Industrial Design Project Manager (Fractional / Part-Time)

About the role

This is a fractional role: our project pipeline is growing. We are bringing on an Industrial Design Project Manager on a part-time, fractional basis specifically to manage that overflow, so every project keeps its rigor and pace even when the studio is at full tilt.

Responsibilities

• Build and own project roadmaps, schedules, and milestones — mapping dependencies across design and engineering so nothing slips silently
• Manage timelines, budgets, and scope across multiple concurrent client engagements
• Manage personnel, processes, as it relates to product development
• Forecast resourcing and studio capacity — know what each project needs before it needs it, and keep time-tracking systems current
• Drive cross-functional execution between industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering/firmware, and the founding team
• Identify risks, blockers, and dependencies early — and clear them
• Facilitate tradeoff decisions between design intent, engineering constraints, and client requirements
• Scope and document deliverables, manage client expectations, and secure clear client sign-off before work begins
• Run design reviews, build schedules, and client check-ins, and turn them into clear, tracked next steps
• Communicate status, priorities, and risk to the team, the founder, and clients — clearly and without spin
• Track prototyping and engineering milestones from concept through DFMA, EVT, DVT, and PVT
• Grow your program management craft with direct, hands-on mentorship from the founder
• Work on-site with the team in our San Jose studio

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial design or equivalent
• Direct experience in industrial design and/or hardware product development — you understand the design process from the inside(consultancy experience preferred)
• Ability to guide designers, extended team members, and stakeholders through the end-to-end industrial design process
• Exceptional verbal, visual, and written communication skills for a wide range of audiences
• Ability to facilitate solutions to complex problems with engineering, design, and supplier teams
• Ability to lead a team on large number of projects while ensuring design and business goals are met
• Demonstrate qualifications with a portfolio of leadership and hands-on design across a wide range of high-volume consumer products
• 3–6 years of lead project or program management experience — formal, or hands-on within an industrial design or hardware team — and a clear ambition to make program management your career
• A track record of owning timelines, budgets, or client scope on real, shipped projects
• Working knowledge of engineering and prototyping processes, including DFMA, EVT, DVT, and PVT
• Strong organizational skills and the people skills to move cross-functional teams without direct authority
• Clear written communication — you can turn a messy project into a scope document, a schedule, and a status update people actually read
• Comfortable building and maintaining schedules, and the drive to get fluent fast with project management tools (Asana, Jira, Smartsheet, Linear, or similar)
• Branding or brand-development experience
• A bias for action and steadiness under pressure — comfortable making priority calls when timelines compress

Qualifications

• Must live within commuting distance of our San Jose studio and work on-site (no remote or hybrid)

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working as an industrial designer
• A strong eye for design and the ability to speak credibly about craft
• Any formal project management exposure or training (Agile/Scrum, PMP/CAPM, or similar) — or the drive to pursue it
• Experience coordinating with engineering teams and external vendors or contract manufacturers
• Familiarity with AI tools in a design or production workflow
• Fluency with Slack and modern collaboration tools
• Design consultancy or agency experience