Lead Designer

Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA

Employment Type: Full-time

Department: Starlight Solar

Travel: Occasional

Develop and steward Starpath's industrial design language across all products — form, surfacing, proportions, materiality, and detail

Generate concept designs in CAD for new products and product refreshes, from early ideation through refined design intent

Partner with mechanical, structures, and manufacturing engineering to translate design concepts into buildable hardware while preserving design intent

Establish and evolve design standards, guidelines, and libraries that support consistency as the product portfolio grows

Lead design reviews and act as the design voice in cross-functional product decisions

Produce renderings, visualizations, and design deliverables that communicate design vision internally and externally (investor materials, customer presentations, marketing)

Own the visual and formal cohesion of Starpath's hardware — ensuring products from different teams read as part of the same family

Push back on unnecessary complexity — simplify forms, reduce visual noise, and cut detail wherever it doesn't add value

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related discipline

6+ years of industrial design experience with a portfolio demonstrating hardware product design, ideally in aerospace, robotics, consumer electronics, automotive, or comparable domains

Strong CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Alias, Rhino, or similar) with the ability to model and iterate concepts directly

Demonstrated ability to define and maintain design language across a family of hardware products

Portfolio required for consideration

Experience at a hardware company with a strong design reputation (Apple, Tesla, Rivian, Anduril, Nike, Frog Design, IDEO, or comparable)

Background bridging industrial design and mechanical engineering — comfort with GD&T, DFM, and engineering-driven design constraints

Proficiency with visualization and rendering tools (KeyShot, Blender, Cinema 4D, or similar)

Experience designing hardware for extreme environments, high-reliability applications, or complex mechanical systems

Sketching skills for early ideation and communication

Experience partnering with brand and marketing teams on visual identity and product photography

Prior experience as the sole designer or first design hire at a growing hardware company

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.