Character Design Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

Apply here and only here: ​​https://forms.gle/6vbDUVBfKSu6k3Wz5 

Date posted: Dec 12, 2025

Pay: $95,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year + bonus

Application Process: 

Apply here: ​​https://forms.gle/6vbDUVBfKSu6k3Wz5 

• Complete written interview
• Submit cover letter, resume & portfolio

Job description:

We’re Hiring! Join GRAYL as our next Product Development Engineer. We build industry-leading water treatment products that empower adventure for our community. Our new hire will help bring novel water treatment devices to life, create cutting edge designs and solve challenging engineering riddles. You’ll be required to draw, cad, prototype new designs, then test, learn and improve. We’re looking for a CAD wizard who is passionate about solving technical problems and building, testing and delivering to market the highest quality products.

At GRAYL, we don't just build products; we engineer essential gear for life's most challenging expeditions. Our durable, best-in-market purifiers are crafted to withstand the harshest conditions, empowering self-reliant adventure for those who dare to explore. Beyond innovation, we're driven by purpose: we proudly contribute 1% of annual sales revenue to non-profit environmental organizations, and our team enjoys 2 paid volunteer days to support causes they believe in.

Hybrid position - 2-3 days/week in our Seattle office. 4-6 weeks per year of travel, including travel abroad, nights in tents, and dirt under fingernails. 

Our new colleague:

The Product Development Engineer works with a small, talented crew to bring products from proof-of-concept to on-the-shelf goods. This position assists in researching materials and technologies and market potential, uses DFM-influenced CAD to design, build and test prototypes, collaborates with design and manufacturing teams to bring products to life. This individual will effectively communicate across the company to build support for - and receive feedback about - your projects, from a variety of stakeholders.

Our ideal candidate is fueled by a passion for solving water problems on behalf of our customers, who are the most interesting and well-traveled people in the world. You have a proven track record of bringing innovative products from concept to market. You thrive in a collaborative environment, valuing team success over individual accolades. Organized, adaptable, and a natural problem-solver, you embrace ambiguity and are always ready to evolve your approach as new insights emerge.

Our ideal candidate has spent time in the wilds as a member of one or more of our target markets (camp, hunt, overland, MTB, climb/alpine, bushcraft, travel and military). You’ve been thirsty and needed to rely on unsafe water. You have great energy, contribute positively outside their own projects, and bring a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude. 

The Work:

• Use CAD, 3D prints, and sketching to efficiently explain ideas for prototyping and tooling  Please don’t apply if you are not highly proficient in CAD. 
• Understand our consumer's needs and pain points to drive research into the feasibility of technology, materials, and market potential. Share findings in clear, concise and convincing ways to stakeholders
• Experience sourcing materials, working with 3rd party factories across a diverse supply chain.
• Build minimum viable prototypes demonstrating the how and and why. Put stuff together using 3d printing, saws, glue and trips to Lowe’s
• Test the prototypes- use both your own skills as well as external labs. Create protocols and tests to ensure prototypes meet the high standards demanded by GRAYL’s customers
• Share the magic: show and tell findings with colleagues, share models, prototypes and test results with colleagues in a clear and energetic manner
• Collaborate with product managers, developers, content strategists, user researchers, and other designers
• Nurture GRAYL’s culture: work hard, play outdoors, love nature
• Work collaboratively with Product, Research and Engineering partners from concept through completion and future iterations
• Work with industrial design team to refine the design and character while maintaining engineering requirements 
• Stay on top of industry trends and emerging technologies
• Travel regularly - 5-7 international and domestic trips year year. 
• Live in or near Seattle. Work in the office 2-3 times per week (flexible schedule).

Who you are:

• Empathetic. You are relentlessly obsessed with the end user, always seeking to understand our customers' needs and fiercely advocating for their experience
• Mechanical aptitude. Be a technical problem solver. Know how stuff works and figure out how to build it. Able to create and test potential solution paths simultaneously.
• High-level of craft. You have excellent craft and attention to detail, understanding how small nuances interact to create a seamless, intuitive design.
• Collaborative. Listen to and empathize with different perspectives, bring good energy to hard moments and do what you say.
• Adaptable. Embrace iteration and work with pace, bringing vision and direction in the midst of ambiguity.
• Tinkerer. Tinkerer. You're a natural maker, surrounded by tools, with an insatiable curiosity for how things work.
• Entrepreneurial mindset. You understand the larger picture and are eager for your projects to benefit the company and the customer.

Hard Skills:

• CAD proficiency. This is a core aspect of your job. You work efficiently and creatively CAD (must use OnShape, learned easily from Solidworks).
• Understand manufacturing techniques. Injection molding, over molding and blow molding, metal forming and casting, sonic welding, etc. Basic understanding of electronics and the principles of tool making.
• Working knowledge of consumer goods manufacturing: plastics, metals and fabrics. Interest and ability to rapidly become an expert.
• 3-5 years experience in product development for physical products. Experience with high-quality packaged consumer products is ideal, not required.

Details:

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Stock option plan
• 401(k) matching
• Health, vision and dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Relocation assistance
• 2 paid days to donate time to the non-profit of your choice

Work Location: Hybrid, 2-3 days per week in our offices in Seattle, WA 98199

GRAYL Product Development:

GRAYL PD is a small, focused team working on big ideas. Our foundation is built on our patented, breakthrough innovation: a fast, efficient way to filter and purify water. Looking ahead, we have a strong product pipeline and we're seeking a creative, hardworking engineer to help us bring these ideas to life.

About GRAYL

Seattle-based GRAYL® makes innovative water purifiers for international travelers and outdoor explorers so their adventures can be safe, self-reliant and awe inspiring. We are brand focused, quality obsessed and take care of our customers. Since 2013 GRAYL purifiers have hydrated more than a million adventurers. GRAYL believes the greatest moments of life occur when one moves beyond their comfort zone, takes risks, builds connections with different cultures. GRAYL is distributed world-wide and is a member of 1% for the Planet® contributing a portion of every sale to non-profit organizations that protect and preserve the natural environment.

About GRAYL
Seattle-based GRAYL® makes innovative water purifiers for international travelers and outdoor explorers so their adventures can be safe, self-reliant and awe inspiring. We are brand focused, quality obsessed and take care of our customers. Since 2013 GRAYL purifiers have hydrated more than a million adventurers. GRAYL believes the greatest moments of life occur when one moves beyond their comfort zone, takes risks, builds connections with different cultures. GRAYL is distributed world-wide and is a member of 1% for the Planet® contributing a portion of every sale to non-profit organizations that protect and preserve the natural environment.