6 free templates for tool rooms and press shops: general, stamping die maker, CNC and EDM, die repair, apprentice, and tool room lead, with press safety and overtime classification written in. Download as DOCX.
The tool and die maker is usually the most experienced person on a small shop floor, and the ad that goes out to hire one is usually the thinnest document in the building. I have watched shops copy a generic machinist posting, change the title, and then wonder why the applicants can run a machine but have never fitted a die section or stood at a press through a tryout.
The trade deserves better, partly because it is disappearing. Federal projections have tool and die maker employment declining while the openings keep arriving, almost all of them created by retirements rather than growth. When you finally reach a maker who is open to a move, the posting has about twenty seconds to prove you know what is in your own tool room.
At FirstHR, we build hiring templates for exactly this kind of employer: the stamping shop, the job shop, and the in-house tool room where the owner or the foreman does the hiring without an HR department. The six templates below cover the real versions of the role, each with the overtime classification, the press safety language, and the tooling fields already written in. Fill in the brackets and post.
TL;DR
Six free tool and die maker job description templates: general, stamping die maker, CNC and EDM, die repair, apprentice, and tool room lead. The role is non-exempt and hourly. Put your die types, press tonnages, tolerances, and press safety rules in the posting. The federal median was $64,050 in May 2025. Download as DOCX.
What a Tool and Die Maker Does
A tool and die maker builds and repairs the tooling that production runs on: stamping dies, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and cutting tools. The federal occupational profile for tool and die makers describes the work as analyzing specifications, laying out metal stock, setting up and operating machine tools, and fitting and assembling parts to make and repair that tooling.
Day to day, the work moves through four stages: plan the sequence from prints and models, machine and grind the details, fit and assemble them at the bench, and try the tooling out until the part comes off to print. Repair is the other half of the job in most shops, because a die that is running earns money and a die on the bench does not. The hand skill is what the trade is actually built on: no program fits a die section for you.
Tool and Die Maker vs Machinist vs Die Setter
The difference is what leaves the shop. A machinist makes parts, a tool and die maker makes the tooling that makes parts, and a die setter or press operator runs that tooling in production. Small shops blur the three in one posting and then hire the wrong skill set.
Setup and operation of lathes, mills, and machining centers
Die changes, first-piece checks, running the press
Precision
Tightest in the shop; fits made by hand at the bench
To print tolerance, often in production runs
To the die and the setup sheet
Typical entry
Apprenticeship or years in a tool room
Trade school, on-the-job training, or apprenticeship
On-the-job training, often from press operation
Hire this role when
Tooling has to be built, fitted, tried out, and kept alive
Parts have to be produced to a print
Presses need changeovers and running production
The boundary matters for pay as well as for skill. Tool and die makers had a median annual wage of $64,050 in May 2025 against $58,750 for machinists, a gap your own shop floor will notice long before a candidate does, which is why the title on the posting should match the bench the person will actually stand at.
Tool and Die Maker Duties and Responsibilities
Tool and die maker duties and responsibilities group into four areas: planning and layout, machining and grinding, fitting and tryout, and repair with inspection and documentation. Every version of the role shares them, with the weight shifting by shop. These are the duties grouped the way the templates below use them.
Plan and lay out
Study prints, models, and die designs
Plan the sequence of operations
Lay out stock and select tool steels
Machine and grind
Run mills, lathes, and grinders, manual or CNC
Cut punches and details on wire or sinker EDM
Hold close tolerances on every detail
Fit, assemble, and try out
Bench-fit and assemble die and fixture components
Set clearances, shut height, and pilots
Run tryout until the part is to print
Repair, inspect, and document
Sharpen, rebuild, and modify tooling on a cycle
Inspect with micrometers, gauge blocks, and indicators
Keep die histories and spare detail records
A strong posting takes 8 to 12 of these and attaches your specifics: the die types and press tonnages, the grinders and EDM equipment, the tolerances you hold, the material and thickness range, and whether tooling is built in house or bought and maintained. Those details are what an experienced maker reads first, and they are also what tells a marginal candidate not to apply.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the version of the trade you are hiring. The build, fit, and repair core runs through all six, but a stamping die maker, an EDM specialist, a repair technician, an apprentice, and a lead are different offers to different candidates, and the matched version always reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
General Tool and Die Maker
Any small tool room
The universal version for a job shop or an in-house tool room: build, fit, try out, and repair dies, jigs, fixtures, and gauges. The right base to adapt.
Die Maker (Stamping)
Progressive and trim dies
For a press shop. Adds progressive and compound die build, shut height and pilot fitting, press tryout, and the sharpening cycle that keeps a die running.
CNC / EDM Tool and Die Maker
Wire and sinker EDM
For a tool room built around EDM and CNC. Adds programming, electrode and wire selection, close-tolerance machining, and bench fitting of what the machine produced.
Die Repair Technician
Press uptime
For a stamping plant that runs its own tooling. Scheduled maintenance, fast repairs when a die comes down, spare detail inventory, and support at changeover.
Tool and Die Apprentice
Build your own journeyman
For a shop that has stopped waiting for the market to supply one. Supervised on-the-job training, related instruction, logged hours, and a published wage progression.
Tool Room Lead
Runs the tooling function
For a growing tool room. Sets priorities when a die comes down, approves work before it goes back in the press, mentors apprentices, and stays on the bench.
Match the Template to the Bench
A general tool room role: General. A stamping shop building and running progressive dies: Die Maker. A tool room built around wire and sinker EDM: CNC / EDM. A press shop that needs uptime more than new builds: Die Repair Technician. A pipeline you are building yourself: Apprentice. A tool room that needs someone to set priorities: Tool Room Lead. Whichever you pick, classify the role as non-exempt and hourly and name the tooling.
6 Free Tool and Die Maker Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, work environment and safety, classification, compensation, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets, name your equipment and tolerances, and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General, stamping die maker, CNC and EDM, die repair, apprentice, and tool room lead. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Tool and Die Maker (General, Small Shop)
The universal version for a job shop or an in-house tool room: build, fit, try out, and repair dies, jigs, fixtures, and gauges, with the tolerance and equipment fields left as fill-ins. The right base to adapt.
Tool and Die Maker Job Description (General, Small Shop)
TOOL AND DIE MAKER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Tool Room Lead / Shop Foreman / Owner]
•Lifting to [____] pounds, with hoists and die carts for heavy
sections
•Lockout/tagout and safety blocks required for die work in a press
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay: [$______ per hour]
Benefits: [health, PTO, tool allowance: __]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a short
list of the tooling you have built or repaired.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Die Maker (Stamping and Progressive Dies)
For a press shop. Adds progressive and compound die build, shut height and pilot fitting, press tryout, and the sharpening cycle, with press tonnage and material range as structured fields.
Die Maker Job Description (Stamping and Progressive Dies)
DIE MAKER JOB DESCRIPTION (STAMPING / PROGRESSIVE DIES)
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Tool Room Lead / Tooling Engineer / Plant Manager]
For a tool room built around EDM and CNC. Adds wire and sinker programming, electrode and parameter selection, close-tolerance machining, and bench fitting of what the machine produced.
•Standing and detailed bench work for extended periods
•Hazard communication training for dielectric fluids and coolants
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay: [$______ per hour]
Benefits: [health, PTO, training budget: __]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the EDM
and CNC equipment you have run.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 4: Die Repair Technician (Press Shop)
For a stamping plant that maintains its own tooling. Scheduled maintenance, fast repairs when a die comes down, spare detail inventory, and support at changeover, with the shift pattern stated honestly.
Die Repair Technician Job Description (Press Shop)
DIE REPAIR TECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION (PRESS SHOP)
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Tool Room Lead / Maintenance Supervisor]
[Company Name] is hiring a Die Repair Technician to keep our
tooling running: scheduled maintenance, fast repairs when a die
comes out of the press, and the sharpening and rebuild cycle that
prevents the next breakdown. The measure of the job is press
uptime and parts to print.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Perform scheduled die maintenance: sharpen, clean, inspect,
lubricate, and replace worn details
•Diagnose and repair die failures pulled from production; return
the die to print condition
•Replace punches, buttons, springs, pilots, and stripper
components
•Support die setters at changeover and during first-piece
qualification
•Read the part to find the die condition that caused the defect:
burrs, slivers, camber, cracking
•Maintain die history records, repair logs, and spare detail
inventory in [system: __]
•Apply lockout/tagout and safety blocks on every job in or on a
press
•Escalate design or process problems the tool room cannot fix
with a repair
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[3+] years of die repair, tool room, or stamping maintenance
experience
•Surface grinding and bench fitting
•Print reading and precision measurement
•Ability to work the [shift / on-call rotation: ____________]
the press schedule requires
•Lockout/tagout discipline; safety blocks used every time,
without exception
•[Apprenticeship, trade school, or NIMS credentials a plus]
WORK ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY
•Press floor and tool room; hearing protection and safety glasses
required
•Lifting to [____] pounds; die sections moved with hoists and
carts
•Exposure to press noise, oils, and metal chips
•Training on our energy control and press safety procedures before
independent work
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay: [$______ per hour] [+ shift differential: _]
Benefits: [health, PTO, tool allowance: __]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the
press tonnages and die types you have supported.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 5: Tool and Die Apprentice
For a shop building its own journeyman through on-the-job training: supervised bench work, related instruction, logged hours, and a published wage progression.
Tool and Die Apprentice Job Description
TOOL AND DIE APPRENTICE JOB DESCRIPTION
Company / Sponsor: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Journeyman Tool and Die Maker / Tool Room Lead]
Employment type: Full-time (W-2 employee)
Program: [Registered apprenticeship: ____ years / in-house
Starting pay: $_____ per hour, increasing on a published
schedule as skills are signed off
POSITION SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Tool and Die Apprentice to learn the
trade under our journeymen: machining, grinding, bench fitting, and
die tryout, plus the related classroom instruction. No tool room
experience is required. Mechanical aptitude, careful measurement,
and the discipline to follow safety rules exactly are.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Work under the direct supervision of a journeyman tool and die
maker until signed off
•Learn print reading, layout, and precision measurement in
sequence
•Assist with machining, surface grinding, and bench fitting of
tooling components
•Learn die assembly, tryout, and repair by supporting experienced
makers
•Complete assigned coursework and required hours [provider:
__]
•Keep the apprentice log current: hours, competencies, and
sign-offs
•Maintain tools, machines, and a clean, organized work area
•Follow every safety rule exactly, including lockout/tagout and
safety blocks; ask before acting when unsure
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[High school diploma or GED]
•18 years or older
•Solid shop math and measurement skills [assessment:
__]
•Mechanical aptitude and genuine interest in precision work
•Reliable attendance; the program depends on logged hours
•No prior tool room experience required
TRAINING AND PROGRESSION
•[Registered apprenticeship: on-the-job hours plus related
technical instruction]
•[NIMS machining credentials as milestones]
•Pay increases at each signed-off skill level
•Path to journeyman tool and die maker
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Starting pay: $_____ per hour, increasing on the published
progression schedule
Benefits: [health, PTO, tuition or tooling support: _____]
To apply, email __ with a short note about what
you have built, fixed, or taken apart.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 6: Tool Room Lead / Supervisor
For a growing tool room. Sets priorities when a die comes down, approves work before it goes back in the press, mentors apprentices, owns tool room safety, and stays on the bench.
Tool Room Lead / Supervisor Job Description
TOOL ROOM LEAD / SUPERVISOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Plant Manager / Owner / Operations Manager]
Employment type: Full-time (W-2 employee)
Direct reports: [____ tool and die makers, apprentices, and die
repair technicians]
FLSA classification: [Confirm by duties and pay. A lead who is on
the bench most of the week is normally non-exempt.]
Pay: [$______ per hour or per year] [+ lead premium: _]
POSITION SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Tool Room Lead to run our tooling
function: what gets built, what gets repaired first, who works on
it, and whether it is right before it goes in the press. You will
stay on the bench for the work that needs your hands, and own the
schedule, the standards, and the development of the crew around
you.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Plan and assign tool room work against the production schedule
and the repair backlog
•Set priorities when a die comes down and production is waiting
•Review and approve tooling builds and repairs before they go
back into service
•Own the preventive maintenance cycle for dies, fixtures, and
gauges
•Quote and schedule outside tooling work; manage vendors and
spare details
•Develop the crew: assign stretch work, mentor apprentices, and
•Work on the bench as the workload requires: approximately ____%
hands-on
•Report tooling costs, downtime causes, and capacity to
[manager: __]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[8+] years as a tool and die maker, including lead experience
•Journeyman documentation or a completed apprenticeship
•Strong die build and repair judgment across [die types:
__]
•Planning and prioritization under production pressure
•Clear, direct communication with the floor and with management
•[OSHA 10 or 30 preferred; employer-paid if not held]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay: [$______ per hour or per year] [+ lead premium: _]
Benefits: [health, PTO, tool allowance: __]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a short
description of the tool room you have run.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Exempt or Non-Exempt?
Tool and die makers are non-exempt under the FLSA, so the role is hourly and owed overtime past 40 hours in a workweek. Settle this before you post, because putting a skilled trade on salary to avoid overtime is one of the most common and most expensive wage-and-hour mistakes a small shop makes.
Department of Labor guidance on technologists and technicians is direct: they do not meet the requirements for the learned professional exemption because they do not work in occupations that have attained recognized professional status. A tool and die maker learns the trade through apprenticeship and years at the bench rather than an advanced specialized academic degree, so the exemption does not apply however skilled the work is. The same holds for die makers, EDM specialists, repair technicians, and apprentices. The one role worth examining is the tool room lead: if management is genuinely the primary duty and the lead directs two or more full-time employees, the executive exemption becomes a question, and the federal salary level for the white-collar exemptions is $684 per week. A lead who is on the bench most of the week normally stays non-exempt. This is general information rather than legal advice; confirm classification with an employment professional.
Press and Tool Room Safety
A tool room attached to a press floor carries safety duties that belong in both the posting and the first week of work. Mechanical power presses have their own OSHA standard, and it speaks directly to die work rather than to production alone. Treat this as a prompt to review the standards that apply to your equipment, not as legal advice.
What 29 CFR 1910.217 Says About Die Work
The mechanical power press standard puts the duty on the employer to provide and insure the usage of point of operation guards on every operation performed on a mechanical power press, requires the employer to provide and enforce the use of safety blocks whenever dies are being adjusted or repaired in the press, and requires the employer to train and instruct the operator in the safe method of work before work starts on any covered operation. Alongside it sit lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147) for energy control during die setting and servicing, and machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212) for the mills, lathes, and grinders in the tool room itself.
In the job description this becomes three plain lines: safety blocks and lockout/tagout on every press job, PPE named rather than implied, and site-specific safety training stated as employer-provided before independent work. In the first week it becomes a documented orientation, backed by a signed health and safety policy and the rest of your OSHA obligations as an employer. Makers who have spent a career around presses read those lines as evidence of a shop that runs its programs.
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A strong posting takes about 30 minutes once you have decided which version of the trade you need. The document is doing three jobs at once: describing a skilled trade precisely enough to be credible, declaring the classification and the safety expectations, and competing for a candidate who has other options. Here is the process the templates are built around.
1
Pick the version of the trade
General maker, stamping die maker, CNC and EDM maker, die repair technician, apprentice, or tool room lead. They are different hires with different pay.
2
Write your tool room into the posting
Die types, press tonnages, material and thickness, grinding and EDM equipment, the tolerances you hold, and whether tooling is built in house or only maintained.
3
Classify the role as non-exempt and hourly
Skilled trades do not meet the learned professional exemption. Publish an hourly range rather than an annual figure that assumes unpaid overtime.
4
Put the press safety layer in writing
Safety blocks and lockout/tagout on every press job, PPE named rather than implied, and site-specific training stated as employer-provided before independent work.
5
Keep requirements answerable and add EEO
Every line should be provable with a document or a demonstration. List credentials as preferred, then close with the equal opportunity statement.
The requirements section is where most postings quietly fail, because vague adjectives cannot be screened and skilled candidates read them as a shop that has not thought the job through. Rewrite each one until a candidate could answer it with a document or a demonstration at the bench.
Weak requirement
Strong requirement
Tool and die experience required
Built and tried out progressive dies in 100 to 400 ton presses; we ask for two examples
Precision-oriented
Holds +/- 0.0005 in on die details and verifies with gauge blocks and indicators
Grinding skills
Surface and jig grinding of punches and die sections, tested on a sample job at hire
Safety-conscious
Uses safety blocks and lockout/tagout on every press job; site safety training we provide
CAD experience a plus
Reads die designs and edits toolpaths in [CAD/CAM system] at the machine
Team player
Works with die setters at changeover and hands off a die with a written condition note
Tool and Die Maker Pay and Outlook
Tool and die makers are among the better-paid production trades, and the market for them is defined by scarcity rather than growth. The posting has to carry a real number, because the maker you want is comparing offers rather than looking for a job.
The Federal Benchmark (BLS, May 2025)
The median annual wage for tool and die makers was $64,050, about $30.79 per hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $44,680 and the highest 10 percent above $92,680. Tool and die makers held about 56,700 jobs, and employment is projected to decline about 9 percent through 2035, while roughly 30,400 openings a year are projected for machinists and tool and die makers combined, almost all of them to replace workers who retire or move on (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Read those two numbers together and the hiring problem is obvious: a shrinking occupation that still empties out every year through retirement. Within the band, die complexity, region, and shift move the rate most, and second-shift differentials and overtime are part of what a maker compares. Because the role is non-exempt, quote an hourly rate and add a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply. Benchmark against the federal median, then adjust for your tooling and your local market rather than posting the national figure as though it were an offer.
Hiring a Tool and Die Maker Without an HR Department
A large stamping operation hires makers through a recruiting team, an apprenticeship coordinator, and a safety department. A twenty-person shop does it with the owner or the foreman, between quotes and a die that came down this morning. Here is what actually moves the needle in that situation.
Post the tooling, not the title, because a tool and die maker screens your ad by what is in the tool room
The single biggest improvement a small shop can make to this posting costs nothing: replace the generic sentences with the contents of your tool room. Which dies, in what press tonnages, on what material and thickness. Whether you have wire EDM, a sinker, a jig grinder, or a surface grinder and a Bridgeport. Whether tooling is built in house or bought and only maintained. Whether the maker will be doing tryout on the press floor or working from a bench in a climate-controlled room. Experienced makers read those specifics first and decide in about twenty seconds whether the job is a step up, a step sideways, or a step into a shop that will ask them to grind on a machine that cannot hold the tolerance. A vague posting reads as a shop that does not know what it needs, which is exactly the shop a scarce tradesperson skips. Ten concrete lines about your equipment and your tooling will outperform two paragraphs about a fast-paced team every time.
The tool room is a press-safety environment, so the die rules belong in the posting and in the first week
Tool and die work runs inside federal safety standards that apply to a fifteen-person stamping shop exactly as they apply to a large plant, and the posting is where a candidate first sees whether you take them seriously. Mechanical power presses are covered by their own standard, which puts the duty to provide and enforce point of operation guarding on the employer, requires safety blocks whenever dies are adjusted or repaired in the press, and requires the employer to train and instruct the operator in the safe method of work before the job starts. Around that sit the control of hazardous energy under 29 CFR 1910.147 and general machine guarding under 29 CFR 1910.212. In practice, this means three lines in the job description, safety blocks and lockout/tagout on every press job, PPE named rather than implied, and site-specific safety training stated as employer-provided, and a documented safety orientation in the first week before the new maker works alone. Makers who have spent a career around presses read those lines as evidence, and they read their absence as evidence too.
The trade is retiring faster than it is replacing itself, so pay honestly and build an apprentice
Federal projections show tool and die maker employment declining about 9 percent through 2035, and yet the openings keep coming, roughly 30,400 a year across machinists and tool and die makers combined, almost entirely to replace people who retire or leave the occupation. That combination is the whole hiring problem in one line: fewer positions, and almost none of them filled by new entrants. A small shop competing for those makers should publish the real hourly range against the federal median rather than hiding behind competitive pay, state the shift and the overtime pattern honestly, and say what a small shop can offer that a large plant cannot, which is usually variety, autonomy, and a direct line to the owner. Then take the pipeline seriously: an apprentice template exists on this page because building a maker over four years has become a realistic alternative to waiting for one to appear. FirstHR handles the part that follows the yes: the offer letter and e-signature, the safety and tooling training checklists with documented sign-offs, credential and apprenticeship records stored against the employee profile, and the onboarding workflow, all built for shops running this without an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR, and FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and for this trade onboarding is where safety and standards get set. Send the offer letter with the hourly rate and the non-exempt classification stated, collect the signed acceptance, complete Form I-9 in the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms.
Then run the trade layer: a documented safety orientation covering press safety, safety blocks, lockout/tagout, guarding, and PPE before the maker works alone; verification and storage of credentials and apprenticeship records; and a walkthrough of your tolerances, die histories, and tryout standards so the new hire works to your expectations rather than the last shop's. A repeatable onboarding template keeps it consistent.
Key Takeaways
Pick the version of the trade before writing: general maker, stamping die maker, CNC and EDM, die repair technician, apprentice, or tool room lead.
A machinist makes parts and a tool and die maker makes the tooling that makes parts, which is the line that decides the title, the pay, and the candidate.
The role is non-exempt and hourly, because skilled trades do not meet the learned professional exemption; only a genuine managing lead raises the question.
Write the press safety layer into the posting: safety blocks and lockout/tagout on every press job, PPE named, and site-specific training as employer-provided.
Put your tool room in the ad, since die types, press tonnages, tolerances, and grinding and EDM equipment are what an experienced maker screens for first.
Benchmark against the federal median of $64,050 (BLS, May 2025), publish an hourly range, and treat an apprentice as a realistic answer to a shrinking labor pool.
Hiring a maker is rare and slow, and everything after the yes should be fast. FirstHR sends the offer letter and policy acknowledgments for e-signature, runs safety and tooling training checklists with completion records, and stores credential and apprenticeship documents against the employee profile. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR, and FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a tool and die maker do?
A tool and die maker builds and repairs the tooling that production runs on: stamping dies, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and cutting tools. The federal occupational profile describes the work as analyzing specifications, laying out metal stock, setting up and operating machine tools, and fitting and assembling parts to make and repair that tooling. In practice the day splits into four parts: planning the sequence from prints and models, machining and grinding the details, fitting and assembling them at the bench, and proving the tooling out until the part comes off to print. Repair and sharpening are the other half of the job in most shops, because a die that is running is worth more than a die that is being built. What separates the trade from general machining is the finished object: a machinist makes parts, and a tool and die maker makes the tooling that makes parts, usually to tighter tolerances and with hand fitting that no program can do for you.
What is the difference between a tool and die maker and a machinist?
The difference is what leaves the shop and how tight it has to be. A machinist produces parts to a print, often in runs, using lathes, mills, and grinders. A tool and die maker produces and repairs the tooling that makes those parts: progressive dies, molds, jigs, fixtures, and gauges, typically to tighter tolerances, with bench fitting and tryout as core skills rather than extras. The federal wage data reflects the gap in specialization: tool and die makers had a median annual wage of $64,050 in May 2025 against $58,750 for machinists. The trades share a foundation, and many makers start as machinists, which is why a strong machinist with grinding and fitting instincts is a realistic apprentice candidate. For your posting, the practical test is simple: if the output is customer parts, hire a machinist; if the output is tooling that has to be fitted, tried out, and kept alive in a press, hire a tool and die maker and say so in the title.
Is a tool and die maker exempt or non-exempt from overtime?
Non-exempt, which means hourly pay and overtime past 40 hours in a workweek. Department of Labor guidance on technologists and technicians states that they do not meet the requirements for the learned professional exemption because they do not work in occupations that have attained recognized professional status. A tool and die maker learns the trade through apprenticeship, trade school, and years at the bench rather than through an advanced specialized academic degree, so the exemption does not apply no matter how skilled the work is or how much the shop depends on it. The same conclusion holds for die makers, EDM specialists, die repair technicians, and apprentices. The one role worth a closer look is the tool room lead: if that person genuinely manages as a primary duty and directs the work of two or more full-time employees, the executive exemption becomes a question, and the federal salary level for the white-collar exemptions is $684 per week. Most leads who are on the bench most of the week stay non-exempt. This is general information rather than legal advice.
What OSHA rules apply to a tool room and a press shop?
Three standards do most of the work in a stamping environment. Mechanical power presses have their own standard, 29 CFR 1910.217, which makes it the employer’s responsibility to provide and enforce point of operation guarding on every operation performed on a mechanical power press, requires safety blocks whenever dies are being adjusted or repaired in the press, and requires the employer to train and instruct the operator in the safe method of work before work starts on any covered operation. The control of hazardous energy, 29 CFR 1910.147, governs the lockout and tagout procedures that apply during die setting, maintenance, and servicing. General machine guarding, 29 CFR 1910.212, covers the mills, lathes, and grinders in the tool room itself. For hiring, the practical result is that safety blocks, lockout/tagout, and PPE belong in the job description as explicit lines, and the first week should include a documented safety orientation before the new hire works alone. Review the standards for your own equipment; this is not legal advice.
What qualifications and certifications does a tool and die maker need?
Print reading, layout, machining and grinding, bench fitting, and precision measurement, gained through an apprenticeship or years in a tool room. There is no license for the trade. Federal guidance notes that tool and die makers typically enter with a high school diploma and may also complete postsecondary courses, and that apprenticeship programs combine paid on-the-job training with related technical instruction lasting several years. On the credential side, NIMS machining credentials validate specific competencies and are the most recognized marker, and a journeyman card or completed apprenticeship documentation carries weight where a candidate has one. Set the bar by what your tooling requires rather than by paper: the tolerances you hold, the die types you run, the grinding and EDM equipment in the room. List credentials as preferred rather than required, because much of this trade learned at the bench under someone who is now retired, and a rigid requirement screens out the makers you are trying to reach.
How much does a tool and die maker make?
The federal median annual wage for tool and die makers was $64,050 in May 2025, about $30.79 an hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $44,680 and the highest 10 percent above $92,680. That puts the trade above machinists, whose median was $58,750, which is the internal comparison your own shop floor will make first. Region, die complexity, and shift matter more than the national number: a maker building progressive dies in a high-cost metro with second-shift differential sits near the top of the band, while a general tool room role in a low-cost area sits nearer the middle. Because the role is non-exempt, publish an hourly rate rather than an annual salary that quietly assumes free overtime, and include a good-faith range where your state or city requires one. Benchmark against the federal median, then adjust for your die types and your local market rather than posting the national figure as if it were an offer.
How do I write a tool and die maker job description?
Start by deciding which version of the trade you are hiring, because a stamping die maker, an EDM specialist, a die repair technician, an apprentice, and a tool room lead are five different hires with different pay and different candidates. Then write the tool room into the posting: the die types, the press tonnages, the material and thickness range, the grinding and EDM equipment, the tolerances you hold, and whether tooling is built in house or only maintained. State the classification as non-exempt and hourly, and publish a real range. Put the safety layer in as explicit lines: safety blocks and lockout/tagout on press work, PPE named, and site-specific training stated as employer-provided. Keep the requirements answerable with a document or a demonstration, list credentials as preferred, and close with the equal opportunity statement. The six templates on this page carry that structure already, so the work is filling in your brackets rather than starting from a blank page.
What happens after I hire a tool and die maker?
Safety and standards come first, and both should be documented. Send the offer letter with the hourly rate and the non-exempt classification stated, collect the signed acceptance, complete Form I-9 within the first days, and gather tax forms. Then run the trade-specific layer: a documented safety orientation covering press safety, safety blocks, lockout/tagout, guarding, and PPE before the maker works alone; verification and storage of any credentials or apprenticeship records; signed safety policy acknowledgments; and a walkthrough of your tolerances, die histories, and tryout standards so the new hire works to your expectations rather than the last shop’s. For an apprentice, set up hour logging and the wage progression at the start rather than reconstructing it later. FirstHR runs this sequence in one place for an owner-led shop: offer letters and policy acknowledgments by e-signature, training checklists with completion records, and credential storage tied to the employee profile. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
