Industrial Designer, Development Engineering

WhiteWater West; Richmond; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

WhiteWater is seeking an Industrial Designer to join the Development Engineering team in Richmond, BC. You will contribute to aesthetic refinement, user touch-point improvements, and manufacturability across live projects and early concepts.

In this role you will balance form and function, advance reusable geometry, and provide CAD support while collaborating with engineers and designers to ensure design intent is preserved through prototyping and implementation.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of industrial design or development engineering experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to balance aesthetics, engineering judgment, and manufacturability.
• Ability to do concept hand sketches.
• Experience with complex geometry and organic surfacing.
• Familiarity with design for manufacture and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Support Development Leads through the Product Development Stage Gate Process with CAD development and documentation.
• Develop and refine aesthetic design solutions for new products and product updates, focusing on organic, cohesive forms.
• Guide early-stage concepts toward practical and manufacturable solutions balancing aesthetics and engineering constraints.
• Collaborate with designers and engineers to improve product surfaces, transitions, and user-facing details.
• Contribute to CAD modeling, drawing development, and design documentation to support project execution.
• Support design reviews by providing input on appearance, usability, consistency, and manufacturability.

Skills

Visual design

Team collaboration

Communication

Problem-solving

Time management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design

Tools

SolidWorks

AutoCAD

KeyShot

Blender

Unreal Engine

Job description

WhiteWater makes products, but at our heart, we are a service business, and that means we are a people business. In this way, we excel and create value for our clients by listening to their needs, collaborating to create solutions, problem-solving and attending to the details. Our culture, as you would expect, reflects these traits. We are a diverse group of experts, from creative designers to talented engineers. Whatever the expertise we bring from all over the world, we listen and learn from each other because we are aligned behind a clearly understood purpose: together we create fun for families everywhere.

Position Industrial Designer, Development Engineering

Shift: 40 hours | Full-time
Department Development Engineering
Location Richmond, BC, Canada

Reports to Senior Development Lead, Development Engineering

The Industrial Designer (Development Engineering) plays a key role in enhancing the aesthetic quality, usability, and manufacturability of new and evolving products within WhiteWater’s Development Engineering team. Working in direct support of Development Leads, this role helps guide designs toward compelling and consistent forms while ensuring concepts remain practical, structurally compatible, and aligned with existing product architecture.

The successful candidate will contribute across active development projects and early-stage concept work, with the majority of the role focused on supporting live projects through aesthetic refinement, user touch-point improvement, reusable geometry development, and CAD/drawing support. This role bridges industrial design thinking with engineering execution to help deliver distinctive, buildable, and commercially viable new products.

YOUR ROLE

• Support Development Leads throughout the Product Development Stage Gate Process by contributing to product form, design refinement, CAD development, and documentation activities.
• Develop and refine aesthetic design solutions for new products and product updates, with a focus on organic, visually compelling, and cohesive forms.
• Help guide early-stage concepts toward practical and manufacturable solutions by balancing aesthetics, reusable part strategies, and engineering constraints.
• Work closely with designers and engineers to improve product surfaces, transitions, touch points, and user-facing details.
• Contribute to the simplification of part architecture by identifying opportunities to reuse shapes, reduce part count, and create larger consistent surfaces through repeatable geometry.
• Ensure concepts and product layouts are compatible with standard structural engineering principles and can be effectively refined by structural engineering teams.
• Contribute to CAD modeling, drawing development, and design documentation as required to support project execution.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure design intent is preserved through development, prototyping, and implementation.
• Support design reviews by providing input on product appearance, usability, consistency, practicality, and manufacturability.
• Contribute to product requirement discussions related to aesthetics, ergonomics, usability, and customer-facing design features.
• Assist with prototype evaluation, mock-ups, and design iteration where needed to validate form, usability, and buildability.
• Follow established Engineering Change Order (ECO) processes and support continuous improvement through NCR / OFI procedures.
• Periodically travel to support reviews, prototype evaluation, testing, or commissioning activities as needed.

YOU BRING

• 5–7 years of industrial design, product design, or development engineering experience, preferably in a product development environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering, or diploma in a related technical discipline. A combination of design and engineering experience will be strongly considered.
• Demonstrated experience developing products with a strong balance of aesthetic intent, practical engineering judgment, and manufacturability.
• Ability to do concept “hand sketches”
• Experience working on products with complex geometry, organic surfacing, or visually driven forms.
• Proficiency with renduring tools (Keyshot, Blender, Unreal Engine, etc.).
• Proficiency with SolidWorks for CAD modeling and design development.
• Familiarity with AutoCAD for review and coordination with structural design information.
• Experience with:

• Design for manufacture and assembly
• Engineering drawings and product documentation
• Product development in a cross-functional environment
• Working within PDM / PLM systems
• Collaborating with engineers, designers, and fabrication/manufacturing stakeholders

• The following experience would be considered an asset:

• Industrial design or user-experience-driven product development
• Surface modeling and aesthetic refinement of physical products
• Design involving metals, plastics, fiberglass, or composite components
• Prototype development and hands‑on product evaluation
• 3D printing/model making
• Experience in amusement, architecture‑inspired product design, consumer products, or other design‑sensitive industries

• Must be legally eligible to work in Canada.
• Must be able to travel worldwide without restrictions.

Soft Skills

• Strong visual and spatial design sense, with the ability to translate ideas into practical product solutions.
• Ability to work in a team or matrix environment and independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively with Development Leads, designers, structural engineers, and other disciplines.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain design intent and trade‑offs clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Creative, innovative, and open to new concepts.
• Curious, detail‑oriented, and motivated to improve both product quality and development efficiency.
• Strong time management, organization, and priority‑setting skills.
• Hands‑on, proactive, and willing to do what it takes to move projects forward.

WHITEWATER COMPETENCIES

• Accountability – We do what we say
• Collaboration – We work well together
• Customer Focus – We know and respond to our customers
• Communication – We listen to and understand each other
• Authenticity – We are honest and trust each other
• Resilience – We deal effectively with pressure, are persistent and optimistic
• Flexibility & Adaptability – We are willing and able to respond to changing circumstances.

WhiteWater is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate the diversity of all employees and applicants and are strongly committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone.

We thank all the candidates who take the time and energy to apply. Given the size of our team, it makes responding personally to each applicant submission difficult, but please know we are grateful for your interest. We look forward to connecting with you through this search or future ones. All the best in your job search.