Director, Industrial Design

True Anomaly; Long Beach, Denver, Washington (CA, CO, District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity + Benefits

Job summary

True Anomaly in Long Beach, CA or Denver, CO, or Washington DC, or Remote seeks an inspirational creative leader to found our industrial product design function and build the team around it. With a well-established software design group, you’ll tackle hardwar e needs and shape a design language that performs in the harsh space environment.

Reporting directly to our Creative Director, you will hire, set standards, and drive design from concept to production, influencing early decisions and

Qualifications

• Portfolio showing hardware you led with clear decisions.
• Experience leading designers, from hiring to mentoring.
• Credibility with engineers solving structural/thermal problems.
• Background in consumer/auto/aerospace/industrial equipment; defense/space knowledge welcome.
• Active security clearance is a bonus.

Responsibilities

• Establish industrial design function, standards, and working relationships with hardware engineering.
• Own the design language of our hardware products and champion its value across the company.
• Hire and lead a high-performing team of industrial and product designers.
• Visualize and push visually stunning new concepts to start conversations and inspire.
• Bring design into engineering and architecture decisions early, influencing hardware from the start.

Skills

Hardware design leadership

Team leadership

Engineering collaboration

Defense/space knowledge

Security clearance bonus

Job description

Long Beach, CA or Denver, CO, or Washington DC, or Remote

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

• Be the offset.We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What would it take?We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It’s the people.Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

YOUR MISSION

Leaders like you are essential to this mission–to inspire, define, and build. This is some of the most meaningful workyou’llever do, in an industry devoted to protecting the people you care about.

We’relooking for an inspirationalcreativeleader tofoundour industrialproductdesign function and build the team around it.Witha well-establishedand growingsoftware design teamwe’renow turning our attention toourcriticalhardwareneeds.You’llsit alongside the engineers designing and building spacecraftandspace-based interceptors,bringing your design aestheticsto thetoughesthardwareproblems around, designed tooperateflawlessly in the most challengingdomain.

You’llreportdirectlytoour Creative Directorwho’sbuilding this function for people who care as much about the craft as the mission.

WHY THIS ROLE

There’sno established playbook for how space security hardware should look. Moston-orbithardware looks the way it does becausefunction dictatedevery element.We believebuilding aproductcompelling design language can play a huge part inmaking our hardware express its function and perform better.

The programs thatinvest heregain ameasurableadvantage: in recruiting, in customer confidence, and in the engineering discipline that visible craft quietly enforces.

This is a founding seat.You’lldefine what industrial design means here, set the standard, hire the team, and do it while the hardware is still early enough for it to matter. Your work will be inspected at the highest levels of government and militarywithsome of itmaking it to orbit.

Ifyou’veever wanted your craft to carry real weight,this is that job.

RESPONSIBILITIES — design leadership for hardware

• Establish industrial design at True Anomaly: the function, the standard, and the working relationship with hardware engineering
• Own the design language of our hardwareproductsthrough your team andyourpersonalwork,You’llchampiongreat designacross the company bydemonstratingits value and advocatingtoour exec and engineering teams.
• Hire and lead ahigh-performingteam of industrial and product designers
• Look to the future by visualizingvisually stunningnew concepts,designed to start conversationsand inspire. Push us out of our comfort zoneand challengethe art of the possible.
• Bring design intoengineeringand architecture decisions early, working withproduct engineeringleadershipearly toinfluence and buildgreat designinto our hardware from the beginning.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Show us a portfolio of hardware you led or shaped, with a clear account of what you decided and why
• Demonstrate experience leading designers, from hiringtomentoring
• Fluency with engineering constraint.You’llbe working with people solving structural, thermal, andotherproblems, you need to be credible with them
• Consumer, automotive, aerospace, robotics, medical, and industrial equipment backgrounds all fit. Defense and space knowledge is great, wedon’texpect it
• An active security clearance is a bonus, not a requirement.

WHAT WE EXPECT

• Leverage your experience to work quickly and efficiently,we’rea lean team, everyone needs to pitch in and move fast.You’llbe building a team, and until that team exists,you’llbe doing the work yourself
• Take ownership of design programs and see them through concept to final execution

If you like this role but your skills or experiencedon’tquite fit… well apply anyway, or look at our other hardware design role and see ifthat’sa better match: SENIOR/STAFF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

COMPENSATION

• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location — Successful candidates will be located near Long Beach, CA or Denver, CO. However, we would consider remote within the US for the right candidate.
• Work environment — the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands — the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting,liftingand driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us.