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Soft Goods Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Flexjet

Soft Goods Tech (SFB)

Sanford, FL · On-site

Able to distinguish colors and align intricate or elaborate designs in fabrics. * Must possess required tools and tool box. * Must not be allergic to chemicals, solvents, paints, adhesives, natural ...

AXL Advanced

Tactical Gear Product Designer

Wylie, TX · On-site

$12 - $20/hr

AXL is looking to hire a tactical gear product designer who can identify innovative products to ... Soft Goods/Sewn Design Skills We are looking for: * Sewing * Tactical Nylon Gear * Outdoor gear ...

Flexjet

Soft Goods Tech (SFB)

Sanford, FL

Able to distinguish colors and align intricate or elaborate designs in fabrics. * Must possess required tools and tool box. * Must not be allergic to chemicals, solvents, paints, adhesives, natural ...

OSI Engineering, Inc.

Head of Product Designer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$300K - $350K/yr

... designed to be worn comfortably for extended periods of time. Role Overview: * Own ID and ME for ... Lead the integration of electronics into soft goods: flex PCB packaging, rigid-island placement ...

AXL Advanced

Tactical Gear Product Designer

Wylie, TX · On-site

$12 - $20/hr

Soft Goods/Sewn Design Skills We are looking for: * Sewing * Tactical Nylon Gear * Outdoor gear ... AXL Advanced designs and manufactures high-performance upgrades and stand alone products for ...

LF Studios

Animatronic Digital Designer

Cincinnati, OH · On-site

Design integration of composite surfaces to structures, mechanisms, soft goods, etc. * To prepare models informed by real-world mechanical designs. * Daily responsibilities will include designing the ...

YETI Coolers LLC

Product Developer II

Austin, TX · On-site

The Soft Goods Product Developer is a full-time position based in Austin, TX. A Soft Goods Product ... Work with Designers to deliver and communicate technical drawing packages to our manufacturing ...

YETI Coolers LLC

Product Developer II

Austin, TX · On-site

The Soft Goods Product Developer is a full-time position based in Austin, TX. A Soft Goods Product ... Work with Designers to deliver and communicate technical drawing packages to our manufacturing ...

Spin Master

Senior Designer, Plush [Contract]

New York, NY · On-site

$40 - $52.50/hr

As a Senior Designer, you will focus primarily on plush and soft goods, bringing original IP, legacy GUND collections, and licensed properties from initial concept to final production. You will ...

CAMPBELL CLINIC PC

Cast Tech

Germantown, TN · On-site

POSITION SUMMARY Designs, applies, removes and adjusts a wide variety of casts, splints, soft goods and other orthopaedic devices as directed by the physician. Essential Functions Statement(s)

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Soft Goods Designer information

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$75.5K

$128.3K

$188K

How much do soft goods designer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for soft goods designer in the United States is $128,257.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $110,000.00 and $144,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What types of products does a Soft Goods Designer typically work on, and who do they collaborate with?

Soft Goods Designers typically work on products such as backpacks, luggage, footwear, apparel, wearable technology accessories, and furniture upholstery—essentially, any item made with flexible materials like fabrics or leathers. In this role, you will frequently collaborate with industrial designers, engineers, product managers, and manufacturers to ensure your designs meet both user needs and production requirements. Expect to work in a fast-paced environment where prototypes are built, tested, and iterated quickly. Daily tasks often include sketching concepts, selecting materials, creating patterns, and refining prototypes based on feedback from the team and end users. This collaborative process helps ensure the final products are both functional and appealing, leading to high-quality designs that stand out in the market.

What is a Soft Goods Designer job?

A Soft Goods Designer is a professional who specializes in designing textile-based products such as bags, accessories, upholstery, and wearable items. They work with fabrics, patterns, and materials to create functional and aesthetically appealing products. Their role often involves sketching designs, selecting appropriate materials, and collaborating with manufacturers to ensure production quality. Many Soft Goods Designers work in industries like fashion, furniture, outdoor gear, or medical textiles. Strong knowledge of textiles, sewing techniques, and product development is essential for success in this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Soft Goods Designer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Soft Goods Designer, you need a solid background in textile design, pattern making, sewing, and an understanding of material properties, often supported by a degree in industrial, fashion, or product design. Familiarity with CAD software, 2D/3D modeling tools, and prototyping equipment is typically required, as is knowledge of fabrication processes and relevant industry certifications. Strong communication, creative problem-solving, and attention to detail are essential soft skills for collaborating with cross-functional teams and translating concepts into functional products. These skills ensure successful development of innovative, user-friendly soft goods that meet both aesthetic and functional requirements.

What cities are hiring for Soft Goods Designer jobs? Cities with the most Soft Goods Designer job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Soft Goods Designer jobs? The most popular types of Soft Goods Designer jobs are:
What states have the most Soft Goods Designer jobs? States with the most job openings for Soft Goods Designer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Soft Goods Designer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Soft Goods Designer jobs are:
Soft Goods Designer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Soft Goods Designer job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 7% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $128,257 per year, or $61.7 per hour.
Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design

Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design

OpenAI

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$266K - $295K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 3 days ago

Job description

About the Team
Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples' lives.
About the Role
We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer to lead the engineering, characterization, and productionization of flexible and compliant components in robotic platforms.
You will partner closely with cross-functional teams to translate material concepts into engineered subsystems that meet functional, durability, and manufacturing requirements. This role focuses on understanding how soft materials behave in dynamic mechanical systems - including fatigue, creep, hysteresis, wear, and environmental degradation - and designing assemblies that perform consistently at scale.
You will work with materials such as elastomers, foams, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), engineered fabrics, knitted and woven textiles, cables, and other flexible load-bearing or transmission elements, integrating them with rigid hardware, sensors, and actuators using fabrication methods such as bonding, molding, lamination, and sewn assemblies.
This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person presence 4 days a week.
In this role, you will
  • Design and integrate compliant or flexible materials into mechanical subsystems and rigid hardware interfaces.
  • Leverage FEA tools to characterize material behavior under operational loads, including tension, compression, abrasion, fatigue, and environmental exposure.
  • Develop test methods and validation protocols to evaluate durability, performance, and failure modes of soft components.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to transition early prototypes into manufacturable designs.
  • Source and evaluate materials in collaboration with supply chain partners and specialty fabricators.
  • Work with contract manufacturers on fabrication methods such as bonding, lamination, molding, overmolding, cut-and-sew, and composite layups.
  • Analyze system-level tradeoffs between compliance, durability, manufacturability, and integration constraints.
  • Document material specifications, test data, and mechanical performance to support design iteration and production readiness.
  • Investigate field failures and iterate designs based on observed wear patterns and performance degradation.

You might thrive in this role if you
  • Understand mechanical tradeoffs in elastomers, foams, textiles, and flexible composites.
  • Enjoy working across the full lifecycle from early prototyping through production.
  • Can develop test fixtures or experiments to characterize material or assembly behavior.
  • Are comfortable collaborating with both design and manufacturing partners.
  • Are detail-oriented and rigorous about documentation and repeatability.

Preferred qualifications
  • Degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent.
  • Experience with A-surface and cosmetic component development
  • Experience integrating soft or compliant components into robotic, wearable, medical, automotive, or industrial hardware systems.
  • Familiarity with environmental or durability testing (abrasion, ingress, cyclic loading, UV, temperature).
  • Experience working with contract manufacturers or specialty fabricators.
  • Familiarity with material characterization methods for flexible materials.
  • Experience transitioning flexible-material prototypes into production designs.

About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI's Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

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