Design & Automation Engineer

Socket.dev; Aurora (CO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company benefits program

Job summary

Lava Island is seeking a hands-on Mechanical/Product Designer to own the development of playground and jump deck equipment from concept through build-ready specifications in Autodesk Inventor.

You will also design automation using iLogic to scale production, lead the transition from AutoCAD to Inventor, and train the team while collaborating with the design/architecture group in Revit and with production leadership on site in Denver.

Qualifications

• Original design work in Autodesk Inventor from concept through build-ready specs.
• Hands-on iLogic experience designing automation.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and BOMs.
• Experience integrating CAD with automation/robotics.
• Experience leading a CAD platform transition.
• On-site production environment readiness.

Responsibilities

• Design playground and jump deck equipment from concept through build-ready specification in Autodesk Inventor.
• Review drawings and models for accuracy, manufacturability, and compliance with design standards.
• Build a library of reusable design templates, standard parts, and documentation.
• Design and refine warehouse automation and machine programming using iLogic and Inventor API.
• Evaluate and recommend equipment upgrades to improve manufacturing efficiency.
• Move APS from AutoCAD to Inventor, building training materials and coaching the team.
• Coordinate with Design/architecture team in Revit for integration with building layouts.
• Partner with production leadership to refine designs based on feedback.

Skills

Mechanical design

Original design work

Teaching/training

Reading engineering drawings

Automation mindset

CAD standards

On-site collaboration

Education

Autodesk Certified Professional in Inventor

Equivalent Inventor experience

Tools

Autodesk Inventor

iLogic

Revit familiarity

Microsoft 365 / PDM systems

Job description

Welcome to Lava Island

Lava Island is an indoor play oasis where kids fly across trampolines, vanish into towering jungle gyms, dive into foam pits, and race down slides while families share pizza and celebrate birthdays in the party rooms. It is loud, bright, and full of energy.

Every trampoline, deck, slide, and play piece is made by hand. Active Play Solutions (APS) is the team that makes them. Before any of it gets built, somebody has to design it. That is you.

The Job

You will own original product design for Lava Island's playground and jump deck equipment, built in Autodesk Inventor, from first concept through build-ready specification. You will also design the automation, using iLogic, that makes APS's production floor smarter and more efficient as manufacturing scales.

This is a from-scratch role. You are not maintaining files somebody else built, you are the one building them, and you will lead APS's move from AutoCAD to Inventor, training the team on the new way of working as you go.

Why APS

• Real design authority. Build from concept, not from a spec somebody else already made.
• Two disciplines, one seat. Product design and automation both live on your desk.
• Build something. The CAD standards and design library for APS are being built right now. You help set how it runs.
• Own the transition. Lead the move to Inventor and shape how design works here going forward.
• Denver home base. On-site, minimal travel.
• Per company benefits program.

What You Will Do

Design the equipment

• Design playground and jump deck equipment from concept through build-ready specification in Autodesk Inventor.
• Review drawings and models for accuracy, manufacturability, and compliance with our design standards.
• Build a library of reusable design templates, standard parts, and design documentation for APS.

Build the automation

• Design and refine warehouse automation and machine programming, using iLogic and Inventor's API, as production volume scales.
• Evaluate and recommend equipment and tooling upgrades that improve manufacturing efficiency.

Lead the transition

• Move APS from AutoCAD to Inventor, building the training materials and coaching the team through it.

Coordinate across teams

• Work with the Design/architecture team in Revit so equipment integrates cleanly with building layouts.
• Partner with production floor leadership to refine designs based on real build feedback.
  

What You Need

• 5+ years in mechanical or product design, with real, original design work in Autodesk Inventor, not just editing existing files.
• Autodesk Certified Professional in Inventor for Mechanical Design (or equivalent) is strongly preferred, and matters more to us than a four-year degree. Real, demonstrated Inventor and iLogic experience is what we're looking for.
• Hands-on iLogic experience. This is the core of the automation side of the job, not a nice-to-have. Being an Inventor user isn't enough on its own; we need someone who has actually built iLogic rules and automation.
• Strong working knowledge of Inventor iProperties, including their role in drawings, bills of materials, and design documentation.
• Experience integrating CAD design with automation, CNC, or robotics systems.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and manufacturing requirements.
• Comfortable teaching others a new tool and new design standards.
• Comfortable working on-site in a production/warehouse environment.
• Comfort with email, digital documentation, and design/PDM systems. APS operates in a Microsoft 365 environment.

Background in playground, amusement, or structural steel manufacturing is a plus. So is familiarity with Revit, experience building configurable product models, experience with process automation or “smart” manufacturing systems, and having led a CAD platform transition before.

Ready to Build What's Next?

If you want to be the one designing what Lava Island builds next, not just running someone else's files, we want to meet you.