Mechanical Engineering Design Lead

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage mechanical design efforts on complex projects from concept to implementation.
• Serve as the key technical voice on multi-disciplinary teams, translating between form and function.
• Elevate clients’ climate goals and sustainability best practices through 0-1 physical product development, materials science research, and life cycle analysis (LCA).
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and designers in the craft of physical product realization, sourcing partner manufacturers, and design for manufacturing principles.
• Present design direction through CAD, physical prototypes, and visual storytelling.
• Partner with research, design, and business stakeholders to define project strategies and product direction.
• Build, test, and iterate high-fidelity functional prototypes using 3D printers and machine tools.
• Contribute to and occasionally lead user research throughout concepting and pilot production phases (including in-home visits, ethnographic diary studies, qualitative/quantitative survey analysis, or participatory workshop activities).
• Represent IDEO in client communications, workshops, and presentations.

Requirements

• 5-7+ years of experience in mechanical engineering or product design.
• Proven ability to guide product development through ambiguous problem spaces.
• Deep proficiency in 3D CAD (SolidWorks preferred), Adobe Creative Suite, and rapid physical prototyping tools beyond 3D printing (machining, CNC, lasercutting, foamcore, paper prototyping, etc.).
• Experience launching products and sourcing key manufacturing partners.
• Professional leadership & production experience with one or more of the following:
  • Complex Mechanism Design: proven ability to design, test, and develop robust mechanisms for products like medical devices or consumer electronics.
  • Packaging: Understand basic structural packaging design and sustainability considerations.
  • Health and Life Sciences Products: Usability and functionality with a focus on ergonomics and medical-specific requirements.
  • Injection Molded Plastic Part Design: General knowledge of tooling approaches to aid in part design, including awareness of techniques like overmolding.
  • Design for Manufacturing and Assembly: General understanding of the types of trade-offs and decisions that need to be made when designing a product for mass production.
  • Proof of Concept Prototyping: Functional prototypes to explore a key design challenge and prove something is technically feasible.
  • Research Model Prototyping: Prototyping to create different models to elicit user feedback during research sessions.
• Experience mentoring junior designers and leading small teams.
• Experience working in startups or client-service studios, and a systems-thinking mindset.

Nice-to-Haves

• A leading craft edge in one or more of the following skills:
  • UI/UX design (Figma, Framer, ProtoPie, etc.).
  • Coding/Software Development (Mechatronics, Arduino, Python, etc.).
  • Storytelling tools such as photography, videography.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $110,000–$130,000 USD (base; final offers may vary based on candidate experience, expertise, and other factors).
• Benefits include: Health (vision, dental, healthcare), 401K matching, parental leave, adoption/fertility assistance, flexible work, flexible time off, paid holidays, annual education stipend, home office stipend.