New Product Industrial Designer
About the Division
Spectrum Brands’ Home & Garden business unit, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, operates distribution, manufacturing, and sales offices across the US and globally. We are a leading supplier of consumer products for the home, lawn and garden, insect, and weed control markets. Our well-recognized brands include Spectracide®, Hot Shot®, Cutter®, Repel®, Black Flag®, Garden Safe®, EcoLogic®, and Liquid Fence®.
About the Role
The New Product Industrial Designer plays a key role in Spectrum Brands’ Home & Garden Research and Development team, translating consumer desires and needs into innovative, consumer-focused delivery systems and devices. This position collaborates closely with engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and other R&D functions to design and prototype new products, emphasizing usability, ergonomics, form, function, and market relevance. The role requires strong technical proficiency and engineering knowledge, driving consumer-led innovation and new product development processes.
Responsibilities
- Understand consumer insights and translate them into unique consumer experiences and products, championing a consumer-first mentality across the organization.
- Collaborate with Marketing, New Product Development, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to identify and develop innovation opportunities.
- Develop design concepts focusing on ergonomics, form, and function for hard and packaged goods through sketching, rendering, and digital modeling (2D and 3D).
- Create aesthetic solid models and digital renderings using software such as SolidWorks and Keyshot.
- Develop physical form study models and mockups using rapid and mechanical prototyping techniques, iterating through concept-prototype-repeat cycles.
- Model, prototype, and test looks-like and functional prototypes using rapid prototyping and conventional fabrication methods.
- Design technically sound products that delight consumers and address unmet needs.
- Build and maintain key supplier relationships to accelerate product implementation.
- Balance aesthetic design with technical and functional considerations.
- Actively participate in technical and consumer-focused brainstorming sessions.
- Incorporate AI-driven generation and iterative development into the design process.
- Maintain mechanical prototype machinery (e.g., table saw, band saw) and rapid prototyping equipment (e.g., FDM, PolyJet).
- Apply design-for-manufacturing principles and collaborate with mechanical engineering to execute product designs.
- Manage multiple projects with attention to detail, adhering to project priorities and timelines.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design.
- 4+ years of experience in industrial design, with 3+ years in hard goods design execution.
- Proficiency in Acrobat Pro, SolidWorks (or other 3D modeling software), Keyshot, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), and PowerPoint.
- Experience in consumer-packaged goods preferred.
- Consumer science experience, including central location tests, ethnographies, and in-home usage tests, is a plus.
- Portfolio demonstrating expertise in creative thinking, design thinking, problem-solving, aesthetics, prototyping, and iterative design.
- Knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes for hard and packaged goods, such as injection molding, blow molding, and thermoforming.
- Strong collaboration skills, working with internal and external stakeholders on aesthetic design, moldability, assembly, and design-for-manufacturing.
- Project and time management capabilities to deliver priorities efficiently.
- Advanced knowledge of design-for-manufacturing and mechanical engineering collaboration.
This role is not eligible for sponsorship.
Skills
- Strong sketching and conceptual abilities.
- Exceptional design sense to create visually appealing and user-friendly products.
- Ability to prioritize and reconcile competing directions.
- Consumer-led design mindset and processes.
- Advanced proficiency in 3D modeling (SolidWorks, Siemens NX).
- Skilled in 3D rendering (Keyshot preferred).
- Hands-on experience with rapid and mechanical fabrication.
- Proficient in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for CAD version control and documentation.
- Experience with StageGate processes.
- Proficiency in hard goods and consumer-packaged goods manufacturing and assembly for commercialization.
- Excellent problem-solving and communication skills (oral and written).
Work Environment
This is a hybrid role, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays and in-office work Tuesday through Thursday. Relocation assistance may be provided for candidates outside the commuting area. Working conditions are typical for an office environment.