Industrial Design, Lead

As an Industrial Design Lead, you will help shape the future of the WHOOP wearables ecosystem—creating elevated, member-centric products that integrate seamlessly into how people live, move, and perform. You will bring rigor, beauty, and innovation to objects worn 24/7 while setting a high bar for craft, performance, and design systems thinking.

This role calls for a visionary, detail-obsessed designer with a strong background in consumer electronics, softgoods, and wearables. You will lead complex programs, mentor designers, and drive concept-to-launch development across a broad range of physical products that bring the WHOOP experience to life.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Lead Design Across Product Categories: Pearhead the design of performance-oriented wearables, charging systems, bands, accessories, packaging, and related ecosystem products.
- Drive Concept Through Production: Own projects from early research and sketching through prototyping, refinement, DFM, and final production confirmation, ensuring design intent carries through to the final product.
- User-Centered, Performance-Driven Innovation: Develop solutions grounded in user behavior, wearability, physiology, and ergonomic data. Translate insights into designs that elevate comfort, durability, and 24/7 performance.
- Rapid Prototyping & Experimentation: Use in-house and external prototyping resources to validate ergonomics, fit, usability, and CMF hypotheses quickly and iteratively.
- Material, CMF, & Process Expertise: Innovate with materials, hybrid soft/hard assemblies, and scalable manufacturing methods. Define CMF strategy across product categories ensuring consistency, durability, sustainability, and premium brand expression.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Apparel & Accessories, Hardware, Engineering, Product Marketing, Retail Experience and Development teams to deliver cohesive and seamless physical product experiences
- Deep Engineering & Manufacturing Integration: Collaborate with mechanical engineering and manufacturing partners to drive DFM, assess risk, and maintain design integrity throughout the development process.
- AI-Integrated Design Workflow: Leverage AI tools to accelerate concept generation, form exploration, CMF studies, and design iteration.
- Mentor & Elevate: Guide junior designers, raise the bar for craft and creativity, and contribute to a culture of high performance, clarity, and continuous improvement.
- Visual Storytelling & Communication: Create compelling visuals, renderings, decks, and storytelling artifacts for alignment across stakeholders, including leadership and executive teams.
- Global Production Interface: Collaborate with overseas manufacturing partners to ensure execution meets WHOOP’s quality, innovation, and aesthetic standards.
- Contribute to the WHOOP Design System: Help develop the long-term physical product design language and ecosystem strategy across generations of WHOOP hardware and accessories.

QUALIFICATIONS:

- 7–10 years of industrial design experience, with a strong focus on consumer goods, softgoods, wearables, and electronics.
- Exceptional portfolio demonstrating sophisticated form development, high-performance product design, and elevated execution in commercialized products.
- Mastery of 2D tools (Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma) and 3D tools (SolidWorks, Keyshot, 3D printing workflows).
- Proficiency with AI design tools for concepting and design acceleration.
- Proven ability to lead complex design programs with minimal oversight.
- Experience partnering with engineering teams on DFM and navigating offshore manufacturing processes.
- Deep knowledge of materials, CMF strategy, molding, lamination, bonding, and scalable production processes.
- Strong understanding of ergonomics, human factors, and products worn on the body.
- Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, growth-stage environment.