Industrial Design Director

Vuly Play; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Vuly Play, an Australian-owned outdoor play company, seeks an Industrial Design Director to lead our product design function and report to the CEO. You will coach designers and ensure multiple major products move from concept to production on schedule, with global collaboration across Asia and manufacturing partners.

You'll drive design direction, maintain a cohesive brand language, and manage timing for key seasonal launches, including Christmas, while empowering teams to make decisions and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in Industrial or Product Design.
• Proven track record delivering physical products to mass production.
• Strong plastics, tooling, and manufacturing constraint knowledge.
• Ability to lead senior designers and maintain design language.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a team of Industrial Designers across multiple launches.
• Translate CEO design parameters into executable outcomes.
• Ensure on-time delivery through development, tooling, and production.
• Build alignment with DFM, engineering, tooling, safety teams across Asia.
• Escalate risks to launch dates early.

Skills

Industrial design leadership

Mass production experience

SolidWorks proficiency

Design for Manufacturing

Project coaching

Travel readiness

Job description

Vuly is an Australian-owned outdoor play company designing category-leading products used by families worldwide. We're known for engineering-driven design, high safety standards, and products that ship at scale into global markets.

What we design gets manufactured, tested, certified and delivered. This is real product design, not concept theatre.

The Opportunity

We're looking for an experienced Industrial Design Director to lead our product design function, reporting directly to the CEO.

The mandate is straightforward: make sure multiple major products are designed and delivered on time for key seasonal launches, Christmas included.

The Role in Practice

At any given time Vuly may have up to 10 products in active development, each led by an individual Industrial Designer. Every designer is backed by:

• A dedicated DFM specialist in Malaysia
• A shared services group of plastics engineers, toolmakers and safety specialists across Kuala Lumpur and China

Your job is to coach, guide and unblock those designers so products move cleanly from concept to production without slipping.

What You'll Do

• Travel the Globe. ~3 months+ a year travel to Hong Kong & China (Shenzhen) to collaborate with key R&D divisions working on rapid concepting & prototyping.
• Lead and coach a team of Industrial Designers across multiple concurrent products
• Keep design work moving on schedule through development, DFM, tooling and production
• Translate design parameters and brand direction from the CEO into executable outcomes
• Hold consistency across Vuly's design language and product standards
• Support designers through decisions and trade-offs without micromanaging them
• Work closely with DFM, engineering, tooling and safety teams across Asia
• Escalate early when a launch date is genuinely at risk

How This Role Works

Design direction and brand parameters come from the CEO. Once you're aligned on those, you run the function. CEO contact is typically high-level alignment and periodic check-ins rather than day-to-day involvement — this is a high-autonomy role, and it suits someone who wants the decisions to be theirs.

Success is measured simply: products ship on time, particularly into peak season.

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years' professional experience in Industrial or Product Design
• A proven record of taking physical products through to mass production
• Strong command of plastics, tooling and manufacturing constraints
• A refined design sensibility, with an appreciation for restrained, functional design
• Confidence leading senior designers without becoming the bottleneck
• Strong coaching ability and clear judgement under pressure
• High proficiency in SolidWorks
• Comfort with commercial timelines and genuine delivery accountability
• Someone open to regular and consistent travel to key R&D teams in the Asia region

Why This Is Worth a Look

• Direct line to the CEO — short path from decision to build
• Ownership of multiple high-impact product launches
• Global manufacturing and DFM support already in place
• High trust, low bureaucracy