Principal Product Designer — Hard Goods (travel And Consumer Electronics)

Company Description Westlake Brands is a modern house of consumer brands where craftsmanship, technology, and cultural relevance come together to create category-defining products across lifestyle, travel, and wellness. The company is still learning to crawl, combining design excellence with strong operational capabilities, emphasizing timeless aesthetics, sustainable materials, and elevated everyday experiences. Guided by a philosophy of quality without compromise, Westlake Brands, based in Austin, Texas, operates with the rigor of a global enterprise and the creativity of a design studio. The organization invests in product innovation powered by data, AI, and global supply-chain expertise, alongside exceptional customer experiences and ethical, long-term partnerships. Through this growing ecosystem of design-led brands, Westlake Brands is shaping accessible, modern luxury that is intentional and built to last.

We’re looking for a Principal Product Designer to lead the design of physical consumer products from first sketch through launch. You’ll own the look, feel, function, and manufacturability of hard goods, partnering closely with engineering, marketing, and supply chain to turn ideas into products on shelves. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable defending a design decision in a creative review and resolving a tolerance issue with a factory. What You’ll Do Design hard goods across the full lifecycle — concept, ideation, CAD development, prototyping, and production handoff. Develop and refine concepts through sketching, 3 D modeling, and high-fidelity renders to communicate intent to stakeholders. Build production-ready CAD models and collaborate with engineering to balance aesthetics, function, cost, and manufacturability. Apply Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles early and throughout, anticipating tooling, material, and assembly constraints before they become problems. Partner with vendors and manufacturing partners to evaluate prototypes, review samples, and resolve issues through to mass production. Drive projects through the consumer goods launch cycle — from briefing and concept gates to tooling, validation, and on-shelf delivery — hitting cost, quality, and timeline targets. Create renders, visualizations, and presentation materials to align cross-functional teams and leadership. Maintain awareness of CFM (materials, finishes, manufacturing) processes, and market and competitive trends. What You’ll Bring A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related design discipline; a Master’s degree is preferred. A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience working for a consumer goods company or a design studio. Demonstrated experience designing physical/hard goods like Luggage, Consumer Electronics, with at least one product you helped bring to a successful market launch. Proficiency in CAD software (e. G., Solid Works, Rhino, Creo, or Fusion 360) and 3 D modeling. Strong skills in visualization and rendering tools (e. G., Key Shot, Blender) and design software (Adobe Creative Suite). Working knowledge of DFM and a practical understanding of materials, tooling, and manufacturing processes. A solid grasp of the consumer goods product development and launch cycle, including the trade-offs between design intent, cost, and timeline. A portfolio that shows both creative range and the ability to ship real, manufactured products. Prior experience working for consumer goods brands (Travel goods such as luggage, Consumer Electronics etc).