Lead Industrial Designer

Design Observer; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Key Tech is seeking a Lead Industrial Designer to grow our design team and influence the development of high-tech medical devices. You will drive user-centered concepts, analyze workflows, and create enclosures and UIs that combine aesthetics with practicality.

You’ll lead design-centric projects, serve as the main client contact, contribute to proposals, and help shape the design process. A strong portfolio and 5–8 years in ID, plus SolidWorks experience and materials knowledge, are essential.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience with product design and development.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to manage projects.
• Experience managing projects and client relations.
• Outstanding portfolio showing core ID skills and product development.
• Experience with SolidWorks or similar CAD software.
• Knowledge of medical device product development and the role of ID.
• Solid understanding of materials and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Create elegant and useful products for medical, life sciences, and technical markets.
• Develop ergonomic product forms, architectures, and interaction concepts.
• Create CAD models, renderings, and prototypes for concept communication.
• Lead usability engineering activities including workflows and formative evaluations.
• Present design concepts and research findings to clients and internal teams.
• Mentor and guide junior staff on design activities.
• Collaborate with engineers and multidisciplinary teams to solve design problems.
• Support business development through proposals and client meetings.

Skills

Excellent communication

Project management

Client relations

User-centered design

Medical device design

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Key Tech is seeking to hire a Lead Industrial Designer who will grow Key Tech's existing group of talented designers by infusing broad experience in product development and product management. At Key Tech, industrial designers wear many hats and work on a variety of programs. Common projects range from bringing a user-centric view to technical brainstorming, analyzing product workflows and optimizing user touchpoints, to designing enclosures and UIs that are both aesthetically compelling and functional.

As part of the product development process, the Lead Industrial Designer will also manage design-centric projects at Key Tech, serving as the client's main point of contact. In addition to product development, it is expected that the Lead Industrial Designer will be able to support the Business Development team by participating in content meetings and assisting in proposal development.

Key Tech is a product development company focused on high-tech medical devices, so it is also important for the Lead Industrial Designer to understand how design fits into medical device development, particularly usability engineering and user experience design. The Lead Industrial Designer must possess a holistic understanding of all aspects of ID, and how these aspects drive the development of a high-tech product within the context of simultaneous technical development. An ideal candidate would also be excited to roll up their sleeves and help solve design problems, using their mechanical intuition alongside engineers. As an industrial designer, you will be a core member of Key Tech's team as we develop world-class medical products.

What will the Lead Industrial Designer do at Key Tech?

• Create elegant and useful products for use in the medical, life sciences, and technical markets.
• Create innovative and user-centered product concepts through sketching, visualization, and rapid ideation.
• Conduct user research and participate in interviews, observations, contextual inquiry, and usability studies.
• Translate research insights into compelling design solutions.
• Develop ergonomic product forms, product architectures, and interaction concepts.
• Create CAD models, renderings, and prototypes to communicate and evaluate design concepts.
• Conduct usability engineering activities including workflow analysis, formative evaluations, and design validation efforts.
• Present design concepts, research findings, and recommendations to clients and internal teams.
• Contribute to visual design activities including branding, graphic elements, user interfaces, and product storytelling.
• Work on multidisciplinary teams to solve challenging technical and usability problems.
• Organize and manage design and user research work, including usability engineering activities such as formative usability testing.
• Participate in developing the internal processes used by Key Tech for product design.
• Provide mentorship and guidance for Key Tech staff involved in design activities.
• Participate in prospective client meetings and proposal efforts.

Experience and Traits

Required

• 5-8 years of experience with product design and development
• Excellent communication skills
• Experience managing projects and client relations
• An excellent portfolio, displaying a strong understanding of core ID skills and the product development process
• Experience with SolidWorks or similar CAD software.
• Knowledge of medical device product development, and the specific role industrial design plays in that process
• Solid understanding of materials and manufacturing processes

Successful Traits

• Passionate advocates for users.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and solving complex problems.
• Strong communicators who can clearly articulate ideas and design rationale.

Curious About Technology And How People Interact With It.

• Excited to collaborate with engineers and other disciplines.
• Motivated to grow their skills and take on increasing responsibility.

Why Key Tech?

Within Key Tech's design department, you'll have the opportunity to work on products that improve people's lives, while working alongside our experienced team of other IDs, UX designers, and Human Factors, Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical engineers. We are part of the entire product development process, often taking laboratory science through conceptual design into working under design controls for FDA submissions. We foster individual growth and support continual skill building for long-term growth in industrial design.

If you're excited about transforming complex technology into exceptional user experiences, we'd love to see your portfolio and learn more about you.