Industrial Designer; Design Engineer

Description

About the company

The Living Company designs, manufactures, delivers, and installs furniture and fixed FF&E solutions for large-scale student housing, multifamily, and hospitality projects nationwide. Our work sits at the intersection of design, engineering, and global manufacturing and logistics. Our products must translate into repeatable, buildable, and scalable programs. The Design + Product Development team sits under TLC Studio and is our internal product and design group. We are responsible for conceptualizing and executing production-ready systems that perform in buildings, across multiple projects, and at scale.

Job Description

The Living Company is seeking an Industrial Designer eager to bring creativity and critical thinking to an exciting FFE (Furniture, Fixtures and Accessories) product roadmap across a variety of near and long term strategic initiatives that will support design and brand for an industry leading company.

Working closely with a strong design lead and entrepreneurial design team, this role will help defi ne the innovative fixed FFE product line for top clients, inclusive of our turnkey approach (design language, engineering / manufacturing, and installation). This individual will support the FFE Product Design, Creative, and Brand Team (aka TLC Studio) and help shape the brand’s product lineup, visibility, and assist across all FFE initiatives.

The Industrial Designer will play a hands-on role in developing fixed FF&E products and systems from early concept through mass production. This role will own first-pass technical work, manage development workflows, and coordinate directly with overseas manufacturing partners. Strengthening our technical and development capacity, this role is focused on translating design concepts into precise drawings, prototypes, and manufacturing packages – and helping the team move faster and more consistently from concept-to-installation. This position is also designed to increase independent execution capacity within TLC Studio and reduce reliance on senior leadership for routine development and coordination tasks. Candidates must submit a portfolio demonstrating relevant technical and design work.

A Day In The Life Of An Industrial Designer

Product Design + Engineering

• Own first-pass technical drawings, layouts, and development packages for assigned product lines and projects.
• Translate design intent into accurate, manufacturable specifications and shop drawings.
• Produce cabinet layouts, millwork drawings, and fixed FF&E packages for client projects.
• Support concept development with sketches, renderings, and CAD models as needed.
  
  

Product Development + Production Support

• Lead development of fixed FF&E products from concept through production release.
• Coordinate prototypes, revisions, and approvals with overseas engineering and production teams.
• Manage materials, tolerances, and assembly requirements.
• Identify technical risks early and propose practical solutions.
• Support cost targets via value engineering efforts.
  
  

Quality Control + Documentation

• Track and manage Product Development and Quality Control milestones for assigned workstreams.
• Ensure development documentation is complete prior to production.
• Review and help improve testing standards, inspection procedures, and packaging instructions.
• Support factory audits and quality investigations as needed.
  
  

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with installation and project teams to understand and document site requirements and project-specific fixed FF&E
• Collaborate with Install Manager on takeoff s to ensure unit dimensions are documented
• Work with fi eld teams to gather and interpret fi eld measurements and fold those into necessary revisions.
• Lead and support client meetings and contract planning with technical input.
• Clearly communicate key information to client team and shared partners (GC, Architects) in a customer-experience forward way
• Provide guidance on SKU requirements, configurations, and specifications.
• Partner with brand, sales, and marketing teams as needed for launches and presentations. Process + Capacity Building
• Independently manage defined development tracks from concept to production sign-off.
• Reduce bottlenecks by taking ownership of routine technical and coordination tasks.
• Help improve internal development workflows and documentation standards. Communication and Collaboration
• Clear and Consistent Communication: Establish and maintain open lines of communication with all product development stakeholders, including design teams, factory representatives, quality control personnel, and clients. Ensure timely and accurate information sharing.
• Vendor Quality Support: Proactively identify and manage vendor-related production and quality issues. Collaborate with overseas and domestic team members to resolve production and quality issues.
• Design Support
• Concept Development and Design: provide design support ranging from initial concept mood boards to detailed CAD developments.
• Client Meeting Support: Provide support during client meetings.
  
  

i. Advise on product SKU during takeoff / contract planning

ii. Review client marketing assets to ensure FFE products are represented accurately

• Articulate design concepts and product features clearly and persuasively
  
  

i. Materials / finish, size, configuration

ii. Costing breakdown, value engineering

iii. Pre-coordination with client’s shared partners (I.e., GC, architecture, interior design)

• Ability to build and manage presentation materials, e.g. a Figma board.
  
  

Requirements

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Engineering, Architecture, or related fi eld.
• 5+ years experience in product development, furniture, FF&E, or related manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated experience producing production-ready drawings and managing overseas manufacturing handoff s.
• Strong understanding of materials, construction methods, and production constraints.
• Experience coordinating prototypes, revisions, and quality approvals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects independently.
• Experience working with international vendors and cross-cultural teams. Experience with cabinetry, millwork, or fixed installations strongly preferred.
  
  

Software Proficiency

• 2D CAD: AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Rhino, Revit, or similar
• 3D Modeling: SolidWorks, Rhino, Blender, or similar
• Adobe Creative Suite (Figma a plus)
• Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)
  
  

Key Attributes

• Strong sense of ownership and follow-through
• Detail-oriented with practical problem-solving skills
• Comfortable working with ambiguity
• Collaborative and direct communicator
• Customer-experience minded
• Able to balance design intent with manufacturing reality
• Organized, reliable, and execution-focused