Senior Design Engineer

Summary

The Senior Design Engineer is a hands-on individual contributor responsible for the mechanical and structural engineering of both consumer-facing food and beverage equipment and structural food packaging systems. The role carries equal responsibility across both scopes and plays an active part in early-stage product innovation, working alongside Industrial Design from concept through production.

Engineering in this role is not limited to downstream execution. The Senior Design Engineer works side-by-side with Industrial Design during concept development, helping generate ideas, explore unconventional architectures, and unlock new forms, functions, and manufacturing strategies—while grounding creative ambition in technical feasibility and production reality.

An expectation of this role is close, day-to-day collaboration with internal Manufacturing Engineering and Supply Chain teams, external partner design agencies, and external suppliers and manufacturing partners to shorten design-for-manufacturing cycles, surface risks early, and accelerate the transition from concept to production.

This role is intentionally shaped for engineers who enjoy working in close creative partnership with designers and who see engineering as a generative part of the design process, not just a path to execution.

Responsibilities

Food & Beverage Equipment 

• Contribute to the mechanical design of consumer-facing food and beverage equipment, including dispensing, handling, enclosures, and supporting subsystems.
• Partner with Industrial Design during concept development to explore novel mechanical architectures, layouts, and manufacturing approaches.
• Support form, interaction, and user-experience goals through thoughtful mechanical layout and system design.
• Support fluid handling, thermal, and process-related systems through design contribution and integration.
• Specify and integrate mechanical and electromechanical components in coordination with external engineering and manufacturing partners.
• Support prototyping, system integration, benchmarking, and iterative refinement throughout development.

Structural Food Packaging 

• Design and develop structural packaging systems with equal emphasis to equipment, including:
• Bottles, containers, and closures
• Cups, lids, and seals
• Secondary packaging (paperboard, corrugated, cartons, trays, shippers)
• Collaborate with Industrial Design from early concept stages to translate form, brand, and user experience intent into structurally sound and manufacturable packaging.
• Balance brand expression, user experience, and structural performance in primary and secondary packaging systems.
• Partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and packaging vendors to evaluate materials, constructions, tooling approaches, and production readiness.
• Explore alternative materials, constructions, and manufacturing methods to enable new packaging experiences and efficiencies.
• Support packaging testing activities such as drop, compression, leak, and handling evaluations.
• Work directly with packaging suppliers, molders, and converters to refine designs for tooling, cost, quality, and scalability.

Product Innovation & Concept Development (Across Both Scopes)

• Actively participate in early-stage concept work and ideation alongside Industrial Design.
• Identify engineering- and manufacturing-led opportunities that enable new product experiences, forms, or system-level efficiencies.
• Use early supplier and manufacturing input to inform exploratory concepts and avoid downstream redesign.
• Support exploratory prototyping and experimentation to test unconventional ideas quickly and pragmatically.

Manufacturing, DFM & Production Readiness

• Collaborate closely with internal Manufacturing Engineering to align designs with process capabilities, tooling strategies, and assembly methods.
• Engage Supply Chain partners early to evaluate sourcing options, lead times, cost drivers, and scalability.
• Apply Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/DFA) principles to reduce iteration cycles and increase development speed.
• Surface manufacturing risks early and help drive resolution through design refinement and supplier engagement.
• Support validation, testing, and documentation required for production release.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Packaging Engineering, or related field
• 7+ years of professional experience in mechanical, design, or packaging engineering
• Experience contributing to both physical products and structural packaging systems
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with manufacturing engineering and supply chain partners
• Proven experience supporting work from concept exploration through production

Core Technical Skills

• CAD & Design Tools:
  Proficiency in Onshape, SolidWorks, Rhino, or equivalent for part, assembly, and packaging component design
• Mechanical & Structural Fundamentals:
  Strong understanding of mechanics, materials, tolerances, and structural performance
• Manufacturing Knowledge:
  Familiarity with machining, fabrication, injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming, and paperboard/corrugated processes
• Materials & Finishes:
  Experience specifying metals, polymers, elastomers, and paper-based materials suitable for food-contact and high-volume production
• Compliance Awareness:
  Working familiarity with FDA food-contact regulations and general packaging compliance requirements

Working Style & Collaboration

• Highly self-directed individual contributor with a strong execution and innovation mindset
• Comfortable working in concept-driven, design-led teams where ideas are fluid and direction evolves through making and iteration
• Able to balance creative exploration with production pragmatism
• Detail-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Clear communicator across design, engineering, manufacturing, and supplier teams
• Deep appreciation for craftsmanship, materials, and product quality

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working directly with contract manufacturers and packaging suppliers
• Familiarity with tooling development and production ramp-up processes
• Experience accelerating DFM through early supplier engagement
• Experience working in close partnership with Industrial Designers in concept-heavy, visually driven product development environments
• Background in environments with high expectations for speed, quality, and design excellence

Key Working Relationships

• Industrial Design: Concept development, feasibility, and design integration
• Manufacturing Engineering: Process alignment, DFM/DFA, and production readiness
• Supply Chain: Sourcing strategy, supplier engagement, and scalability
• Product Management: Requirements, constraints, and opportunity framing
• Project Management: Timeline and deliverable coordination
• Manufacturing & Packaging Partners: Technical collaboration and issue resolution
• Testing & Compliance Partners: Validation and regulatory support