
- Experience using CAD software such as CATIA, NX, Creo, or SolidWorks
- Experience collaborating with global engineering teams
Typical Backgrounds
This opportunity may be a good fit for candidates with experience as a:
- Automotive Plastics Engineer
- Plastic Product Engineer
- Mechanical Design Engineer
- Mold Engineer
- Tooling Engineer
- Injection Molding Engineer
- Production Engineer
- Application Engineer supporting automotive plastic components
Why this role?
This is an opportunity to join a well-established global automotive supplier developing products with strong long-term market demand.
You’ll work on advanced automotive plastic components alongside experienced engineers while collaborating with both Japanese and international development teams. The role offers broad exposure across product development, manufacturing, and tooling, making it an excellent opportunity for engineers looking to expand their technical expertise in a collaborative hybrid work environment.
