Director of Industrial Design

UK or EU based – Italy/Germany £/€ negotiable on application Role Overview As Director of Industrial Design for Europe, you will lead the design direction and innovation of next-generation construction machinery, ensuring alignment with global strategy and successful implementation across regions. Working with teams across the UK, Europe and China you will be responsible for creating the bespoke DNA & exploring new markets for next generation product lines. Who You Are: Director of Industrial Design * Senior Industrial Design Leader with 15+ years’ experience in construction machinery, heavy equipment or related industries. * Proven ability to champion new machine systems and drive their adoption, setting clear design direction across teams. * Experienced in leading multicultural, cross-regional teams, aligning stakeholders and ensuring consistency across global markets. * Strong balance of design, engineering and user needs, with a practical, validation-driven approach (ergonomics, testing, real-world use). * Process-oriented, able to establish scalable global design standards and workflows. * Excellent collaborator and communicator, integrating Voice of Customer insights into development. * Passionate about developing talent and building high-performing teams. * Forward-thinking, with awareness of trends such as electrification, autonomy, UI/UX, and VR, motion capture and AI-driven design. Key Responsibilities: Director of Industrial Design * Define and lead industrial design direction for new construction machine platforms across Europe and global teams. * Act as a champion for new systems and design standards, ensuring clear understanding and adoption across cultures and locations. * Lead and guide digital surface (Alias/Class-A) teams, ensuring high-quality CAD delivery from concept to production. * Drive cross-functional collaboration between design, engineering and customer insight teams. * Oversee concept design, visualisation (VRED) and virtual prototyping (VR) to support development and communication. * Lead design research and product roadmapping, embedding future technologies into product platforms. * Guide HMI (UI/UX) development and overall user experience strategy. * Mentor and develop teams, building a strong, globally aligned design function. The position sits within a multi-cultural, global construction machinery business and could be based either in the UK, Italy or Germany. Candidates will require appropriate right to work in these countries without sponsorship. There will be occasional travel to China – 3-5 times a year