Sand Casting Lead

Travel: Up to 10% (both Domestic & International) based on company travel policy

Timing / Shift: India / Europe Shift / 6-day (Mon-Sat) Work Week / (9.30 am – 6.30pm IST) Winter DLS Time / (10.00 am – 7.30 pm IST) Summer, with Lunch Break

Website: WWW.APOLLONIANTECH.COM

Email: HR@APOLLONIANTECH.COM

Location: Hyderabad, India

Employment Type: Full-time

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly seasoned Sand Casting Lead with a minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in foundry operations, casting engineering, and large-scale casting production. This role requires mastery in casting simulation, process optimization, cost modeling, and supplier-managed manufacturing. The successful candidate will lead a team of 4–5 casting or process engineers, providing technical direction, mentoring, and workflow coordination.

The role demands deep expertise in large sand castings of 3 meters and above, high-integrity casting design, value engineering, and simplification of casting processes. This position is critical in driving robust manufacturability, process efficiency, cost realism, and delivery performance across internal and outsourced foundry operations—including both casting and machining vendors.

• Core Technical Responsibilities1. Technical Leadership & Team Management Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 4–5 casting/process specialists in simulation, gating design, metallurgy fundamentals, and casting defect troubleshooting.
• Allocate workloads, review simulation outputs, and ensure adherence to quality and safety standards.
• Provide training on MAGMA, ProCAST, and advanced sand casting methodologies.
• Conduct performance reviews and drive continuous improvement within the casting engineering team.
• 2. Advanced Casting Simulation & Solidification EngineeringExecute complex mold-flow, filling, and solidification simulation using MAGMA, ProCAST, or equivalent platforms.
• Optimize gating, riser placement, feeding systems, thermal gradients, and solidification pathways.
• Predict defect mechanisms such as shrinkage porosity, hot spots, cold shuts, misruns, gas traps, and implement corrective design actions.
• Validate simulation outputs with process data and real-world casting results.
• 3. Sand Casting Process Engineering & Simplification Engineer simplified casting processes aimed at reducing complexity in core design, molding steps, and pattern construction.
• Develop improved parting-line strategies, mold box configurations, riser/feeder systems, and core-making approaches.
• Evaluate materials, binder systems, sand compaction techniques, and molding technologies for large-format castings (3m+ envelope).
• Drive value engineering initiatives to simplify casting geometry while meeting functional and structural requirements.
• 4. Cost Engineering & Data-Driven Supplier Negotiation Develop accurate casting cost models, incorporating melt cost, sand system cost, pattern/tooling cost, feeding aids, yield losses, and labor rates.
• Benchmark vendor quotations against cost models and process capability assessments.
• Conduct fact-based negotiations grounded in simulation data, casting yields, and bottom-up cost structures.
• Support sourcing teams in selecting optimal foundries for cost, capability, and quality.
• 5. Large Sand Casting Expertise Provide technical oversight for the production of large castings (3m+ dimensions or 4+ Tons single piece weight) including mold design, core assembly, tooling development, and pouring operations.
• Assess foundry capability, pouring capacity, ladle handling, melting furnace characteristics, and thermal control strategies for heavy castings.
• Evaluate shrinkage compensation, thermal distortion, and dimensional stability in oversized components.
• 6. Cast Part Inspection & Metrology Oversee dimensional inspection of cast parts using 3D scanning, CMMs, laser trackers, or template-based gauging.
• Interpret casting tolerances, machining allowances, and GD&T requirements.
• Lead defect identification and root-cause analysis for issues such as inclusions, porosity, weld repairs, and surface finish deviations.
• Implement corrective measures to eliminate recurring casting defects.
• 7. Project & Vendor ManagementLead the end-to-end casting project lifecycle—including DFM for castings, simulation validation, sampling, PPAP/FAI, and production ramp-up.
• Evaluate foundry vendors and machining partners for capability, process consistency, pattern-making quality, and capacity planning.
• Enforce technical requirements and ensure suppliers meet quality, timeline, and cost commitments.
• Coordinate machining vendors to ensure downstream dimensional accuracy and surface finish requirements.
• 8. Manufacturing Documentation. Generate comprehensive casting documentation including gating/risering design sheets, process sheets, simulation reports, tooling specifications, and inspection plans.
• Maintain traceability across design changes, tooling upgrades, and process revisions.
• Ensure all documentation aligns with internal quality systems and customer audit requirements.
• 9. Technical Communication. Communicate complex casting concepts clearly in strong professional English with cross-functional teams, suppliers, and customers.
• Present simulation results, defect analyses, risk assessments, and cost-reduction proposals in a structured, technically sound format.
• Required Qualifications15+ years of progressive foundry experience in sand casting process development, tooling design, and large casting manufacturing.
• Proven leadership experience managing a team of engineering specialists.
• Expert-level proficiency in MAGMA, ProCAST, or equivalent casting simulation tools.
• Hands-on experience with large-scale castings (3m+ envelope) and complex multi-core structures.
• Strong grasp of GD&T, casting tolerances, and dimensional inspection techniques.
• Proven capability in cost estimation, process-based negotiation, and vendor performance management.
• Excellent spoken and written English.