Job Description
Senior Director of Design
Req ID: 7211
Remote Opportunities: Semi-Remote
We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light, and more things to come for our customers, our communities, and our planet.
Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light, and more things to come. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL) and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in people’s lives.
We are positioned at the intersection of sustainability and technology. Our businesses develop technology that helps save our customers energy and reduce their carbon emissions. We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and location-aware applications.
Job Summary
Specialty Lighting is a group of brave, talented, and invested people who have fun developing products that inspire. We innovate at the intersection of illumination engineering and design and are creating the future of lighting . We are highly focused on making our clients look like rockstars.
The Senior Director of Design is the advocate of high level functional and aesthetic design for these products, driving them to be award winning, industry originals. The role will engage with all brands, but will be focused on Hydrel, Healthcare Lighting, and Luminaire LED. It will also work closely with the Luminaire Concept Center on next generation lighting concepts.
The ideal candidate will have a proven track record for leading teams that have consistently developed award-winning products that create new standards. They should have experience with a range of projects from high-end design focused products to high volume products with an uncommon level of design. They should have experience with indoor and outdoor products. They should have intimate knowledge of the passions and challenges of lighting designers, interior designers, architects, engineers, and landscape designers and be able to comfortably speak their language.
Finally, they should be able to comfortably and persuasively interact with all internal and external stakeholders involved with commercializing luminaires including; engineers, industrial designers, illumination engineers, manufacturing engineers, marketers, sales, industry associations, and our primary customers.
The positiion will be remote, based in Canada or the United States.
Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)
- Infuse design throughout the Hydrel, Luminaire LED, and Healthcare development process and lead conceptual design in partnership with the associated engineering teams. Elevate the design sophistication and amplify brand design language. Ensure focus on design is maintained through the commercialization process.
- Work closely with the Luminaire Concept Center on the development of new to the world lighting concepts that feed all Specialty Brands. Infuse design into all concepts from inception through handoff. Ideate design concepts that challenge the status quo of the lighting industry.
- Represent design on the committee that curates and drives the Specialty Lighting Roadmap process.
- Provide design input and guidance for Eureka, Alight, Luminis, and Cyclone. Participate in project reviews, briefs, and committees.
- Engage closely with the design community on behalf of all brands through personal relationships and designer to designer forums. Develop a deep understanding of design community challenges to drive the development of customer centric project briefs.
- Represent design on the Specialty Leadership team and infuse design into cross-brand initiatives including marketing, tradeshows, customer events, and industry presentations.
- Provide and/or adhere to strong brand discipline that is seen throughout all aspects of the design, performance and life of the product.
Skills and Minimum Experience Required
- Strong desire to work in a start-up environment where creativity, uncertainty, and risk are embraced. Someone who is comfortable and thrives in the unknown.
- 10 years or more experience in leading teams that design indoor and outdoor lighting products
- Proven track record of commercializing products for high volume and low volume applications that have won numerous awards
- Strong visual, verbal and written communication skills and significant experience presenting to and engaging with the design community and selling partners
- Deep knowledge of the technical challenges of luminaire development. Ability to demonstrate examples of solutions that overcame extreme technical challenges to create new to the world solutions.
- Experience working cross-functionally across a broad organization with the ability to speak the language of all disciplines involved in luminaire development
- Thrive in multiple design projects simultaneously and can handle deliverables at different levels depending each projects timeline and complexity_
- Bachelor degree in Industrial Design
- Proficiency with SolidWorks, Illustrator, Keyshot, and 3DSMax
- Proficient at 2D sketching both analog and digital