Design Director

Why join us?

At Design Within Reach, home comes first. We believe in creating and sourcing pieces that move with you and are meant to be enjoyed over a lifetime – from home to home, generation to generation. For us, that means exceptionally crafted, built-to-last, and beautifully designed furnishings. Our purpose is design for the good of humankind. It’s the ideal we strive toward each day in everything we do.

Being a part of Design Within Reach means being a part of something larger than your work team, or even your brand. We are redefining modern for the 21st century. And our success allows Design Within Reach to support causes that align with our values, so we can build a more sustainable, equitable, and beautiful future for everyone.

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Creative Director, the Product Design Director leads DWR Studio and sets the creative direction for Design Within Reach's original product portfolio. This role is responsible for shaping product vision, defining collection briefs, leading a multidisciplinary industrial design team, and partnering across merchandising, product development, sourcing, engineering, and manufacturing to bring commercially successful, design-led products to market.

The Product Design Director combines exceptional design leadership with strategic business thinking, ensuring every product reflects Design Within Reach’s commitment to authentic modern design, impeccable craftsmanship, commercial success, and enduring relevance. This individual will cultivate a culture of design excellence, champion innovation, and develop products that strengthen Design Within Reach’s position as the leading destination for modern home furnishings.

• Creative Leadership
  Partner with the SVP, Creative Director to define and execute the long-term creative vision for DWR Studio.
  Serve as the primary design leader for DWR Studio, translating brand strategy into a cohesive product vision and portfolio direction.
  Create and steward design briefs for all original product collections across furniture, lighting, accessories, and textiles, ensuring alignment with brand, customer, and business objectives.
  Lead the conceptual development of new collections that advance the Design Within Reach point of view while supporting strategic business objectives.
  Provide clear recommendations on product direction, design tradeoffs, and collection priorities to support portfolio growth and long-term brand equity.
  Ensure a consistently high standard of design quality, craftsmanship, usability, and aesthetic rigor throughout the portfolio.
  Foster a culture where thoughtful critique, experimentation, and innovation are central to the design process.
• Product Strategy
  Translate consumer insights, market intelligence, and cultural trends into a differentiated product strategy.
  Partner with Merchandising to define category opportunities, product roadmaps, and long-term portfolio evolution.
  Balance creative ambition with commercial performance, identifying opportunities that strengthen both brand equity and business growth.
  Inform and influence investment decisions across new product development, assortment planning, and portfolio management.
  Partner with Merchandising and Product Development to evaluate assortment performance, identify lifecycle opportunities, and support category growth strategies.
  Ensure design decisions appropriately balance customer desirability, brand differentiation, quality expectations, and commercial viability.
• Design Leadership
  Lead, mentor, and develop the industrial design team while creating an environment that attracts and retains exceptional creative talent.
  Establish clear goals, performance expectations, feedback mechanisms, and development plans that enable individual and team success.
  Build strong cross-functional partnerships that enable efficient product development and successful commercialization.
  Establish best practices for design process, creative reviews, and product storytelling.
  Inspire a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing creative culture.
  Drive succession planning and talent development to build long-term…