Product Design Engineer
🌊 Who are we?
We're building the world's largest hydration platform to replace a $1.5 trillion industry controlled by Coca-Cola and Pepsi — companies selling sugar water in plastic. Their model is stuck in the past. We're changing that, from the workplace.
In 2025: #2 fastest growing tech company in the Netherlands (Deloitte Fast50). #30 fastest growing in Europe (Sifted250). 300%+ YoY growth. 16 countries. We're an AI-native company — AI is how we build, not an afterthought.
About the role
We design everything in-house — mechanical, industrial design, electronics, embedded software, IoT — but manufacture through contract manufacturers. That means your designs don't stay in CAD. They become thousands of physical products dispensing water, handling flavors, surviving daily use in offices and hotels across Europe.
This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You'll work independently on complex design problems, contribute to cross-functional decisions, and ship work that directly moves active product programs forward. Reporting to the Head of Physical Product.
What you'll own
End-to-end design execution — from concept and trade-off analysis through detailed design, prototyping, and production-release documentation
Aesthetics that survive manufacturing — translate CMF direction and design intent into manufacturable output; solve parting lines, sink marks, and draft angles in CAD, not on the production line
DFM/DFA/DFS/DFC by default — injection molding, sheet metal, CNC machining, welding, finishing. You know what's manufacturable and what isn't
Engineering validation — calculations, FEA, DFMEA, test-to-fail. You don't just design, you prove it works
Technical documentation — detailed GD&T drawings that communicate clearly with tooling suppliers, CMs, and assembly partners
Fast prototyping — 3D printing, CNC, laser cutting. You build what you need to learn what you need, quickly
About you
Must-haves
4–7 years in mechanical or industrial design engineering for volume production hardware
Strong SolidWorks proficiency — complex assemblies, configurations, production-ready models
Hands-on manufacturing knowledge: injection molding, sheet metal, CNC, welding, powder coating, anodising
Experience designing consumer-facing or premium products where aesthetics matter as much as function
High-quality GD&T technical drawings; FMEA and DFx applied throughout
Stage-gate process experience with formal design reviews
Fluent English (Dutch a plus)
Bonus
Multidisciplinary electromechanical assemblies (mechanical + electronics + fluidics)
Rendering tools: KeyShot, Blender, Adobe Suite
FEA for structural and thermal validation
Appliance, foodtech, or beverage dispensing hardware background
Food-contact / regulated product experience (FDA/EU)
PDM systems (3DEXPERIENCE, Teamcenter)
Why Aquablu?
💰 A salary of 60-70k annually (including 8% holiday allowance)
🌴 26 paid holiday days
📈 Equity through our Aquablu for All plan — everyone shares in what we’re building
🌱 Healthy (heavily discounted) lunches
💪 Urban Sports Club membership
🚀 Access to the Corporate Benefits platform for endless savings
🚆 Travel compensation >10km
👴 A pension plan by Zwitserleven.
💧 Endless amount of our very own flavoured water !
💙Check out out our Youtube to get a feeling for the culture at Aquablu!
Skills
As published by recruitee · 8 questions · 4 written answers
Basics
Full name, Email, CV, Phone
Short answers (2)
- When could you start?
- What is your annual gross salary expectation including 8% holiday allowance? (Please note the salary indication in our job description)
Pick from a list (1)
- Do you require visa sponsorship from us to be able to work in the Netherlands? (We cannot provide any sort of visa sponsorship, please only continue with the application if you do not require sponsorship. You will automatically be disqualified)
Written answers (4)
- What are two reasons you want to work here? (We want to hear your personal thoughts, not ChatGPT)
- Describe a product you designed from concept through production release. What was the hardest design-for-manufacturing trade-off you had to make, and how did you resolve it? (max. 4 sentences)
- Tell us about a time you identified a design problem late in the development process. What did you do, and what would you do differently now? (max. 4 sentences)
- Is there anything else you would like to share with us? optional
Attachments (1)
- Please provide a copy of your portfolio.