About us:  At Plexus, our vision is to help create the products that build a better world.  Driven by a passion for excellence, we partner with leading Aerospace/Defense, Healthcare/Life Sciences and Industrial companies to design, manufacture and service some of the world’s most transformative products, including advanced surgical systems, diagnostic instruments, healthcare imaging equipment, mission critical aerospace systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions. Visit Plexus.com to learn more about our unwavering commitment to our vision. 

When we invest in our people, we invest in building a better world. 

With a vision rooted in the wellbeing and inclusive engagement of our team members, our customers, their end users and our communities, people are the heart of what we do and who we are. It is our values that unite us and guide us in everything that we do, including how we operate, behave and interact to foster a workplace where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best.  

Our values include: Growing our People, Building Belonging, Innovating Responsibly, Delivering Excellence and Creating Customer Success. 

As a team member, you will engage in impactful work through global collaboration and the use of emerging technologies, join an inclusive culture where every team member is valued and working toward a greater purpose, and be empowered to reach your full potential through various development programs designed to accelerate your growth. 

Our commitment to pay range transparency fosters an equitable workplace, where everyone can feel valued. The annual compensation range for this position is stated below. The salary offered within this range will be based upon the geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level. Salary Range:

About Plexus User-Centered Design (UCD) Team

The Plexus User-Centered Design team believes that understanding what motivates people and drives their behavior is what empowers design to create better interactions. We are a highly collaborative, passionate and talented team working in Research, Strategy and Design at the front end of product development. We solve complex problems, advocate for the end user, and own the design vision from insight to reality.

UCD is a fully-integrated part of Plexus’ cross-functional product development organization supporting all of our market sectors. We partner early with our clients to understand their end user’s needs, define potential use cases and develop design strategies to create better experiences and deliver products that lead to market success and true innovation. 

In order to continue growing and to serve our client’s diverse and evolving needs, we are seeking an Industrial Design Lead to join our team in the Neenah Design Center. The right candidate will be creative, passionate, and performance-minded with the drive and passion to support business development, be a catalyst for growth of a design thinking culture and lead and contribute to projects, ensuring Plexus delivers innovative, world-class products and experiences. Delivering on our promise to create the products that build a better world.

Job Summary 

The Industrial Design Lead will be a member of the global User-Centered Design team and a technical and strategic leader for User-Centered Design in the Neenah Design Center.

The Industrial Design Lead will engage in business development, project leadership and execution, continuous improvement, mentorship and education in support of the growth of Plexus’ user-centered design and product development business.

The Industrial Design Lead will lead and contribute to activities within the disciplines of Research, Strategy and Design in support of the development of physical products, digital interfaces, and the overall user experience. This work will happen across all stages of development from discovery and early product definition through design for manufacture for customers in each of our market sectors.

This is a highly visible and important role within the Neenah Design Center and organization and will enjoy diverse customer and global cross-functional interaction with the opportunity to influence the continued evolution of User-Centered Design within Plexus.

Key Aspects the role:

Leader User-Centered Design activities on projects develop and own plan, scope and deliverables, communicate and provide direction for user-centered design challenges, opportunities and requirements, partner and align with customers and internal teams

Own the design and development of physical products and digital interfaces guiding and contributing to the generation, evaluation and refinement of concepts through sketching, hand-built prototyping, CAD, Adobe tools and rapid prototyping

Contribute to Research and Strategy activities and own alignment of these with the overall goals and strategy for the project

Seek out and understand internal and external customer needs and guide the development of solutions that meet those needs

Drive design excellence by promoting well-reasoned creative design solutions based on research, iterative development, cross-functional collaboration and strong processes

Collaborate with and lead local and remote UCD team members to ensure the overall success of projects

Support and partner with business development and project management teams to engage, sell, quote and win new customers and projects

Provide mentorship within the UCD team and engineering

Own and contribute to continuous improvement associated with strategic growth of the UCD team, processes and capabilities

What you need to be successful:

Proven success in leading and contributing to design and product development, defining user needs and use cases and helping to envision and deliver better experiences for users

Knowledge of industry trends, understanding and application of these to Plexus projects and processes

Superior problem solving and ideation ability with a focus on usability, manufacturability, viability, visual brand language and the interpretation of client and user needs and desires

Entrepreneurial spirit and ability to be strategic to understand and contribute to the big picture while creating a tactical plan to execute on near term goals

Exceptional ability to generate and refine concepts through rapid visualization, solid and surface modeling (Solidworks and/or Creo preferred), Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) and physical models, mock-ups and prototypes

Excellent verbal and visual communication skills; ability to clearly articulate and present ideas and be a natural in front of clients

Strong cross discipline communication, leadership and collaboration skills within User-Centered Design and engineering

Ability to balance the ambiguity of front end design while developing complex systems with rigorous regulatory requirements 

Thought leadership, strong point of view and confidence to recommend the right approach for design

Ability to build consensus and align the stakeholders and team to a recommended direction

Excellent presentation, problem solving, written and interpersonal communication skills are a must

Ability to travel up to 10% domestically and internationally

Must submit a portfolio link or file with your application

Education & Experience:

7+ years of Industrial Design or product development experience with a demonstrated understanding and proven record of success in user-centered design is required, Electronics and/or medical device design focus is a plus

A Bachelors degree in Industrial Design or related field is required 

Experience supporting and conducting end-user research and usability testing

Successful participation in cross discipline product development teams

Experience working in both design consulting and corporate environments is a plus

Experience partnering with business development in customer facing activities including strategy, selling, quoting and project planning 

This document does not represent a contract of employment and is not intended to capture every possible assignment the incumbent could be asked to perform.

We are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities or special requirements.  If you need an application accommodation, please contact us by email at GHQ.TA@plexus.com. Please include your contact information and clearly describe how we can help you. This email is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Some offers of employment are contingent upon successfully passing a drug screen and/or background check.