Familiar Machines & Magic is hiring: Senior Designer in Los Angeles

Familiar Machines & Magic, Inc. (FM&M) is a Massachusetts company using robotics and AI to pioneer an exciting new category of home robots in the health and wellness space with a significant focus on human-robot interaction. Founded by industry leaders from iRobot, Disney, and Amazon and fully-funded by leading Venture Capitalist, we are currently in stealth mode. We are assembling a world-class team of roboticists, engineers, and designers to bring our vision to life at scale. Familiar Machines & Magic is building a “high-expectations” team based on core values of trust, respect, kindness, and candor. Position Overview We are seeking a Senior Designer to join our growing team and play a key role in defining and guiding the creative vision of emotionally engaging life-like companions that foster long-term user relationships. In this role, you will design and communicate the industrial design of our products in a way that drives usability, manufacturability, and compelling, appealing experience. You will draw on your expertise in products and materials, including soft materials, to make designs that are functional and coherent. Working closely with product managers, experience designers, researchers, engineers, and external experts, you will critically contribute to creating a companion experience that is emotionally resonant, grounded in real-world capabilities, and able to support multi-year relationships between people and their companions. The right candidate is passionate about innovation, execution, and culture-forward workplaces and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. What You’ll Do Design key elements of the physical experience that we offer our customers Collaborate in a cross-disciplinary environment that blends design, artistic and technical perspectives Leverage 3D tools to quickly iterate, define, and communicate the appearance, texture, motion, and other aesthetic characteristics of the final companion product, to drive long-term user engagement Design with manufacturing in mind, while critically assessing the impact on aesthetics and brand Work closely with design researchers to formulate and test hypotheses with target customers to gain insights that help us iterate on and improve the companion experience Balance creative ambitions with practical product constraints to optimize the final user experience Align with product management, experience design, research & development, and manufacturing teams to understand and influence product capabilities, and to support the implementation of our strategy into product Ensure final product form and materials are both aesthetically pleasing and manufacturable Develop and present professional design communications for leadership and investors Synthesize inputs from product vision, experience design, research, and experimentation into clearly-articulated, actionable designs for companions and their accessories Produce visual assets used to communicate our experience vision to internal and external stakeholders Perform other responsibilities as assigned What You’ll Have Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in ID/UX/Design Engineering or equivalent industry experience Proven mastery of design and productivity tools including, Apple Keynote, Adobe Creative Suite, and Google Apps Demonstrated experience in integrated prototyping, hypothesis formulation, and evaluation of user feedback Proficiency in 3D solid and surface modeling, rigging, and animation (e.g. Maya, Solidworks, SketchUp, Blender, Fusion360) preferred Background in shipping complex products at scale is a plus Experience in shipping soft goods at scale is a plus Pride in and passion for your work What You’ll Need to Succeed Deep understanding of experience design, with the ability to craft thoughtful, end-to-end user interaction with holistic intent, scrutinizing details and critically assessing their impact to overall experience Experience using AI as a creative medium, not as a means to an end Ability to operate in a dynamic environment with changing design requirements Clear and persuasive communicator with the ability to share design rationale, user insights, and creative concepts with stakeholders Skilled at working across diverse disciplines and with external experts, from scientists to animators Demonstrate passion for exploring new ideas and technologies and innovating in the non-human companionship space Familiar Machines & Magic is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all individuals are valued and respected. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status. Seniority level Mid-Senior level Employment type Full-time Job function Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology #J-18808-Ljbffr In Summary: Familiar Machines & Magic is building a “high-expectations” team based on core values of trust, respect, kindness, and candor . The right candidate is passionate about innovation, execution, and culture-forward workplaces and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment . En Español: Familiar Machines & Magic, Inc. (FM&M) es una compañía de Massachusetts que utiliza robótica y IA para ser pionera en una nueva categoría emocionante de robots domésticos en el espacio de salud y bienestar con un enfoque significativo en la interacción humano-robot. Fundada por líderes de la industria de iRobot, Disney y Amazon y totalmente financiados por los principales capitalistas de riesgo, actualmente estamos en modo sigiloso. Estamos reuniendo un equipo de clase mundial de roboticistas, ingenieros y diseñadores para dar vida a nuestra visión a escala. El candidato adecuado es apasionado por la innovación, la ejecución y los lugares de trabajo que promueven la cultura y prospera en un entorno rápido y dinámico. Lo que harás Diseñar elementos clave de la experiencia física que ofrecemos a nuestros clientes Colaborar en un entorno interdisciplinario que mezcla diseño, perspectivas artísticas y técnicas Aprovechar las herramientas 3D para iterar rápidamente, definir y comunicar la apariencia, textura, movimiento y otras características estéticas del producto final acompañante, para impulsar el compromiso de los usuarios a largo plazo El diseño con la fabricación en mente, al tiempo que evalúa críticamente el impacto sobre la estética y marca Trabajar estrechamente con investigadores de diseño para formular y probar hipótesis con los clientes objetivo para obtener ideas que nos ayuden a iterrar y mejorar la experiencia asociada Equilibrar ambiciones creativas con restricciones prácticas para optimizar la experiencia del usuario final Alinearse con la gestión del producto, el diseño & desarrollo de productos, y equipos de investigación para comprender e influir en la producción. Maya, Solidworks, SketchUp, Blender, Fusion360) preferido Antecedentes en el envío de productos complejos a escala es una ventaja Experiencia en el transporte de bienes blandos a escala Es un plus Orgullo y pasión por su trabajo Lo que necesitará para tener éxito Una comprensión profunda del diseño de experiencia con la capacidad de crear interacción entre usuarios integral e integrada con intención holística, examinando los detalles y evaluando críticamente su impacto en la experiencia general El uso de IA como medio creativo, no como un medio para finalizar La capacidad de operar en un entorno dinámico con requisitos cambiantes de diseño Un comunicador claro y persuasivo comparte la habilidad de diseñar razonamiento, ideas de usuario y conceptos creativos con las partes interesadas Habilitaciones para trabajar en diversas disciplinas y con expertos externos, desde profesionales orientados a animadores se comprometen a explorar nuevas tecnologías laborales e Innovación en el ámbito laboral.