Industrial Design Director

Responsibilities

• Lead industrial design execution for assigned product platforms and NPD programs, ensuring alignment to design intent, user needs, and business objectives.
• Apply and help evolve Hayward’s Visual Design Language (VDL) across assigned product platforms and NPD programs, ensuring consistency and brand alignment across both physical and digital touchpoints.
• Ensure high standards of design quality, usability, and manufacturability from early concepts through production release.
• Translate complex customer needs and use cases into holistic product experiences balancing aesthetics, ergonomics, usability, theory of operation, technical feasibility, and manufacturability.
• Design for the full product lifecycle including installation, setup, operation, troubleshooting, service, and long-term ownership across multiple user personas.
• Partner closely with Product, Mechanical, Electrical, Firmware, Software, UX, and Cloud teams to maintain design intent while resolving technical constraints throughout development and through launch.
• Support early-stage concept exploration for next-generation connected products, including proof-of-concept and proof-of-technology efforts within defined program scope.
• Create and evaluate low-, mid-, and high-fidelity prototypes to inform product definition, validate assumptions, communicate design intent and proctor user experience testing.
• Prepare prototypes and design artifacts to support cross-functional design reviews and program decisions.
• Collaborate with internal VOC, Human Factors, and Insights teams and Product Management to incorporate user insights across multiple personas into product concepts and value propositions.
• Support early validation activities and contribute to strong Phase 0 concepts and requirements definition.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative insights into clear, actionable design direction.
• Work as an equal partner with Product Management and Engineering within Hayward’s NPD trifecta to frame problems, align tradeoffs, and land decisions.
• Support design control activities including requirements alignment, risk documentation, and design-for-manufacturing considerations.
• Collaborate with external partners as needed to support program execution under defined direction.
• Provide day-to-day guidance, feedback, and mentorship to designers and cross-functional partners, supporting skill development and design quality.
• Promote design best practices and a collaborative, user-focused design culture within the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design or related field.
• Seven or more years of professional Industrial Design experience leading complex manufactured products or programs.
• Proven experience designing connected devices and systems integrating physical hardware with digital experiences.
• Strong understanding of the full product development lifecycle from research through production release.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product and system design work, including consistent VDL execution across a portfolio of disparate product archetypes.
• Ability to travel domestically approximately 10–20%, with occasional international travel.

What We Look For (Preferred)

• Mix of corporate and consultancy experience.
• Advanced CAD and surfacing capability.
• Demonstrated interest in mentorship, influence, and design leadership.