Director, Product and Design

What we’re building

The marine industry supports recreation, global commerce, and national defense. And yet it runs on technology that hasn't meaningfully changed in fifty years. Until now.

Arc is on a mission to electrify the marine industry. We're rethinking powertrains, software, and vessel designs from first principles. And we're already executing. We started with consumers to develop and harden our core technology. We’re now scaling production of our flagship model with new models and sectors on the horizon. Now we’re extending our platform to commercial applications, starting with tugs, ferries, and defense, with years worth of signed contracts and a pipeline that spans every vessel type on the water.

The technology is proven, the momentum is building, and the opportunity is enormous. The marine industry is going electric and Arc is building the platform that powers it

Who we’re looking for

As Arc's Product and Design Leader, you will own the industrial design of the vessels themselves, the software experiences that run them, and the product vision and strategy that ties them together. That means being a rare kind of generalist: a design leader who is equally at home shaping the lines of a hull, critiquing a digital interface, and building the research-backed frameworks that turn market insight into a product thesis.

You'll grow the team's capacity and influence across all three of these fronts while partnering closely with engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. You lead with strong people skills and sharp judgment, but this is a builder's role at a builder's company: You'll roll up your sleeves and execute design work yourself, especially early on.

This role reports to the CEO and is a full-time, on-site role at our Los Angeles headquarters.

What You'll Do

• Defining and evangelizing a clear, research-backed vision and strategy for Arc’s products, grounded in qualitative and quantitative insight and a deep understanding of our customers
• Directing the exterior and interior design of our vessels from concept through production, balancing beauty, performance, manufacturability, and cost
• Directing the UI/UX of the digital experiences that define our boats, including onboard displays, controls, and mobile apps, such that hardware and software feel like one product
• Executing high-leverage design work yourself, including concept sketches, surface models, interface flows, prototypes, and the assets that set the quality bar for the team
• Recruiting, mentoring, and developing designers across disciplines, and growing the design organization's capacity and influence as Arc scales
• Collaborating daily with engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and sales to solve problems, protect design intent through production, and ship on schedule
• Building relationships with external suppliers and coordinating closely with them on design execution, tooling, and quality
• Presenting and defending design and product decisions to the executive team, the board, and partners with clarity and conviction

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in design, with 5+ years in design leadership roles
• Depth in both software (UI/UX) and hardware (industrial) design
• Proven track record of setting product vision through a structured process, and shipping complex products
• Demonstrated ability to grow teams, mentor designers, and build design organizations
• Experience building supplier relationships and coordinating with them on design execution
• Strong technical understanding of manufacturing processes
• Fluency across the modern design and visualization toolchain (e.g. Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Alias or NX, KeyShot, Unreal)
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills
• Bachelor's degree in a design field, or equivalent professional experience

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience in software-defined hardware products
• Eagerness to use AI tools as a force multiplier and creative engine
• Passion for electric vehicles and/or the marine industry
• Prior exposure to boats
• Comfortable pushing at a fast but sustainable pace
• Enthusiasm for boating and the water

At Arc, we encourage diversity and consider all qualified applicants equally for employment, regardless of background, identity, or status. You’re always welcome to reach out even if you don’t meet many of these qualifications. Passion and aptitude make up for a lot.

What we offer

The base salary for this role is $265,00 annually. 

Highly competitive equity grants are included with full time offers. As well as semi-annual bonuses tied to your impact, not just your tenure.

Additionally, Arc offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

• Healthcare benefits — 99% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision
• Parental leave — 14 weeks fully paid for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Generous time off — Highly competitive PTO with  an opportunity to earn more time with tenure
• Income protection — Life and disability insurance for all employees
• Retirement savings — Traditional and Roth 401(k) access
• Water fund — $500 for you to spend each year to get out on the water, however you choose
• Professional development — $500 annual reimbursement for professional development and a monthly AI stipend 
• Safety Support- Annual reimbursement for PPE, ergonomic equipment and anything that ensures we keep our crew safe
• Captain training — Training and access to take Arcboats out with friends and family
• Office perks — Daily  lunches, snacks, and good coffee while onsite
• Relocation assistance — Available depending on role eligibility.

Our values

We move with urgency and build with care. We value these five things above all else:

• Ownership over both your work and the company’s success
• Empathy for colleagues and for customers
• Humility  in problem solving and collaboration
• Pragmatism for navigating ambiguity quickly and sensibly 
• Inclusion of different backgrounds, opinions, cultures, and perspectives.

We want people who share and embody these values. It is vital that our values align - we’d be happy to elaborate on any or all of these during the interview process.