Expression of Interest: Senior Vice President (SVP) of Industrial Design

United States
Type: Full time
Register Interest

Sentient Shield is currently accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for this role to build our talent pipeline for upcoming defense contract phases. We are not actively hiring for an immediate start but welcome qualified candidates to submit their credentials for future consideration.

About Sentient Shield

Sentient Shield was born from a singular goal: to ensure that those who go into harm's way return home stronger. By combining Humanics-focused engineering with next-generation material science, we are empowering the modern soldier to move faster, stay longer, and survive the unsurvivable.

Job Overview

We are seeking a visionary Senior Vice President (SVP) of Industrial Design to define the visual language, human ergonomics, and user-experience paradigm of our soft exoskeleton portfolio. You will lead the charge in ensuring our systems are not just mechanically superior, but completely intuitive, hyper-functional, and non-restrictive for the operator. You will manage the intersection of technical utility and aesthetic form, turning complex hardware into an organic extension of the soldier.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design Philosophy: Establish and champion the overarching industrial design language, aesthetic guidelines, and user experience vision for all Sentient Shield products.

  • Ergonomics & Human Factors: Oversee user-centric design research, ensuring profiles integrate flawlessly with various body anthropometries and existing tactical gear (body armor, packs, helmets).

  • Cross-Disciplinary Fusion: Partner closely with Textile Engineers and Biomechanical Engineers to co-develop flexible forms that do not impede a soldier's natural range of motion.

  • Studio Leadership: Build and manage an elite industrial design team, overseeing sketching, 3D modeling, rendering, and high-fidelity cosmetic and functional prototyping.

  • Field-Driven Iteration: Synthesize qualitative feedback from operators during rough-terrain field trials into immediate design, utility, and form-factor enhancements.

  • Brand & Utility Synthesis: Ensure the final product layout maximizes protection, ventilation, ruggedization, and ease of donning/doffing under high-stress conditions.

Required Qualifications

  • Security Clearance: Must hold, or be fully eligible to obtain and maintain, a Department of Defense (DoD) Secret (or higher) security clearance.

  • Citizenship & Compliance: Must be a U.S. citizen or a national of a NATO alliance country.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Must meet all criteria to maintain compliance with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

  • Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related field.

  • Experience: Minimum of 12+ years of consumer electronics, defense apparel, medical device, or advanced wearable product design experience, with at least 5 years in an executive or director-level role.

  • Portfolio: A world-class portfolio demonstrating successful commercialized hardware products that elegantly balance hard mechanisms with soft, wearable components.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Sentient Shield is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, or any other status protected by applicable laws and regulations.

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