Lead Product Designer
Sabi Inc.
Product, Design
San Francisco, CA, USA
USD 300k-400k / year + Equity
Location
San Francisco
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
Hybrid
Department
Hardware
Compensation
- $300K – $400K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus
About the Company
We're a small team solving one of the hardest problems in human-computer interaction: a noninvasive wearable that turns thought into text, no surgery required.
By pairing ultra-high-density neural sensing with our Brain Foundation Model, we decode neural signals with a fidelity once reserved for implants. Our mission is to give a billion people a direct link between mind and machine - expanding how humans think, communicate, and create.
We are building a next-generation AI companion wearable powered by EEG/BCI technology. Our device reads and responds to neural signals in real time, creating a deeply personal experience that adapts to each user. This is not another productivity tool or a gadget — it is a new category of technology built around human potential.
We are backed by strong investors, moving fast, and assembling a world-class team to bring this to market. If you thrive at the frontier of what’s possible and want to build something that genuinely changes how people interact with their own minds, we want to talk to you.
About the Role
You will own the physical experience of our wearable, the way it looks, the way it feels on the head, and the way it integrates into someone's life. Our first product is a sensor-rich textile beanie: a multi-camera array, a multi-microphone array, open-ear speakers, a high-density EEG sensor array, a flex PCB with multiple rigid islands, and an onboard battery, all of which must disappear into a soft, beautiful object that someone wants to wear in public for hours at a time.
You will report to the Head of Hardware, with regular exposure to the CEO and CTO, and partner closely with the EE, FW, audio, camera, and reliability leads. The technical leads provide subsystem requirements; you decide how those requirements become a wearable object.
You will also work extensively with external engineering teams at our textile, mechanical, and electronics contract manufacturers. The work is outsourced; the accountability is yours.
What You’ll Do
Own ID and ME for the wearable end-to-end: sketch through CAD, prototype, tooling, and DfM with overseas CMs.
Lead the integration of electronics into soft goods: flex PCB packaging, rigid-island placement, textile-to-rigid transitions, weight distribution, thermal management, serviceability
Define and enforce comfort engineering: pressure mapping, weight balance, skin-contact thermal limits, breathability, fit across head sizes and hair types, long-wear validation.
Drive the design language and material story for our brand's physical products: fabrics, seams, transitions, how the device announces itself or fades into the background.
Partner with the EE lead on rigid-island layout, antenna keep-outs, and electrode contact pressure; with audio and camera leads on acoustic ports, mic mesh, lens windows, and pod integration.
Partner with the reliability lead on drop, ingress, thermal, and ergonomic robustness.
Ship the product by end of year, and build and lead the product design function as ID and ME capability scales.
What We’re Looking For
Must-Haves
10+ years of industrial design and/or mechanical engineering, with multiple shipped consumer wearables or comparable body-worn products.
Demonstrated experience integrating electronics into soft goods or textile products (apparel, headwear, garments, or wearables with significant fabric content).
Deep CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Rhino, or equivalent) and rendering (Keyshot or comparable).
Strong instinct for comfort engineering: pressure points, weight, thermal, fit across diverse users, backed by structured wear testing and iteration.
Experience driving DfM, tooling, and quality with overseas CMs.
Nice-to-Haves
High-density biocompatible interfaces, dry electrode arrays, or other dense sensor-to-skin integrations.
Soft goods sourcing and textile engineering: knit beanies, technical apparel, woven goods.
Optical windows, acoustic ports, or sensor windows in consumer products.
Biocompatibility, skin contact, and dermatological testing for body-worn products.
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A point of view about what makes a wearable beautiful rather than gadget-y.
If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every qualification, please apply. As we build, we’re hiring for complementary strengths to form a high-impact team.
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive base salary
Meaningful equity package
401(k) with company matching
Health insurance
Flexible PTO
Our Hiring Timeline
Evaluation completed within 14 days of first interview
Offer letter dispatched same day as go decision, valid for 10 days
Start date within 4 weeks of offer acceptance
All candidate queries responded to within 3 hours during business hours
Sabi is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome people of all backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Compensation Range: $300K - $400K
