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Senior Mechanical Engineer

Studio RED, a Product Development Consulting Firm, seeks an experienced and creative Senior Mechanical Engineer who will be responsible for defining and developing low and high volume custom products. In support of a cross-functional Product Development team, you will play a key role in leading mechanical engineering to a successful project completion from inception to production. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, strong technical background with significant proven experience in fast-track product development.

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for the following tasks, using a combination of internal team members and outside vendor partners.

-  Coordinate engineering program priorities and issues in cross-functional teams.

-  Develop high volume plastic molded part design in very complex forms.

- Engineer sheet metal components and mechanisms, with all forms of fabrication and productions quantities.

 - Knowledge of computer thermal and EMI issues.

- Manage electro-mechanical systems, i.e. Audio, RF Shielding, ESD.
- Ensure the product design meets DFM requirements.
- Prepare early design layouts and drive product architecture.
- Research new materials, processes, and progressive technologies to meet product goals.
 - Implement multifaceted Industrial Design fit and finishes.
- Ensure detailed design documentation is complete including geometric tolerance nomenclature.

- Team player is necessary for the fit within our family style environment.

Required Skills and Experience:

· BSME minimum and 8 years of relevant experience in high volume plastics and sheet metal design in a corporate or consulting context.
· 3D CAD experience 5+ years, Solid Works, Pro Engineer experience is a plus.
· Lead ME on several prior projects that went to production.
· Experience with plastics, plating processes, twin-shot and insert molding.
· Superior communication skills, strong use of communication tools, i.e. email, spreadsheets, issues lists, etc.
· Working knowledge of high volume manufacturing requirements.
· Solid knowledge of injection mold tool design requirements for proper part design.
· Interest in other disciplines such as Industrial Design, Human Factors, Quality and   Electrical Engineering.
· Experience in managing outside resources, i.e. partners, Production Suppliers.
· Solid analytical skills including strength of materials and basic machine design.
· Solid sketching skills in support of team communication.

Contact Philip Bourgeois Studio Red: red@studiored.com

or mail to Studio Red, 115 Independence Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025 

Salary commensurate with experience

Studio RED Ruggedized Android Tablet Takes Second Prize in Global Design Awards

THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The IDA Juries have finalized this year's annual Design Awards winners selections

Jul 22 2014

LOS ANGELES, Jul 01 2014 Los Angeles; 

Studio RED- Philip Bourgeois, Aaron Neuhauser, Matthew Bettman, Charles Putland of United States was awarded: Second Prize in Other Products designs Competition for the Harris Android Tablet Project.

IDA honorary juries examined over 1000 entries submitted by architects and designers of interiors, fashion, products, and graphics from 52 countries throughout the world. After final decisions had been made, the jury rewarded the best professional and emerging designers for their achievements in terms of design, creativity, usability and innovation. Judging was a rigorous process, with winners receiving publication of their work in the International Design Awards Book of Designs. The coveted IDA Trophy will be awarded to all Designer of the Year title winners at the official biennial International Design Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles.

This annual competition recognizes, honors and promotes legendary design visionaries and uncovers emerging talents in Architecture, Interior, Product, Graphic and Fashion Design on global level.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

How valuable are today's mobile devices? What if they were designed to save lives? Consider a device that can record and communicate information to hospitals about critical patients during transport, resulting in dramatically reduced ER response time. Consider a device that can use pictures and video to reunite families who have been separated by a disaster. The rf3590 Ruggedized tablet computer is designed to bring cutting edge communications technology to the front lines. Designed for first responder and military use, the rf3590 brings critical applications for voice, video and data to the hardest hit disaster areas and war zones. Rugged and fully submersible, the device operates on common and emergency LTE networks to stream life saving information in real time. Designed for hand carry, vehicle mount, and use in an opening chest pocket, it carries all the capability of a notebook computer in a small form factor. Typical uses include aerial video to ground troops, inventory management, security checkpoint Identification, video and data entry for law enforcement, and mapping firefight crews against burn-rate, weather, and other hazards. The rf3590 is unique in its use of the Android OS, realizing that today's users would experience a significantly shorter learning curve than in custom operating systems. Android has the additional benefit of easing development for new applications. Designed for gloved and ambidextrous use, the familiar buttons are mirrored with non slip contoured areas around the screen among other surface elements which all contribute to the singular purpose of one-handed grip confidence. Other design challenges faced were maintaining a compact size given the additional equipment it needed to house over and above typical tablets, fitting 4 working internal antennas inside a metal housing, and creating a unique look that maintained all the traits of a rugged device.

ABOUT Studio RED-

Founded in 1983 by Philip Bourgeois, StudioRED is now a premier product development consultancy in California's Silicon Valley. With a background in high volume injection molding and off-shore manufacturing, the integration of US based development with off-shore manufacturing has become the hallmark of our capabilities.

StudioRED's work has focused on handheld electronics, medical devices, and a wide range of consumer products. For nearly 30 years, Studio RED has offered Total Product Development services from concept through delivery - a rare and valuable capability. StudioRED's clients receive US development experience with low-cost Asian production.

Designer's Contact:
red@studiored.com

650-324-2244

About IDA

A handful of designers, thinkers and entrepreneurs created the International Design Awards in 2007 as a response to the lack of recognition and celebration for smart and sustainable multidisciplinary design. The International Design Awards (IDA) exists to recognize, celebrate and promote legendary design visionaries and to uncover emerging talent in Architecture, Interior, Product, Graphic, and Fashion Design. IDA aspires to draw attention to the iconoclasm of design world wide, conceptualizing and producing great work.

The members of the jury included Alice Blackwood Editor, Design Quarterly, Kahi Lee - Host, HGTV's "Design on a Dime", Style Network's "My Celebrity Home", Melissa Sterry - Interdisciplinary Design Scientist, Founder, Societas,Josh Rubin - Editor-in-Chief, Founder, and Publisher, Cool Hunting, Martin Venzky - Stalling, Senior Advisor, CMU STeP, Jeffrey Nemeroff - Co-Founder, Creative Director, Entra Magazine, Jordan Landes-Brenman CEO, Haute House PR & Marketing, Raj Nandan - Managing Director, Indesign Group, William Menking - Founder, Editor-in-Chief, The Architects' Newspaper, Nicole Lloyd - Senior Art Buyer, Deutsch, Inc., Rebecca Epstein Kong - Co-founder, Artware Editions, Aaron Kenedi - Editor-in-Chief, Print, Geraldine Grisey - Editor, Punky B Fashion Diary.

For IDA Press Inquiries, Contact:
Lydia Em
International Design Awards
550 N Larchmont Blvd, Ste 100
Los Angeles, CA 90004
lydia@idesignawards.com 

The 30 year story of Rational Emotional Design

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RED Blooded: The 30 year story of Rational Emotional Design

This month, Studio RED, a product development consultancy in Silicon Valley, celebrates 30 years of designing products for a variety of markets. Philip Bourgeois, founder and president, relates how Rational Emotional Design (RED) methodology was created and has morphed through the past, present and future. 

Menlo Park, CA (August 31^st, 2013) — After starting out in a two-room apartment in Menlo Park, Studio RED grew into the original Quonset hut of the Hiller Helicopter Factory at 1360 Willow Road. In the midst of tanks, choppers, tall warehouse ceilings, Studio RED gained notoriety initially by earning recognition for strong design but later by preaching that to be successful, compelling design must go hand-in-hand with powerful engineering. 

In the early 80’s the concept and role of design was foreign to many, and as a design consultancy we often spoke to potential clients who had never heard of Industrial Design--much less the more specific branch of Product Design--and we would have to explain design’s importance in representing a company’s brand correctly and its value in gaining market share through increased customer acceptance.

In the mid 80's, thanks to some high profile products and individuals, a product’s look and feel started to sink in to the psyche as a must-have aspect of product strategy, and suddenly modern ID (Industrial Design) was on the map for any firm hoping to compete with the best in their field.

From the beginning, in addition to setting functional and branding goals, Studio RED would ask the comprehensive questions like:

“Does the design consider the appropriate manufacturing process based on the intended production quantity?”

“How can the manufacturing be optimized with this design?”

“Have we accounted for servicing it?”

Philip Bourgeois was of the opinion that only by marrying styling with innovation could a company produce the highest quality product to fit the client’s need.

Throughout the 90’s, design grew to consider a more significant role regarding human factors and ergonomics, experiential research and later, user experience and brand strategy concerns. Under all these disciplines Studio RED discovered a common thread: whenever innovation is introduced, there lies a solution to optimize it for the brand--its production, human factors, and cultural impact. Only then the idea of Rational Emotional Design was born.

Rational Emotional Design or RED methodology was developed out of a need to emphasize the integration of design, engineering and manufacturing disciplines into a harmonious whole that delivers exciting and compelling products that really work. This is a product lifecycle strategy that embraces every phase of the product experience. It's unique. It's RED.

This new design methodology had not yet echoed throughout the industry. For this reason, Studio RED won over many clients after designs from competitors had proven too complex or costly to produce. At the same time, competitive pressure on cost of goods was emerging as a hot issue and Studio RED's experience established them as an authority in delivering high profile design without high cost of manufacturing. Improving product margins added to the value of the design and enhanced its ultimate success, and was sometimes paramount to whether the product would get to market at all.

Into the 2000’s, the Silicon Valley had already experienced an economic bubble and was poised for another. Throughout these cycles, design firms came and went, as their key accounts tightened spending or went in-house for their limited Product Development. In these cases, big clients that lacked the design manpower for imminent programs would partner with Studio RED.

It is now 2010 and global development and large integrated teams have racked up a need for new ways of program management and significant strides in real-time communication. Online web based program reviews have become commonplace with teams around the globe. It is not unusual to have the client in New York, the design team in Silicon Valley and the contract manufacturer in Taiwan all on the same call or web review. These teams consist of the client working through the targeted specification issues and approvals, Studio RED maintaining the branded design traits and ergonomic optimization, and the manufacturer worrying about choice of components and assembly. This often occurs in real time and ultimately is critical for success using the fastest process possible.

In this current economic climate, clients look for the most cost effective path for uncompromised product development. Things that used to be developed and invented here in Silicon Valley such as PC’s or Notebook computers now are developed off shore. The latest programs will mix locally-developed Intellectual Property (IP) with off shore Electrical and sometimes Mechanical and Software Engineering, with manufacturing by still another. Our role as product development consultants in those cases focuses on the company’s brand strategy and product characteristics, while remaining sensitive to the manufacturing issues and objectives. In this new role of corporate partnering through deep interaction with each disparate discipline, we become the center “hub” of the project management. We must consider each influencer but maintain the design and brand continuity throughout the whole development cycle.

“The future of design in the ever changing, fast paced, competitive global market requires Studio RED's Rational Emotional Design philosophy - a philosophy that maximizes the rational and emotional values throughout the product experience from awareness to obsolescence. Our methodology regards them not as separate disciplines, but as a single brand-focused event."

-Philip Bourgeois, Studio RED Founder and CEO

For additional information or to interview Philip Bourgeois please contact Robin Mankey at (650) 326-0528 x 207 or rmankey@studiored.com.

Studio RED is a product design and development consultancy based in Menlo Park California, providing Design Research, Industrial, Graphical User Interface and Ergonomic Design, Mechanical, Structural and Optical Engineering, Prototyping and Short Run Production services. Headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley, their mission is to solve product design problems in highly innovative, financially feasible ways that create powerful client brands and end-user excitement.

Industries include, Consumer and Mobile/Wearable products, Business / Enterprise, Medical /Biotech, Commercial/ Industrial with an expertise in High Volume Plastic products produced off-shore. 

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