Head of Industrial Design, Hardware

AI Foundry; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 225,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and Dental benefits

401K

Opportunity to shape AI strategy for 1

Job summary

AI Foundry is seeking a Head of Industrial Design to define the physical product experience for a hardware business built from the ground up. You will lead design vision, user experience, form, materials, ergonomics, prototyping, and the connection between product intent and engineering execution.

You will oversee an industrial design function, create design systems, and ensure craft, usability, and coherence across hardware products.

Qualifications

• Led industrial design for hardware products or major features from concept to production.
• Strong craft and ability to translate design direction into tangible outcomes quickly.
• Deep understanding of materials, manufacturing processes, ergonomics, prototyping, and physical product constraints.

Responsibilities

• Define the industrial design vision for hardware from concept through production.
• Lead form, materials, ergonomics, interaction touchpoints, CMF direction, prototyping, and design validation.
• Translate product strategy and user needs into physical design concepts suitable for engineering and manufacturing.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical and electrical engineering, manufacturing, product, and leadership.
• Create sketches, models, prototypes, design systems, and decision-ready artifacts.
• Uphold high standards for craft, usability, fit, finish, and product coherence.
• Navigate tradeoffs among design intent, technical constraints, cost, manufacturing, durability, and schedule.
• Build and lead an industrial design function as the hardware organization scales.
• Represent design in leadership conversations with clarity, conviction, and practical judgment.

Skills

Industrial design leadership

Hardware product design

Materials and ergonomics

Prototyping & CMF

Cross-functional collaboration

Design rationale communication

AI tooling for design

Tools

CAD/3D modeling

CMF direction

Prototype fabrication

Job description

Head of Industrial Design

AI Foundry is an AI building and consulting business working with some of the largest companies in the world. AI Foundry is partnered with a major global company operating across finance, consumer, and retail verticals, leading their AI efforts from the ground up.The team is seeking builders who want to be part of something massive: designing and building multi-agent AI systems that will reshape how hundreds of millions of people interact with financial services, retail, insurance, and consumer products.AI Foundry is looking for a Head of Industrial Design to define the physical product experience for a hardware business being built from the ground up. This person will lead design vision, user experience, form, materials, ergonomics, prototyping, and the connection between product intent and engineering execution.If you can create hardware that feels considered, useful, manufacturable, and differentiated, we want to hear from you.

Compensation: $225K - $350K

Travel Requirement: International travel required to India 8+ times per year

What You'll Do

• Define the industrial design vision for hardware products from early concept through production.
• Lead form, materials, ergonomics, interaction touchpoints, CMF direction, prototyping, and design validation.
• Translate product strategy and user needs into physical design concepts that can be engineered and manufactured.
• Work closely with mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing, product, and leadership.
• Create sketches, models, prototypes, design systems, presentation materials, and decision-ready artifacts.
• Hold a high bar for craft, usability, fit, finish, and product coherence.
• Navigate tradeoffs between design intent, technical constraints, cost, manufacturing, durability, and schedule.
• Build and lead an industrial design function as the hardware organization scales.
• Represent design in leadership conversations with clarity, conviction, and practical judgment.

Who You Are

• You have led industrial design for hardware products that reached production or serious validation.
• You have strong taste, strong craft, and the ability to make design direction tangible quickly.
• You understand materials, manufacturing processes, ergonomics, prototyping, and physical product constraints.
• You can collaborate deeply with engineering and manufacturing without losing the quality of the product experience.
• You communicate design rationale clearly to executives, engineers, vendors, and operators.
• You can move from open-ended concept work to practical production decisions.
• You are comfortable building a design function from scratch.
• You can hold a high bar without becoming precious or disconnected from execution.
• You are energized by creating products that feel useful, polished, and memorable.
• You use modern tools, including AI where useful, to accelerate exploration and communication.

How We Work

We are looking for people who use AI to raise the speed, quality, and ambition of the work while staying grounded in customers, teammates, and measurable outcomes.We are hands-on with AI and technical tools, and we make ideas tangible through prototypes, clear artifacts, and working systems.We move quickly, share work early, and keep refining until the product experience feels useful, polished and memorable.We focus on the hardest problems and the outcomes that matter, with the judgment to change course when the evidence points somewhere better.We communicate clearly enough that teammates, leaders, and AI-assisted workflows can act on our thinking across time zones.We collaborate with openness and respect, build on other people's ideas and treat shared ownership as part of doing excellent work.We speak up directly and constructively when something looks wrong, then commit fully once a decision is made.

Benefits & More

• Medical and Dental benefits
• 401K
• Opportunity to shape AI strategy for 500M+ users