Furniture Design Engineer

Design & Engineering · Product Development

Location: Hosur, Tamil Nadu

Employment Type: Full-Time

Experience: 6+ Years

About Wakefit

Wakefit is building a next-generation furniture manufacturing ecosystem that combines product design, engineering, technology, and high-scale manufacturing.

We are looking for an experienced Furniture Design Engineer to own the end-to-end development of furniture products — from concept and 3D modelling to prototyping, engineering validation, production drawings, and mass manufacturing.

This role sits at the intersection of Furniture Design, Engineering and Manufacturing. You will work closely with Product Design, Production, Manufacturing, Procurement and Quality teams to ensure that every product is aesthetically strong, structurally sound, cost-effective, and designed for manufacturing at scale.

What Success Looks Like

- Furniture products move from concept → prototype → validation → production with minimal rework.
- Designs are manufacturing-ready from day one, reducing production defects, rejections, and engineering changes.
- Accurate 3D models, production drawings, BOMs, specifications, and assembly documentation are released on time.
- Products meet defined standards for quality, durability, functionality, ergonomics, cost, and manufacturability.
- Design and engineering decisions improve material efficiency, manufacturing productivity, and product cost.
- Product learnings are documented and converted into standardized design practices for future launches.

Key Responsibilities
- Furniture Design & Product Development

- Own the end-to-end design and engineering of assigned furniture products from concept to production.
- Develop concepts, sketches, layouts, 3D models, assemblies, and detailed engineering designs.
- Translate design intent into production-ready furniture solutions.
- Design products considering functionality, aesthetics, ergonomics, structural integrity, durability, manufacturability, and cost.
- Develop both individual components and complete furniture assemblies.
- Design and optimize products across categories such as tables, chairs, beds, storage, sofas, cabinets, and other furniture systems.

2. CAD & Engineering Documentation
- Create detailed 3D part and assembly models using SolidWorks.
- Prepare accurate 2D manufacturing and assembly drawings with appropriate dimensions, tolerances, material specifications, and finishing requirements.
- Develop and maintain BOMs, component specifications, assembly instructions, and engineering documentation.
- Ensure drawings accurately reflect the final product and are suitable for manufacturing.
- Manage design revisions and ensure engineering changes are properly documented.
- Maintain standardized CAD models, templates, components, and design libraries.

3. DFM / DFA & Manufacturing Engineering
- Design furniture specifically for Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA).
- Work closely with production and manufacturing teams to identify and eliminate manufacturability issues before production.
- Understand manufacturing processes including:
- CNC machining
- Cutting and drilling
- Edge banding
- Routing
- Woodworking
- Joinery
- Metal fabrication
- Welding
- Upholstery
- Painting and finishing
- Assembly




- Optimize designs for repeatability, ease of assembly, production efficiency, and quality.
- Identify opportunities to simplify components, reduce part count, standardize hardware, and improve assembly processes.

4. Prototyping & Product Validation
- Drive prototype development from engineering drawings and CAD models.
- Work with prototype and production teams to build and validate first samples.
- Conduct design reviews based on fit, form, function, ergonomics, durability, stability, and manufacturability.
- Identify design gaps during prototype and pilot production stages.
- Implement design changes based on testing, production feedback, quality observations, and customer insights.
- Ensure final designs are validated before mass production release.

5. Material & Hardware Selection
- Select appropriate materials based on product requirements, performance, aesthetics, availability, and cost.
- Strong understanding of:
- Solid wood
- Plywood
- MDF / HDF
- Particle board
- Laminates
- Veneers
- Metals
- Glass
- Foam
- Fabrics
- Furniture hardware and fittings
- Evaluate hardware, joints, fasteners, mechanisms, and fittings for functionality and durability.
- Recommend alternate materials or components where they improve cost, quality, availability, or manufacturability.

6. Cost Optimization & Value Engineering
- Design products within defined cost and material targets.
- Identify opportunities for material optimization and cost reduction without compromising product quality or customer experience.
- Partner with Procurement and Manufacturing teams on value engineering initiatives.
- Evaluate alternate materials, hardware, construction methods, and component designs.
- Contribute to reducing material wastage, assembly time, component cost, and manufacturing complexity.

7. Production & Quality Support
- Work closely with Production, Quality, Design QC, and Manufacturing teams during product industrialization.
- Resolve design-related issues arising during prototype, pilot, and mass production.
- Conduct root-cause analysis for recurring design and manufacturing defects.
- Implement permanent engineering solutions rather than temporary fixes.
- Support first-piece approval and production release activities.
- Ensure products consistently meet defined dimensional, functional, structural, and aesthetic quality standards.

8. CNC / CAM & Manufacturing Data
- Understand how CAD designs translate into CNC and other manufacturing processes.
- Work with CAM teams to ensure designs are compatible with CNC machining requirements.
- Exposure to AlphaCAM for woodworking/CNC applications will be highly valuable.
- Understand machining constraints such as tool access, routing, drilling, tolerances, nesting, joints, and material behavior.
- Optimize designs to reduce unnecessary machining operations and production complexity.

9.



Design Standards & Continuous Improvement
- Develop and maintain design standards, templates, component libraries, and engineering guidelines.
- Standardize commonly used components, hardware, joints, and construction methods.
- Capture manufacturing and customer learnings and incorporate them into future product designs.
- Continuously improve the design-to-manufacturing process through data, experimentation, and cross-functional feedback.

Required Qualifications

Education

- Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Furniture Design, Product Design, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Production Engineering, Furniture Technology, Wood Technology, or a related discipline.

Experience
- 6+ years of hands-on experience in furniture design, furniture engineering, product development, or furniture manufacturing.
- Strong experience taking furniture products from concept → CAD → prototype → production.
- Experience working closely with manufacturing / production teams is mandatory.

Technical Skills

Mandatory

- Strong proficiency in SolidWorks.
- Solid proficiency in AutoCAD.
- Excellent understanding of 3D part modelling and assembly modelling.
- Strong knowledge of production and engineering drawings.
- BOM creation and engineering documentation.
- Strong understanding of DFM / DFA.
- Practical understanding of furniture manufacturing processes.

Preferred:
- Working knowledge of AlphaCAM / CAM software.
- Experience with CNC-based furniture manufacturing.
- Knowledge of parametric modelling and design standardization.
- Exposure to engineering change management and product lifecycle processes.

Furniture Domain Knowledge The candidate should have strong practical knowledge of:
- Furniture construction and joinery
- Solid wood and panel-based furniture
- CNC manufacturing
- Woodworking processes
- Furniture hardware and fittings
- Structural design
- Upholstery and soft furniture construction
- Surface finishing
- Prototyping and sample development
- Production constraints and manufacturability
- Ergonomics and user comfort
- Material behavior and tolerances

Experience in high-volume furniture manufacturing, D2C furniture, modular furniture, home interiors, or engineered furniture products will be an advantage.

Key Competencies

- Strong product and engineering mindset
- Excellent 3D visualization and spatial understanding
- Strong problem-solving ability
- Attention to detail and dimensional accuracy
- Strong understanding of manufacturing constraints
- Ability to balance design, quality, cost, and manufacturability
- Strong cross-functional collaboration
- Data-driven approach to product improvement
- Ability to work hands-on with prototype and production teams
- Ownership mindset from design handoff through production stabilization

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for someone who is not just a CAD designer, but an engineer who understands how furniture is actually built.

The ideal candidate will be able to look at a furniture concept and answer:

"Can this be manufactured reliably at scale, at the right cost, with the required quality?"

They should be equally comfortable working on SolidWorks at their workstation, reviewing a prototype, and solving a design issue directly on the manufacturing floor.

📌 Senior Design Engineer (Bagalur)
🏢 Wakefit
📍 Bagalur