Astrolab

Designs modular lunar rovers for exploration

Industrial Designer

Industrial DesignUpdated on Nov 13

Full-timeHawthorne, CA, USA$140k - $160k /yrIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in industrial design, transportation design, product design, or a related field is required.
Experience taking physical products or hardware from concept through production is required.
Experience using Blender and Adobe Creative Suite, with working knowledge of Alias, is required.

Responsibilities

Lead the industrial design process from initial concept sketches to final production-ready forms, ensuring the physical product embodies the Astrolab brand.
Collaborate directly with aerospace and mechanical engineers to navigate lunar-operation constraints, including thermal, structural, and mass constraints, while maintaining design integrity.
Own the Color, Materials, and Finish strategy, understanding how materials behave in space and translating them into a cohesive visual language.
Operate at the intersection of marketing and engineering, translating technical requirements into brand identity.
Work closely with the Fractional Chief Creative Designer to establish and refine the overarching design language for Astrolab hardware.
Ensure each physical touchpoint, from the rover chassis to the smallest payload interface, is intentionally designed and distinctly Astrolab.
Use Blender, Adobe Creative Suite, and Alias to communicate design intent to technical and non-technical audiences.
Rapidly iterate on forms and concepts based on engineering feedback, testing, and brand alignment.

Desired Qualifications

Class A modeling experience is a plus.
Experience applying Color, Materials, and Finish principles to physical products or hardware.
A portfolio demonstrating product design work, including complex design challenges and design constraints.
Experience in transportation, robotics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, or a related industry.
Experience working in a studio environment or at the intersection of brand, product design, and engineering.
Experience communicating technical or complex design concepts to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
Experience designing hardware for extreme environments or regulated industries.
Experience developing designs that account for manufacturing requirements, material constraints, environmental conditions, and product performance.

Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company. We design and build the systems and hardware the lunar economy will come to depend on — rovers, power, and data networks for sustained operations on the Moon. We are focused on the problems that must be solved before the next chapter of human exploration can scale. The Moon does not forgive untested assumptions. The people who work here know that, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

As an Industrial Designer at Astrolab, you will be the creative anchor of our product vision. At Astrolab, our design function operates within a studio model embedded inside the Marketing organization. We believe that design sits at the intersection of engineering and brand; it is the visual language that translates our technical DNA into a consistent identity that defines a market. You will work day-to-day with our Fractional Chief Creative Designer (a world-class automotive ID designer) and our Head of Marketing, while collaborating deeply with engineering to ensure that the rovers and systems we build perform flawlessly and look unmistakably like Astrolab.

In this role, you are not just making things look good; you are making design decisions that impact physical products bound for the lunar surface. You will bring a deep understanding of form, function, and constraint-driven design, ensuring our hardware reflects our brand identity without compromising its mission-critical engineering.

Product Design & Development

End-to-End Design: Lead the industrial design process from initial concept sketches to final production-ready forms, ensuring the physical product embodies the Astrolab brand
Constraint-Driven Creativity: Collaborate directly with aerospace and mechanical engineers to navigate the extreme constraints of lunar operations (thermal, structural, mass) while maintaining design integrity
CMF Strategy: Own the Color, Materials, and Finish (CMF) strategy, understanding how materials behave in space and how they translate into a cohesive visual language

Studio Model Collaboration

Cross-Functional Integration: Operate at the intersection of marketing and engineering, acting as the translator between technical requirements and brand identity
Creative Partnership: Work closely with the Fractional Chief Creative Designer to establish and refine the overarching design language for all Astrolab hardware
Brand Stewardship: Ensure that every physical touchpoint, from the rover chassis to the smallest payload interface, feels intentionally designed and distinctly Astrolab

Visualization & Communication

Design Communication: Use Blender, Adobe Creative Suite, and Alias to communicate design intent clearly to both technical (engineering) and non-technical (leadership, investors) audiences
Iterative Prototyping: Rapidly iterate on forms and concepts based on engineering feedback, testing, and brand alignment

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in industrial design, transportation design, product design, or a related field
Experience taking physical products or hardware from concept through production
Experience using Blender and Adobe Creative Suite, with working knowledge of Alias; Class A modeling experience is a plus

Preferred Qualifications

Experience applying Color, Materials, and Finish (CMF) principles to physical products or hardware
Portfolio demonstrating product design work, including complex design challenges and design constraints
Experience in transportation, robotics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, or a related industry
Experience working in a studio environment or at the intersection of brand, product design, and engineering
Experience communicating technical or complex design concepts to cross-functional teams and stakeholders
Experience designing hardware for extreme environments or regulated industries
Experience developing designs that account for manufacturing requirements, material constraints, environmental conditions, and product performance

About the Company

Astrolab

Designs modular lunar rovers for exploration

Astrolab designs and builds modular rovers for lunar and extraterrestrial surface missions. Its flagship FLEX rover is a modular, reusable vehicle that can transport cargo, equipment, and crew across the Moon. The system works by using interchangeable payload modules on a shared rover chassis, allowing rapid reconfiguration for different mission profiles—from cargo delivery to astronaut transport—without needing a new vehicle. The rover is designed to be compatible with existing and planned space infrastructure, including NASA’s Artemis program, enabling integration with governmental and commercial lunar operations. What sets Astrolab apart is its emphasis on a single, adaptable platform with modular payloads that can handle a range of tasks and mission profiles, rather than many specialized, single-use machines. The company aims to enable a sustained lunar presence and expanded human activity beyond Earth by providing reliable, flexible surface mobility.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Hawthorne, CA
Founded: 2019

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at Astrolab

See more jobs