Amazon.com Inc logo

Sr Principal, Industrial Design, industrial robotics

Amazon.com Inc

  • North Reading, MA
  • 5 days ago

    Highlights

    Amazon is building robotic systems that combine AI, advanced control systems, and mechanical design to create automation solutions that work safely alongside humans in dynamic environments. Defines the robot"s motion language and character design, establishing how the robot moves, communicates intent, and builds trust with the humans it works alongside.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationNorth Reading, MA
    IndustryRetail
    Company Size10,000 employees or more
    Year Founded1994
    Websitehttp://Amazon.com/militaryroles

    Description

    Amazon is building robotic systems that combine AI, advanced control systems, and mechanical design to create automation solutions that work safely alongside humans in dynamic environments. Our teams are solving hard problems in robotic manipulation, locomotion, and human-robot interaction at Amazon's scale.

    We are looking for a Sr Principal Industrial Design to own the vision for our robotics portfolio. You will lead a multidisciplinary team and define how our robots look, feel, move, and communicate intent to the humans who work alongside them. The scope is broad: the robot itself, its enclosures and packaging, the charger, accessories, and the physical environment in which it operates. You will also own our external design agency relationships, setting direction and managing deliverables across internal and external teams. This role requires balancing cost, schedule, and performance while maintaining a high bar for design quality. You should be comfortable operating in ambiguity, bringing structure where there is none, and driving decisions with data and good judgment.

    You will have the creativity to translate a customer-centric design vision into physical products that are simple, intuitive, and refined despite underlying complexity. You have a strong eye for detail, form, and proportion. You think in systems, not just individual objects. You are direct, clear, and persuasive in how you communicate, whether presenting to engineers or senior executives.

    Key job responsibilities

    • Establishes and owns the design language for the entire portfolio, spanning UX, visual, motion and industrial design, and physical identity across all products, enclosures, accessories, and ecosystem touchpoints.
    • Owns the overarching design strategy, negotiating priorities, focus, and clarity of solution with cross-functional product and tech directors and general managers.
    • Owns and manages external design agency partnerships, setting design direction, managing deliverables, and ensuring coherence across internal and external teams.
    • Leads the design of component packaging and enclosures (panels, access doors, housings), balancing aesthetics, design for manufacturing, and serviceability.
    • Defines the robot"s motion language and character design, establishing how the robot moves, communicates intent, and builds trust with the humans it works alongside
    • Drives ecosystem and systems-level design thinking across the robot, charger, accessories, and the physical environments in which the robot operates.
    • Drives alignment across partner teams on customer problems, product vision, and priorities. Creates scalable systems that enable federation of design work.
    • Brings structure to ambiguity when defining new products and applying new technologies. Ensures the resulting products are simple, clear, and functional.
    • Stays current on advances in industrial design, manufacturing processes, ergonomics, and motion/character design. Leads the team to identify and experiment with new approaches.
    • Maintains strong working relationships with Product Management, Marketing, and other stakeholder groups.
    • Inspires and develops a small diverse team, creating a culture of inclusion and creativity.
    • Contributes as a key leader to the Design Culture and Community at Amazon.

    About Company

    At Amazon, we don’t wait for the next big idea to present itself. We envision the shape of impossible things and then we boldly make them reality. So far, this mindset has helped us achieve some incredible things. Let’s build new systems, challenge the status quo, and design the world we want to live in. We believe the work you do here will be the best work of your life.

    Wherever you are in your career exploration, Amazon likely has an opportunity for you. Our research scientists and engineers shape the future of natural language understanding with Alexa. Fulfillment center associates around the globe send customer orders from our warehouses to doorsteps. Product managers set feature requirements, strategy, and marketing messages for brand new customer experiences. And as we grow, we’ll add jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

    It’s Always Day 1
    At Amazon, it’s always “Day 1.” Now, what does this mean and why does it matter? It means that our approach remains the same as it was on Amazon’s very first day – to make smart, fast decisions, stay nimble, invent, and stay focused on delighting our customers. In our 2016 shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shared his thoughts on how to keep up a Day 1 company mindset. “Staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings, and double down when you see customer delight,” he wrote. “A customer-obsessed culture best creates the conditions where all of that can happen.” You can read the full letter here

    Our Leadership Principles
    Our Leadership Principles help us keep a Day 1 mentality. They aren’t just a pretty inspirational wall hanging. Amazonians use them, every day, whether they’re discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customer’s problem, or interviewing candidates. To read through our Leadership Principles from Customer Obsession to Bias for Action, visit https://www.amazon.jobs/principles

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