MechanicalProduct Design Engineer

Location: Head office (Prahran)

Type: Full-Time

Salary: Dependent on experience

Additional: Substantial international travel required (China predominantly)

Who we are looking for

Hello Im Winston and Im the Co-Founder and Head of Product Design & Engineering at Sleeping Duck.

Were currently looking for a Mechanical/Product Design Engineer who loves taking ideas from concept through to real physical products that ship at scale.

This role is about building. Youll work directly with me on a new product Im designing taking early ideas and turning them into functional physical prototypes for assessment. Once we are confident in the design youll be responsible for developing the manufacturing methods finding and onboarding the right production partners and ensuring the product can be made consistently reliably and to a very high standard.

Our mission is to improve lives by using scientific and customer insights to address the challenges we face in achieving the best possible nights sleep. We design and engineer products and services that deliver meaningful positive impact towards this goal. This requires us to invest deeply in understanding the factors that influence sleep quality and comfort throughout the night as well as how our interventions directly affect these factors.

This role requires someone who can navigate uncertainty with confidence thrives on ownership and has the discipline to turn creative ideas into robust manufacturable systems.

What this means in practice

In this role you will need to be able to:

• Take loosely defined ideas and turn them into physical prototypes quickly
  
• Iterate rapidly build test break improve repeat
  
• Think end-to-end: from concept to materials to tooling to production and through to QC
  
• Balance mechanical performance manufacturability cost reliability and user experience
  
• Stay calm and solution-oriented when requirements evolve (because they will)

The product spans soft goods mechanical systems and electrical systems so you must be comfortable working across disciplines and integrating them into a cohesive reliable product. Experience in automotive interiors and comfort systems or similarly complex consumer products is highly regarded.

What we are building at Sleeping Duck and why

Sleeping Duck is a collective of engineers designers customer advocates and medical professionals united by a shared mission: to create meaningful improvements in the quality of our customers lives. We focus on optimising sleep because better sleep means more energy better focus and a greater capacity to thrive each day.

We began by challenging the traditional mattress industry reimagining how mattresses and bed frames are designed engineered and purchased. Today were expanding into new frontiers of sleep science exploring how elements like temperature regulation sensors and lighting can make the sleep experience more restorative comfortable and uninterrupted.

One of our most exciting innovations is the Z10 Body Fit System engineered in collaboration with a neurosurgeon and leading physiotherapists. Developed to support patients experiencing chronic pain and those undergoing surgery the Z10 is delivering exceptional results and is currently available exclusively through physiotherapists. Projects like this are what drive us: complex problems human-centred design and life-changing outcomes.

Our customers consistently tell us they love what we do and their thousands of reviews on ProductReview speak for themselves. Ultimately thats what fuels us: helping people get their best nights sleep and creating experiences that truly exceed expectations.

We currently operate in Australia and the USA and will continue to grow into international markets.

What the role looks like in practice

Youll be working directly with me and my Product Design and Engineering team. We are a small team consisting of product designers engineers product managers and external this role you will:

1. Translate early concepts and ideas into functional mechanical designs
2. Physically prototype designs for validation and assessment
3. Complete manufacturing ready design drawings via relevant CAD software
4. Source suppliers primarily in Australia China & Vietnam
5. Identify evaluate and onboard manufacturing partners (internationally)
6. Develop manufacturing methods suitable for mass production
7. Spend significant time in factories to get buy in and upskill them on required production techniques
8. Design and implement rigorous QC processes to ensure consistent build quality
9. Own the product from concept through to production readiness
10. Work closely with designers engineers and external specialists across disciplines
11. Move quickly this product has a 1-year timeline to launch

Initially youll spend time working closely with me to deeply understand the product vision the problems were solving and the work we have done to date and the constraints were working within.

Youll then begin prototyping and developing the product at hand with frequent feedback and iteration. As confidence builds youll take increasing ownership of the product and drive it toward production independently.

Success in this role looks like a product that is well-engineered manufacturable at scale and built to a standard we are proud to put our name on.

What type of experience is relevant for this role

Ideally youll bring:

• A background in mechanical engineering or product design engineering with at least 7 years experience
• Adeptness in taking physical products from concept to mass production
• Strong engineering and design drawing skills - SolidWorks experience is a nice to have
• Proficiency in prototyping and building things yourself
• Experience working with overseas manufacturers
• Expertise in developing complex products involving soft goods mechanical systems and electronics
• Proficiency in Mandarin (desired not essential)

What you might like or dislike

Sleeping Duck is an evolving business with ambitious projects and multiple competing priorities. Some projects get released some projects get cancelled. You may spend time in one area which doesnt see the light of day. Its sometimes hard to stay across everything that is happening and changing.

As we are pushing hard to achieve many projects youll be expected to do the hours necessary to achieve this. It may include late night meetings flying overseas meeting at odd times due to different timezones working weekends and being in the office as much as required to get the job done.

We are here in service of the company vision and our job is to provide ways on how we can achieve it. We are inspired by big goals - and strive to see how we can make it work. This sounds too hard complicated or expensive is not a slogan which exists at Sleeping Duck.

As we are small and nimble and well positioned for support and cross functional relationships. Youll know everyone in the company and we all celebrate and win together.

How we hire - the process

1. Apply to this ad. We appreciate when you take the time to write personal cover letters and application notes. Reconsider the temptation to use AI to generate your words. We really just want to hear from you personally in this instance.
2. Our People & Culture team will give you a call to discuss your application.
3. We will initially meet virtually for a 1:1 video call.
4. Youll then come into the office see what its like to work here and meet with myself and other team members. Well delve deeper into your experience and skills.
5. For the successful candidate an offer will be made.

The main objectives of the above is to see whether Sleeping Duck is a good fit for you and to see how your skills and qualities match the role. You should be prepared to explain your thinking process - how do you strategically and systematically find things and how do you understand technical requirements. Have examples ready from your previous experience. Demonstrate your learnings from mistakes and what your ideal process would look like.

We want to see how you communicate with others in a formal setting but also informally when we are just sitting around having a chat. What are your motivations and challenges fears and aspirations What makes you you.

If the above resonates with you please apply now.