Industrial Designer

4ocean is here to help end the ocean plastic crisis, and we are looking for our first ever Industrial Designer to help us achieve our mission.

About 4ocean
4ocean is a purpose-driven business. We clean the world’s ocean and coastlines while working to stop the inflow of plastic by changing consumption habits. Unlike many other environmentally-focused companies, we are not a nonprofit, and believe in creating sustainable business solutions to achieve our goals rather than relying on donations or grants.

We were founded in 2017 by two surfers who dedicated themselves to cleaning the ocean and working to end the ocean plastic crisis. They launched the company by creating a handmade bracelet and promising to pull a pound of trash for every bracelet they sold. With the money raised from the sales of these bracelets, we have been able to employ hundreds of people to clean the ocean full-time and pull over 5 million pounds of trash from the ocean and coastlines. 

Bracelet sales are just the beginning. We are building an assortment of high quality, sustainably-made products that will help people reduce their dependence on single-use plastic, reuse the materials we collect from the ocean, and celebrate the 4ocean brand and ocean-conscious lifestyle. 

Beyond our products, we combat the ocean plastic crisis through technology, cleanups, influence, and education. Our ocean clean-up operations, currently in the U.S., Haiti, and Indonesia, are meticulously documented and audited for transparency, and we are regularly expanding to new locations and deploying new clean-up technologies. 

About This Position
We are looking for our first in-house Industrial Designer, a role located in our recently opened Austin, Texas office. We are willing to relocate the right candidate if needed. 

Reporting to the Head of Product Innovation, you will take the lead in helping us build a world class Industrial Design function, which will have a massive impact on changing consumer behaviors globally and ultimately help rid our oceans of single-use plastic.  You are someone who just naturally thinks about sustainability (so much so that it might even annoy your friends a little bit), you recycle on the regular and it would be your dream to make products that make it easier for someone to change their behaviors.  

Other fun stuff you’ll get to do:                                                                      
  • You'll lead the process of developing and documenting our design language and product DNA while pushing us to innovate as we create new sustainability-related products 
  • Research and identify opportunities to improve user experiences with current and potential products
  • Collaborate with the leadership team, marketing crew, other product development guys and gals and our education team who will all give input on how to make our products better, stronger, more sustainable and user friendly. 
  • Focus on rapid visual prototyping, user-centered design principles, and ergonomics. 
  • Translate the team’s ideas into your sketches then 3D prints and finally ID prototypes.
  • Successfully meet defined project goals
  • Present sketches, renders, and rapid prototype models to the leadership team.
  • Work with engineers to ensure design intent is preserved through the product development process
  • Create graphics and finish sheets specifying product finishing details to suppliers.
 
Qualifications
As our first Industrial Designer, you will bring at least 5 years of relevant product experience that spans from idea to tooling & production and a passion for design thinking and innovation. You will have enough experience to be confident building this function nearly from scratch knowing what it takes to get this function off the ground.  

It is really important that all 4ocean employees naturally live and embrace our Core Values:
-          Ocean first
-          Transparency
-          Thing big, act quickly
-          Nudge don’t judge
-          We’re in this together
-          Get stoked!

Here are a few other things we will need you to have:  
  • Passion for design thinking, innovation and solutions to every-day problems
  • BFA or BS in Industrial Design or Mechanical Engineering
  • Thorough knowledge of product applications and human factors
  • Stellar storytelling, concept development and prototyping skills
  • Experience working frequently with 3D CAD and 2D design tools like Solidworks, Alias, Rhino, Keyshot, VRay, Mental Ray, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
  • A strong understanding of manufacturing methods, processes, materials and constraints
  • Experience working with outside vendors globally
  • Strong sensitivity to form detail and surfacing
  • Embracing a hands-on approach with lots of quick prototyping
  • A proven track record of designing innovative consumer products with sustainability being top of mind
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to partner with various levels of leadership within the organization
  • Comfort in a fast-paced, always changing start-up environment
  • A never-ending curiosity, humility and team-oriented mindset
  • Drive to play an important role in a business that makes a difference in the world
  • Personal passion for sustainability and cleaning the world’s oceans

Bonus points if you have:
  • Any experience working directly with recycled materials/products
  • Some experience with component architecture, placement and packaging

4ocean LLC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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