Senior Director, Industrial Design

Sharkninjaoperatingllc
Needham, MA
On-site

Who this role is best for

Candidates with extensive industrial design leadership experience and a track record of large-scale product strategy will find this senior leadership role with global influence and cross-functional collaboration.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 15+ years of industrial design experience and a history of leading large teams
    — “15+ years in industrial design, including 8+ leading teams”
  • Individuals who have shaped brand-defining products with measurable commercial impact
    — “A body of work that shows brand-defining products, measurable consumer and commercial impact”
  • Candidates with credibility in executive-level conversations and strategic roadmap development
    — “Credibility with C-suite peers: framing design as a business lever, defending positions with evidence, converting vision into funded roadmaps”
  • Candidates with experience building and scaling global design organizations
    — “Experience building and scaling design organizations — org design, leveling frameworks, global structures, agency management”

Things to consider

  • This role demands a strong ability to balance creative intent with technical and commercial constraints.
    — “The bar. The critique culture and craft standards that hold at scale — including when timeline and cost push against them.”
  • The position requires direct external representation and leadership of design culture.
    — “Representing SharkNinja design externally — with partners, at industry forums, in award programs”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience shaping design strategy for large, complex product portfolios.
    — “Ownership of design strategy for a large, complex consumer portfolio, shipped at scale”
  • Demonstrate leadership in global design teams with examples of org design and hiring.
    — “A globally distributed, multi-layer ID team of managers and principal designers. Org design, hiring, leveling, succession...”
  • Showcase your ability to align design decisions with measurable commercial outcomes.
    — “You connect design decisions to commercial outcomes you report on directly.”
  • Emphasize fluency in AI and generative design tools as part of your professional evolution.
    — “Enterprise strategy for AI, generative design, and emerging technology in the design workflow”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Design vision for product portfolio
  • Global team leadership
Typical background
Industrial DesignProduct Design

Skills & requirements

Required

Industrial DesignDesign StrategyTeam LeadershipProduct Design

Preferred

Brand DesignDesign Culture

Stack & domain

Industrial DesignProduct DesignAILeadershipDecision MakingCollaborationManufacturingMaterialsDFMCMF

About the role

Original posting from Sharkninjaoperatingllc via Greenhouse

About Us 

SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company, with a diversified portfolio of 5-star rated lifestyle solutions that positively impact people’s lives in homes around the world. Powered by two trusted, global brands, Shark and Ninja, the company has a proven track record of bringing disruptive innovation to market and developing one consumer product after another has allowed SharkNinja to enter multiple product categories, driving significant growth and market share gains. Headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts with more than 4,100 associates, the company’s products are sold at key retailers, online and offline, and through distributors around the world. 

AI at SharkNinja

At SharkNinja, we’re building an AI-native culture. We’re not waiting for the future; we’re creating it. Our people are expected to experiment boldly, adopt new tools, and continuously raise what’s possible to create meaningful impact for our consumers. If you believe the best way to do your job hasn’t been invented yet, you’ll fit right in.

Senior Director, Industrial Design

SharkNinja

Shark and Ninja products are in tens of millions of homes. You would own how they look, feel, and get recognized.

This is the top industrial design seat at SharkNinja. You set the design vision for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, lead a global team of design leaders, and sit in the room where category and investment decisions are made — not downstream of them.

What you'll own

The vision. Multi-year ID strategy across the full Shark and Ninja portfolio, and the design language, standards, CMF, and ergonomics that make our products unmistakable in every market.

The organization. A globally distributed, multi-layer ID team of managers and principal designers. Org design, hiring, leveling, succession, budget, headcount, and external agency partnerships are yours.

The bar. The critique culture and craft standards that hold at scale — including when timeline and cost push against them. You make the final call when design intent and technical or commercial constraints collide.

The seat at the table. You operate as a peer to executives in Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Brand, shaping what gets built rather than only how it looks — and you connect design decisions to commercial outcomes you report on directly.

The next toolset. Enterprise strategy for AI, generative design, and emerging technology in the design workflow: what we adopt, how we use it, how it scales.

The public face. Representing SharkNinja design externally — with partners, at industry forums, in award programs — and making this a place the best designers want to work.

What you bring

15+ years in industrial design, including 8+ leading teams and demonstrated experience managing managers

Ownership of design strategy for a large, complex consumer portfolio, shipped at scale from concept through mass production

A body of work that shows brand-defining products, measurable consumer and commercial impact, and the teams and design cultures you built

Credibility with C-suite peers: framing design as a business lever, defending positions with evidence, converting vision into funded roadmaps

Experience building and scaling design organizations — org design, leveling frameworks, global structures, agency management

Deep fluency in manufacturing, materials, DFM, and CMF, with the judgment to trade design intent against cost, feasibility, and speed to market

Command of the modern toolchain: SolidWorks, Rhino, or equivalent 3D CAD; strong sketching and visual storytelling; an informed point of view on where AI-powered design and rendering tools belong in professional work

Bachelor's or Master's in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline

Salary and Other Compensation: The annual salary range for this position is displayed below. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. 

The Company offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements: medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts (HSA) with company contribution, 401(k) retirement plan with matching, employee stock purchase program, life insurance, AD&D, short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, generous paid time off, company holidays, parental leave, identity theft protection, pet insurance, pre-paid legal insurance, back-up child and eldercare days, product discounts, referral bonus program, and more. 

Pay Range$165,000—$245,000 USD

Our Culture

At SharkNinja, we don’t just raise the bar—we push past it every single day.  Our Outrageously Extraordinary mindset drives us to tackle the impossible, push boundaries, and deliver results that others only dream of. If you thrive on breaking out of your swim lane, you’ll be right at home.

What We Offer

We offer competitive health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, employee stock purchase options, wellness programs, SharkNinja product discounts, and more. We empower your personal and professional growth with high impact Learning Programs featuring bold voices redefining what’s possible. When you join, you’re not just part of a company—you’re part of an outrageously extraordinary community. Together, we won’t just launch products—we’ll disrupt entire markets.  

At SharkNinja, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vital to our global success. Valuing each unique voice and blending all of our diverse skills strengthens SharkNinja’s innovation every day. We support ALL associates in bringing their authentic selves to work, making an impact, and having the opportunity for career acceleration. With help from our leadership, associates, and our community, we aim to have equity be a key component of the SharkNinja DNA. 

Learn more about us:  

Life At SharkNinja  

Outrageously Extraordinary 

SharkNinja Candidate Privacy Notice

For candidates based in all regions, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.

For candidates based in China, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.

For candidates based in Vietnam, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other class protected by legislation, and local law. SharkNinja will consider reasonable accommodations consistent with legislation, and local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact SharkNinja People & Culture at accommodations@sharkninja.com

Source: Sharkninjaoperatingllc careers (Greenhouse)

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