Senior Product & Equipment Designer – CAD Guru for Adventure Gear
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We’re looking for a Senior Product & Equipment CAD Designer who gets the outdoors is an innovator at heart and can hit the ground running. This is a senior role where you’ll lead the full design lifecycle of Bushbuck’s technical hard goods. You’ll take ownership of everything from CAD and prototyping to QA, warranty, and supplier coordination. While you’ll work alongside our Clothing Designer on some crossover projects, your focus will be on tents, packs & bags, sleep systems, vehicle-mounted gear, and plenty of other outdoor equipment.
You don’t need to have designed outdoor gear before — what matters is that you’re passionate about the outdoors, understand New Zealand’s culture, environment, elements, and gear requirements, and can channel that into high-performing products.
We’re especially looking for a CAD guru — someone who’s both a weapon at solid modelling (e.g., SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape) and highly skilled in surface modelling (e.g., Rhino, Blender). You’ll need a sharp understanding of how to blend these two skill sets to create robust yet beautifully resolved products.
We’ll be interviewing candidates as applications come in, and shortlisted applicants will be asked to complete a small mini-project to verify their CAD skills.
Key Responsibilities
* Own end-to-end design of hard goods: tents, packs, sleep systems, camp gear, and vehicle-mounted equipment (in particular roof tents).
* Maintain and improve systems for managing design files, specifications, samples, and QC documentation.
* Work closely with Chinese manufacturers to develop, procure, troubleshoot, and refine products.
* Oversee QC systems, manage factory inspection briefs, and coordinate warranty part processes.
* Collaborate with the Clothing Designer on crossover gear and shared development processes.
* Use our ambassadors/friends to test gear in real-world conditions, setting up and managing test briefs, gathering feedback, and feeding insights into the development process.
What You Bring
* 5+ years in product, industrial, mechanical or equipment design (outdoor-specific design experience not required).
* Expert CAD ability: solid modelling (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape) + surface modelling (Rhino, Blender, etc.) with the ability to blend the two.
* Strong mechanical skills and deep understanding of materials and manufacturing techniques.
* Proven experience working with offshore manufacturers, especially in China.
* Highly organised and process-driven, with a focus on delivering quality at scale.
* Competent in Adobe Creative Suite, especially Illustrator.
* Familiarity with tools in our stack: Shopify, Asana, Slack, Miro, Figma.
* Practical mindset with a passion for performance gear and solving real-world problems.
* Passion for the outdoors and first-hand use of gear in real conditions (NZ experience a bonus).
Why Join Bushbuck?
* Senior Role – Lead hard goods development and report directly to the CEO.
* End-to-End Impact – Shape products from concept to customer, backed by field testing.
* Tight-Knit Team – Work with passionate designers, marketers and adventurers building gear that performs.
At Bushbuck, we blend the thrill of outdoor adventure with a fast-paced, fun, and innovative work culture. Picture a Google-style vibe—creative, energetic, and full of opportunity. It’s a place where your impact matters, where getting stuck in and delivering results gets noticed. You'll get access to great product discounts, an awesome social club, and be part of a brand that's going global.
If you’re into big ideas, good people, and the outdoors—this is your adventure.
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Your application will include the following questions:
* Which of the following statements best describes your right to work in New Zealand?
* How many years' experience do you have as a designer?
* What’s your expected annual base salary?
* How much notice are you required to give your current employer?
* Do you have a current New Zealand driver's licence?
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