Intern - Industrial Designer

Human Computer Lab; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Human Computer Lab in San Francisco is seeking an experienced designer to shape LeLamp's exterior from early sketches to shipped product. You’ll work closely with the CEO and founding team to define the look, feel, and interaction cues that communicate personality through form.

This role emphasizes producing production-ready surfaces, CMF specs, and a cohesive visual language across generations, while collaborating with engineers and CMF vendors in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in industrial or product design (consumer hardware or robotics).
• Strong portfolio showing proportion, detail, and emotional sensitivity.
• Experience taking products from concept to production.
• Class-A surfacing experience.
• Experience with CMF specs and injection molding vendors.

Responsibilities

• Lead the exterior design of LeLamp across product generations.
• Develop the product’s visual language, form, and emotional presence.
• Sketch and present design directions communicating personality.
• Translate concepts into production-ready 3D models with engineers.
• Define CMF specs and maintain documentation.
• Review prototypes and cosmetic samples against design intent.
• Contribute to visual presentation, packaging, and art direction.
• Own Class-A surfacing for exterior parts and ensure DFM readiness.

Skills

Industrial design

Product design

Robotics

Concept to production

Portfolio

Tools

Rhino

Alias

Fusion 360

3D modeling

Job description

Human Computer Lab is a research lab building character robots that feel alive and responsive. Our first robot, LeLamp, explores a new category of consumer robotics where everyday objects become interactive and help us reshape our attachment to technology.

Our goal is to push the frontier of human-robot interaction by making technology more legible, emotionally intuitive, and human-centered. We are building the foundation for a new generation of robots designed for everyday environments.

What to expect

We’re looking for a designer who thinks deeply about how objects make people feel and wants to shape what LeLamp looks like, how it interacts with people, and what it communicates just by sitting on a table. This isn’t about styling around existing hardware, it’s about defining the visual and physical language of a new kind of object without precedent. You’ll work closely with the CEO and founding team to take the robot’s exterior form from early sketches through physical samples to shipped products.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the exterior design of LeLamp across product generations, and maintain consistency as the product platform evolves.

• Develop the product’s visual language, form, materials, and emotional presence.

• Sketch and present design directions that communicate personality, not just geometry.

• Translate concepts into production-ready 3D models with mechanical engineers.

• Define CMF specs (materials, colors, finishes) and maintain documentation.

• Review prototypes and cosmetic samples against design intent.

• Contribute to how the robot is presented visually, including packaging, photography art direction, and first-impression experience.

• Own Class-A surfacing for injection molded and fabricated exterior parts, and ensuring surfaces remain DFM-ready without compromising design quality.

• Prepare visual references, annotated models, and finish sample boards to support design reviews.

You may be a good fit if you:

• Have 3+ years in industrial or product design (consumer hardware or robotics).

• Have a strong portfolio showing proportion, detail, and emotional sensitivity.

• Have taken products from concept to production.

• Are fluent in Rhino, Alias, Fusion, or similar tools.

• Are comfortable designing without clear precedents.

• Have Class-A surfacing experience.

• Have worked with CMF specs and injection molding vendors.

• Understand DFM constraints (draft, parting lines, textures).

• Have a sharp eye for cosmetic quality and can articulate the difference between acceptable and not.

• Care how products feel in everyday life, not just how they render.

We are looking for people who:

• Care deeply about how everyday objects fit into people's lives and homes.

• Can hold creative direction steady across a long, messy development process without losing the thread.

• Move quickly and can iterate through physical samples and vendor feedback without losing design direction.

• Take ownership over the aesthetic quality of the product, even in stages of the process they don't directly control.

• Work well in small, collaborative teams where the industrial designer and mechanical engineer are often the same conversation.

• Think about the full arc from concept to shipped unit and hold the thread throughout.

The early team becomes the DNA of the company. We set ourselves and others to a high standard, and we respond with kindness when things get hard but keep everyone accountable. This requires us to be curious, creative, and diverse in our thinking and approach.
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. Studies show that women and underrepresented groups often hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria - we don’t want that to be the reason we miss out on great talent.