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Color Material Finish Designer Jobs in California

ARCH Motorcycle

Junior Designer

Hawthorne, CA

$25 - $35/hr

As a Junior Designer you will perform design visualization from initial mock-up renderings to final ... Passion for color, material and finish, and CMF portfolio content. * Software Expertise: High ...

Arch Motorcycle

Junior Designer

Hawthorne, CA · On-site

As a Junior Designer you will perform design visualization from initial mock-up renderings to final ... Passion for color, material and finish, and CMF portfolio content. * Software Expertise: High ...

Robot.com

Industrial/Product Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Create prototypes and support CMF (Color, Material & Finish) exploration and iterative refinement ... Experience designing physical products, ideally with exposure to hardware, robotics, or consumer ...

Pair Eyewear

$170K - $180K/yr

Direct materials, color, and finish (CMF) - selecting and combining acetate, metal, and mixed ... A frame designer with a strong point of view on style, form, and what makes eyewear feel special.

Gantri

Lead Industrial Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We enable any designer or brand to create high-quality, sustainable design products 10x faster with ... You will define and scale Gantri's product design systems, spanning CMF (color, material, finish ...

Gantri

Lead Industrial Designer

San Francisco, CA

We enable any designer or brand to create high-quality, sustainable design products 10x faster with ... You will define and scale Gantri's product design systems, spanning CMF (color, material, finish ...

Gantri

Lead Industrial Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We enable any designer or brand to create high-quality, sustainable design products 10x faster with ... You will define and scale Gantri's product design systems, spanning CMF (color, material, finish ...

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All JobsColor Material Finish Designer JobsColor Material Finish Designer Jobs in California

Color Material Finish Designer information

What is the difference between Color Material Finish Designer vs Product Designer?

AspectColor Material Finish DesignerProduct Designer
CredentialsDesign degree, knowledge of materials, color theoryDesign degree, user experience, interface skills
Work EnvironmentManufacturing, industrial design studios, material labsDigital platforms, startups, tech companies
Industry UsageAutomotive, consumer goods, furnitureApps, websites, consumer electronics

The Color Material Finish Designer focuses on selecting and applying colors, materials, and finishes to enhance product aesthetics and functionality, often working closely with manufacturing teams. In contrast, the Product Designer emphasizes overall user experience, interface, and functionality of a product. While both roles require a strong design background, their focus areas and work environments differ significantly.

What does a Color Material Finish (CMF) Designer do?

A Color Material Finish (CMF) Designer is responsible for selecting and developing the colors, materials, and surface finishes used in products such as cars, electronics, and furniture. Their work ensures that products not only look appealing but also feel appropriate, are functional, and reflect the brand's identity. CMF Designers collaborate closely with engineers, industrial designers, and marketing teams to create a cohesive visual and tactile experience for consumers. They consider trends, durability, environmental impact, and manufacturability when making their choices.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Color Material Finish Designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Color Material Finish Designer, you need a strong background in design, color theory, materials science, and typically a degree in industrial, textile, or graphic design. Proficiency with CAD software, Adobe Creative Suite, and material specification tools is essential, along with knowledge of manufacturing processes. Creativity, attention to detail, and strong communication skills set standout professionals apart in this role. These skills ensure innovative, feasible, and market-appropriate design solutions that enhance a product's visual and tactile appeal.

How does a Color Material Finish (CMF) Designer typically collaborate with engineers and marketing teams during a product development cycle?

A CMF Designer works closely with engineers to ensure that color, material, and finish selections are feasible for manufacturing and meet technical requirements. At the same time, they partner with marketing teams to align the product’s visual and tactile qualities with brand identity and consumer trends. Effective communication and frequent cross-functional meetings are common, as CMF Designers must balance creative vision with practical constraints and market expectations. This collaborative approach ensures that the final product is both visually compelling and manufacturable.
What are popular job titles related to Color Material Finish Designer jobs in California? For Color Material Finish Designer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Color Material Finish Designer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Color Material Finish Designer jobs in California are:
Color Material Finish Designer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Color Material Finish Designer job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 74% Full Time, 21% Part Time, 3% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 96% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 3% Remote job distribution.
Color Material Finish : Engineering Program Manager

Color Material Finish : Engineering Program Manager

Apple

Cupertino, CA • On-site

$159K/yr

Full-time

Posted yesterday

Apple rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 675 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7th of 30 rated technology retailers

Job description

Apple's Industrial Design team is looking for a CMF Engineering Program Manager to work with the internal color team on delivering world-class colors, materials, and finishes for all Apple products. The right candidate will have outstanding organizational skills and be able to see multiple projects through from design exploration to engineering development all the way to manufacturing, while working with multiple groups internal and external to Apple.
Description
Color EPMs are responsible for tracking, managing and driving multiple color palettes for multiple products, all with different lead times and release dates. They must juggle multiple project schedules in order to ensure the deadlines for color design decisions and engineering builds are met. A huge part of the job entails ownership of hundreds of physical samples and documents that are crucial for the product development cycle.
- Need to quickly pivot and switch gears during iterative design process and inevitable design changes
- Understand product timelines on the design and engineering side
- Hold running weekly designer reviews and meetings with engineers and delicately move things forward when needed
- Ingest and prioritize a great deal of information then translate it to multiple audiences (manufacturing, engineers, designers) oftentimes in different formats
- Technically fluent enough to distill information and ask the right questions / troubleshoot with engineers
- Maintain ownership of color targets, master standards, and build units
- Work across multiple groups: vendors, product teams, research teams, manufacturing
Minimum Qualifications
Superb organizations skills
Experience with managing large amounts of information
Technical background in the fields of material science, engineering, consumer products, textiles, fashion or automotive
Ability to take direction & work independently as well as collaboratively
Excellent verbal & written communication
High emotional intelligence: able to filter information, understand urgency, and know appropriate time to initiate conversation
Knowledge of Keynote, Excel, Numbers
Preferred Qualifications
Engineering Degree preferred
Interest in learning fundamentals of color science

What Apple employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

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About Apple

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Imagine what you could do here! At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, intelligent people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products. The same real passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our dedication to leave the world better than we found it.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Cupertino, CA, US

Year founded

1976

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