Product Development Engineering Lead

mediadesign; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

mediadesign in San Francisco is hiring a Product Development Engineering Lead. You will own projects from kickoff to client presentation, guiding design and engineering teams while keeping hands‑on with details. The role blends precision with creativity, requiring hands‑on prototyping, robust client interactions, and leadership across disciplines. You will push for innovative, manufacturable solutions.

Qualifications

• Experience leading multi‑disciplinary engineering projects.
• Proficient in SolidWorks with hands‑on prototyping and design reviews.
• Ability to create system‑level diagrams and detailed drawings for fabrication.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects from concept to delivery, including budgets and scope.
• Build strong client relationships and deliver polished presentations.
• Guide multidisciplinary teams and mentor engineers and designers.
• Develop 3D CAD parts and assemblies for detailed engineering, FEA, and prototyping.
• Conduct design reviews and drive tolerance stack‑up analyses.
• Oversee end‑to‑end prototyping, sourcing, and testing.

Skills

Project management

Client communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Risk identification

Hands-on prototyping

Problem solving

Time management

Written/presentation skills

System-level thinking

FEA knowledge

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM Works

FEA software

3D CAD modeling

Job description

You build things. Not just in SolidWorks. Real things with your hands, your instincts, and a drive to solve problems that most engineers never encounter. We are looking for a Product Development Engineering Lead who thrives at the intersection of precision and creativity, where a parametric model in the morning might give way to a hand‑built prototype by afternoon.

This is a role for someone who takes genuine pride in the craft. Someone who can own a project from kickoff to client presentation and still roll up their sleeves when it’s time to get into the details.

The Nitty Gritty

• Lead projects from conception through delivery including research, scheduling, third‑party resource management, budgets, and scopes of work.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships through direct communication and polished presentations.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams.
• Nurture design and engineering talent, help others become their best.
• Constantly learn and educate yourself - become a subject matter expert in anything.
• Research emerging technologies and advanced component engineering.
• Understand client needs and build statement of work proposals.
• Attack challenging engineering problems quickly and creatively. Produce elegant solutions under real constraints.
• Conduct periodic design reviews with engineers and designers.
• Develop and interpret system‑level electrical block diagrams and MCOs.
• You know how and can teach others to develop 3D CAD parts and assemblies to support detailed engineering, FEA simulation, and prototyping.
• Drive complex 3D modeling in SolidWorks, including PDM Works, advanced surfacing, and parametric configurable assemblies.
• Generate precise detail and assembly drawings.
• Build mockups and prototypes craftsman‑style, using hand tools with care and confidence.
• Conduct system‑level tolerance stack‑up analyses.
• Oversee others in quote, order, receive, inspect, and hand‑build complex electromechanical prototypes end‑to‑end.
• Test, analyze results, and iterate.

What You Bring

• Comfort and energy in a fast‑paced, multi‑disciplinary, and multi‑project environment. You can context‑switch without losing (a bit) momentum.
• Sharp instincts for identifying and communicating project risks before they become problems.
• A collaborative nature. You communicate fluidly across disciplines and know that great work rarely happens alone.
• The ability to juggle competing priorities with a level head and a positive attitude, even when the pressure is real.
• Experience preparing timelines, calculations, and client‑facing proposals.
• Resilience. The design world rewards those who are genuinely passionate about making things.

Bonus Points

• Experience managing external partners and vendors, including EE and SW firms, on joint development projects.
• A knack for coordinating, shipping, and tracking parts across multiple active projects simultaneously.
• Ability to assess manufacturing feasibility and select appropriate processes across diverse industries.
• An award‑winning sense of humor. (We’re serious about this one.)