Product Design Engineer – Digital Fabrication

Vanlife Customs•Arvada, CO

4d•$70,000 - $85,000•Onsite

About The Position

Vanlife Customs is a digital-first design and manufacturing company building premium custom van interiors, systems, and components. We design in 3D, prototype rapidly, and manufacture in-house using CNC routers, laser cutters, laser welding, 3D printing, 3D scanning, and traditional fabrication and woodworking processes. Our work creates an unusually direct connection between design and outcome. You will see the products you design cut, assembled, installed, tested, revised, and ultimately used in real customer vehicles. Close interaction between our design and installation team is key to our success. We are looking for an experienced design engineer who can turn loosely defined ideas and practical requirements into thoughtful, install-ready solutions, particularly for our custom cabinetry and wall/ceiling/floor panel systems. This is a senior individual-contributor role. You will bring technical maturity, sound design judgment, and strong CAD capability while remaining closely connected to prototyping, fabrication, and installation. You should be comfortable taking ownership of a design from initial requirements through modeling, prototype, design review, manufacturing release, installation, and revision. You will help strengthen our design systems and technical standards, but you will not be expected to build unnecessary process or manage from a distance. The right person brings experience without ego. You are confident enough to make decisions, humble enough to test them, and willing to revise your work based on evidence from the shop floor. This is not a screen-only engineering position. You will work directly with fabricators, installers, project managers, and customers to solve practical problems involving fit, function, manufacturability, durability, aesthetics, and serviceability. Your work will include designing cabinetry systems, mounting structures, electrical enclosures, modular storage systems, vehicle interfaces, fixtures, production tooling, and new product concepts. You will have meaningful technical ownership without being separated from the people who build and use your designs.

Requirements

Substantial professional experience developing physical products, fabricated assemblies, vehicle components, cabinetry systems, industrial equipment, or similar products.
Highly capable in parametric 3D CAD; Fusion 360 experience is preferred.
Ability to produce production-ready models, assemblies, drawings, and manufacturing information.
Understand practical design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly principles.
Experience working directly with CNC processes, sheet goods, plastics, composites, metals, hardware, fasteners, or fabricated assemblies.
Ability to move effectively between detailed CAD work and hands-on prototype evaluation.
Comfortable making progress when requirements are incomplete or evolving.
Know when greater precision is necessary and when a simpler solution is better.
Treat fabricators and installers as partners in the design process.
Communicate technical decisions clearly without becoming territorial.
Enjoy mentoring through collaboration, review, and example rather than hierarchy.
Want to remain a hands-on technical contributor while influencing how products are developed.

Nice To Haves

A degree in engineering, industrial design, product design, or a related discipline is valuable but not mandatory. Demonstrated judgment, technical capability, and a strong portfolio of built work matter more than credentials alone.

Responsibilities

Turn loosely defined ideas and practical requirements into thoughtful, install-ready solutions, particularly for custom cabinetry and wall/ceiling/floor panel systems.
Take ownership of a design from initial requirements through modeling, prototype, design review, manufacturing release, installation, and revision.
Help strengthen design systems and technical standards.
Work directly with fabricators, installers, project managers, and customers to solve practical problems involving fit, function, manufacturability, durability, aesthetics, and serviceability.
Design cabinetry systems, mounting structures, electrical enclosures, modular storage systems, vehicle interfaces, fixtures, production tooling, and new product concepts.
Improve the structure and repeatability of CAD, drawing, revision, and design-release practices.
Create reusable design systems and standards where they add value.
Give and receive direct technical feedback constructively.
Help less-experienced teammates improve without needing formal authority.
Consistently balance quality, speed, cost, and complexity.