Manager, Industrial Design

Job ID: 8755 

Alternate Locations:  

Newell Brands is a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands like Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid®, Sharpie® and Yankee Candle® - and 24,000 talented teammates around the world. Our culture is built on values in action: Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership, and Leadership. We work together to win, grow, and make a real impact—supported by a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative environment where you can be your best, every day.

Job Overview:

We are looking for a talented design leader to help drive product innovation across our portfolio. As an Industrial Design Manager, you will lead a team of designers while contributing hands-on to creating compelling, consumer-centered solutions. You'll combine consumer insights with strong executional skills, guiding the integration of Gen AI and emerging technologies to enhance efficiency, creativity, and impact.

You'll oversee design of consumer products including home goods, baby gear, outdoor equipment, and kitchen appliances. Collaborating with graphic designers, CMF specialists, usability experts, and engineers, you will shape and refine design strategies from concept through production while maintaining high standards and ensuring alignment with business and brand goals.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of industrial designers, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and excellence.
• Manage design projects from concept through commercialization, ensuring alignment with consumer insights, brand strategy, and business objectives.
• Translate research, trends, and market insights into actionable design strategies and differentiated product experiences.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (Marketing, R&D, Insights, Packaging, Manufacturing) to integrate design into the product development process.
• Establish and uphold design standards, guidelines, and best practices within assigned categories or brands.
• Provide clear direction, constructive critique, and mentorship to elevate the quality of design outcomes.
• Balance hands-on design contributions with leadership responsibilities as needed to support the team’s success.
• Present design strategies and solutions to stakeholders and senior leadership, influencing key business decisions.
• Manage project resources, priorities, and timelines to ensure on-time, on-cost, and on-quality delivery
• Champion consumer empathy and design-driven thinking across the organization, advocating for the role of design as a strategic differentiator.
• Support talent recruitment, onboarding, and performance development within the design team.

Qualifications:

• Minimum: Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design
• Ten years+ of relevant experience in corporate or consulting design
• Ability to travel at least once per quarter
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Advanced People Management cultivating high-performance culture through clear expectations, tailored coaching, and career development while championing diversity and effectively managing workload and morale.
• Strategic Thinking translating business strategy into design direction by identifying opportunities and championing bold concepts that drive differentiation and growth. Critical thinking with Gen AI as creative partner.
• Advanced Aesthetic Sensibilities mastery in form, detailing, and CMF with sophisticated understanding of aesthetic paradigms aligned to brand identity and market positioning.
• Champions Consumer Empathy through designs informed by articulated and unarticulated insights embedded in workflows and proactive research.
• Design Context expertise through powerful storytelling that connects emotionally and logically. Expert LLM use with compelling prompts. Proficient with ChatGPT, MS CoPilot or equivalents
• Expert Design Feasibility ensuring production-ready designs through engineering/manufacturing collaboration while meeting requirements without sacrificing ideas.
• Strong 2D Design skills with essential sketching and Gen AI exploration. Advanced composition. Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, Midjourney, Vizcom or equivalents
• Advanced 3D Design skills including CAD modeling, NURBS/Sub-D, AR/VR engagement, hand modelmaking, and rapid prototyping. Proficient with SolidWORKS, Rhino, Keyshot, Kaedim, Aero, UE or equivalents
• Proficient Motion Design producing high-quality animations for product storytelling. Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, Runway or equivalents
• Advanced Interaction Design delivering intuitive experiences through meticulous sensory details and advanced usability research methods.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.