[Hiring] Director, Design Engineering @Hims And Hers

Role Description

We are seeking a curious and experienced Director of Design Engineering to build and lead our Design Engineering function—bridging the gap between the Design organization, manufacturing partners, OEMs, and internal engineering teams. As the first member of this new discipline, you will define the strategy, standards, and team that translate creative design intent into manufacturable, high-quality, and scalable products.

This role is highly cross-functional and strategic, sitting at the intersection of industrial design, mechanical engineering, packaging engineering, and manufacturing operations. You’ll work closely with the VP of Industrial and Packaging Design, guiding the engineering feasibility of design concepts, overseeing the transition from prototype to production, and ensuring the integrity of our brand’s design language through execution.

You are a player-coach whose primary objective is to unblock situations so you and your small team can get on with the work and turn ideas into realities. Your day-to-day creative influence translates the executive design vision into the team's work. When not managing, you are hands-on, designing with the highly skilled team and attracting, inspiring, and developing high-performing contributors.

• Establish and scale the Design Engineering discipline within the Design organization.
• Hire, mentor, and manage a team of Mechanical, Electrical, Packaging, Firmware and Sourcing engineers and cross-disciplinary contributors.
• Develop team processes, tools, and documentation standards for design for manufacturability (DFM), material selection, and prototyping.
• Serve as the primary bridge between the Design team and external manufacturers, OEMs, and internal mechanical/electrical engineering teams.
• Translate design intent into detailed engineering specifications and production-ready documentation.
• Provide deep technical guidance and expertise in areas such as materials development, mechanical engineering, and integration of electrical components and firmware.
• Partner with operations and sourcing to evaluate vendor capabilities and ensure manufacturability across multiple product categories.
• Oversee prototyping, testing, and validation phases to ensure design fidelity and production feasibility.
• Drive design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) principles to optimize production efficiency, quality, and cost.
• Define best practices for engineering collaboration with industrial and packaging design and cross-functional teams.
• Evaluate new materials, manufacturing techniques, and technologies to improve product quality, cost efficiency, and sustainability.
• Own the engineering side of design reviews, resolving potential conflicts between design vision and technical constraints.
• Advocate for scalable and sustainable engineering solutions that uphold brand design principles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design Engineering, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in mechanical or design engineering, with at least 5 years managing a team.
• Proven experience taking small, complex electronic products from concept through production at scale.
• Deep understanding of DFM, CAD, prototyping, tooling, and production processes.
• Strong familiarity with consumer product materials (plastics, metals, soft goods, packaging).
• Demonstrated success collaborating with industrial design and creative teams.
• Experience working with both in-house and outsourced manufacturing partners (domestic and international).
• Experience with medical devices, wearables, and FDA requirements.
• Strong vendor communication and project management skills.
• Experience working with global manufacturing partners.
• Experience hiring and scaling technical design or engineering teams.
• Passion for design excellence, innovation, and craftsmanship.
• Experience with FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and simulation tools.

Benefits

• Competitive salary & equity compensation for full-time roles.
• Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and quarterly mental health days.
• Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental & vision, and parental leave.
• Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP).
• 401k benefits with employer matching contribution.
• Offsite team retreats.