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Industrial Design Director

We are looking for an Industrial Design Director to help lead the Industrial Design practice in our NY Studio and partner with our current ID leadership.

The Industrial Design Director should have prior consulting experience, and be excited to participate in business development, provide hands on project leadership and manage a team of designers from staff to senior level.

The Industrial Design practice at Smart is very hands‑on; designers make stuff, work with engineers, create prototypes, test their concepts with real users with the goal of helping improve the way people live and work. Accordingly, the ideal candidate will have a well‑developed sense of form, proportion, color and materials to appropriately lead client work. But he/she is also comfortable and eager to lead some client work on the front‑end of innovation that may not result in a physical product.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to business development activities in collaboration with Smart's leadership team (planning and scoping projects, presenting and storytelling in pitches, outreach, etc.)
• Lead product development projects driven by user insights with expert understanding of core ID skills (sketching, digital visualization, CAD, materials and manufacturing knowledge, design sensibility) and also front end of innovation programs that may influence a product roadmap, with no tangible deliverable.
• Advocate for design vision and process to clients and teams.
• Manage staff, defining responsibilities and expectations for report‑tos, and project team members, providing project guidance and helping their professional growth.
• Be active in the design community in forms of competitions, teaching, or thought leadership such as blog posts, speaking engagements, etc.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience as an industrial designer.
• Specific experience in a consulting environment leading human‑centered design projects.
• Experience managing a team of designers.
• Experience in business development and project scoping.
• Passion for conceptualizing and designing meaningful product solutions for people in their homes (sustainability, CPG, healthcare, and new product strategy a plus).
• Organized and comfortable leading project teams and client meetings.
• Incredible 2D skills like hand sketching, Illustrator, and Photoshop rendering.
• Equally incredible 3D CAD skills like Rhino and SolidWorks.
• Ability to confidently present your design to clients and answer any questions.

Salary range: ,000-,000 depending on experience. Smart Design is based in Brooklyn, NY, with onsite work 3 days per week. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.