What are the responsibilities and job description for the Industrial Designer position at Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)?
Why Join BDI?
At BDI, we design high-end, modern furniture that enhances the way people work, live, and entertain. We’re not just another furniture company—we are design-driven and execution-focused, ensuring that every product we create is both beautiful and functional.
We believe in work-life balance, intellectual curiosity, and continuous improvement. Our team is small but highly skilled, and we expect each person to contribute at a high level. If you thrive in environments where ideas turn into reality, where you own your projects from development to production, and where design excellence meets real-world execution, we’d love to hear from you.
What Makes This Role Exciting?
This is not a passive role where you simply push designs forward. Instead, you will:
By This Time Next Year, You Will Have
Technical Skills
To apply, please email cover letter, resume, and portfolio in pdf format (under 10MB), or link to on-line portfolio, by e-mail.
At BDI, we design high-end, modern furniture that enhances the way people work, live, and entertain. We’re not just another furniture company—we are design-driven and execution-focused, ensuring that every product we create is both beautiful and functional.
We believe in work-life balance, intellectual curiosity, and continuous improvement. Our team is small but highly skilled, and we expect each person to contribute at a high level. If you thrive in environments where ideas turn into reality, where you own your projects from development to production, and where design excellence meets real-world execution, we’d love to hear from you.
What Makes This Role Exciting?
This is not a passive role where you simply push designs forward. Instead, you will:
- Shape the future of BDI’s products – Your design work will directly impact the next generation of high-end furniture.
- Work with world-class suppliers – Collaborate with top-tier manufacturers to bring innovative designs to life.
- Be a problem solver – Beyond creating designs, you’ll engineer solutions that balance beauty, durability, and manufacturability.
- Own your outcomes – You’ll see projects through from sketch to final production, ensuring that great ideas become reality.
By This Time Next Year, You Will Have
- Designed & developed multiple market-ready furniture pieces.
- Mastered BDI’s approach to designing for both aesthetics and manufacturability.
- Enhanced supplier collaboration, ensuring smooth execution from prototype to production.
- Improved quality & efficiency, identifying and solving design challenges before they reach manufacturing.
- Research market trends and user needs to inform product innovation.
- Generate high-quality design concepts that balance form, function, and manufacturability.
- Prototype and test designs using various materials and methods (woodworking, metalworking, foamcore, etc.).
- Engineer for reality – Optimize material selection, manufacturability, and cost-efficiency.
- Conduct design reviews to proactively mitigate risks before production.
- Collaborate with suppliers to refine prototypes, review samples, and implement quality improvements.
- Create clear and detailed 3D models and drawings for production.
- Develop and refine QC checklists and feedback documentation to ensure final production meets expectations.
- Travel overseas to factories to evaluate and document new samples and production (1-2 trips annually)
Technical Skills
- Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design
- 5 years in product development & engineering (furniture experience a plus)
- Expertise in 3D CAD software (Autodesk Inventor & Vault preferred)
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes (wood, metal, glass, finishing techniques)
- Experience with value engineering, FEA analysis, and optimizing material & container yields
- Familiarity with quality control methodologies (8D, 5 Why’s, Fishbone Diagrams, FMEA)
- Driven and self-motivated – You take initiative and don’t wait for instructions.
- Clear communicator – You can explain complex ideas to non-technical people.
- Detail-oriented – You sweat the small stuff and refine until it’s right.
- Resilient & adaptable – You find solutions, not excuses.
- Analytical thinker – You make data-driven decisions and design cost/benefit tradeoffs.
- Cultural awareness – You know how to work effectively with international suppliers.
- Competitive compensation & benefits
- A high-impact role in an award-winning company
- A team that values intelligence, creativity, and execution
- The opportunity to work on cutting-edge furniture designs
- A culture where good ideas thrive, and great work gets recognized
- A hybrid work model that responds to the needs of our team as well as the needs of the product development process
To apply, please email cover letter, resume, and portfolio in pdf format (under 10MB), or link to on-line portfolio, by e-mail.
