Industrial Designer

Industrial Designer – Advanced Defence Hardware
Adelaide, South Australia | Permanent Full Time | NV1 clearance (or eligibility)
The company
A sovereign Australian defence-tech business designing and manufacturing advanced hardware platforms for the Australian Defence Force. Engineering, composites, fabrication, assembly and test all sit under one roof, so the people shaping the product are metres away from the people building it. The business is growing, moves quickly, and is backed by a leadership team that treats design as a core capability rather than a finishing touch.

The role
This is a senior, hands-on Industrial Designer position reporting directly to the CEO. You will own the form, function and manufacturability of the platform and its subsystems, working alongside mechanical, electronics, software and test engineers to take concepts from sketch through to production-ready designs.

The remit is broad. Structural and surface form optimisation for performance and weight, signature and vibration considerations for defence use, modular subsystem architecture, ease of assembly and field maintenance, and material selection that is both cost-effective and feasible for volume production. You will also mentor junior designers and drive continuous design improvement across the product.

What you will be doing

• Form and performance: Optimise product form for performance, weight and efficiency while ensuring it can be produced at scale.
• Defence-specific optimisation: Contribute to signature reduction, vibration and acoustic mitigation.
• Modular systems: Design flexible, quick-swap subsystem interfaces that support upgrades and different configurations.
• Design for manufacture: Work with the composites, machining and assembly teams to design for ease of build and maintenance.
• Design governance: Lead design reviews, risk assessments and failure investigations; contribute to documentation and technical approvals.
• Compliance: Ensure designs meet Defence regulations and AS9100, ISO and ITAR requirements.
• Integration: Collaborate with electronics and mechanical engineers to bring subsystems into a coherent overall design.
• Stakeholders: Liaise with customers, Defence stakeholders, delivery partners and suppliers on technical requirements.
• Mentoring: Develop junior designers and help build a high-performing design culture.

What you will bring

• Qualification: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Industrial Design, Product Design Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. CPEng or equivalent is preferred but not essential.