Who we are looking for

Hello, I’m Winston and I’m the Co-Founder and Head of Product Design & Engineering at Sleeping Duck.

We’re currently looking for a Mechanical/Product Design Engineer who loves taking ideas from concept through to real, physical products that ship at scale.

This role is about building. You’ll work directly with me on a new product I’m designing, taking early ideas and turning them into functional physical prototypes for assessment. Once we are confident in the design, you’ll be responsible for developing the manufacturing methods, finding and onboarding the right production partners, and ensuring the product can be made consistently, reliably, and to a very high standard.

Our mission is to improve lives by using scientific and customer insights to address the challenges we face in achieving the best possible nights sleep. We design and engineer products and services that deliver meaningful, positive impact towards this goal. This requires us to invest deeply in understanding the factors that influence sleep quality and comfort throughout the night as well as how our interventions directly affect these factors.

This role requires someone who can navigate uncertainty with confidence, thrives on ownership, and has the discipline to turn creative ideas into robust, manufacturable systems.

What this means in practice

In this role, you will need to be able to:

Take loosely defined ideas and turn them into physical prototypes quickly
Iterate rapidly — build, test, break, improve, repeat
Think end-to-end: from concept, to materials, to tooling, to production, and through to QC
Balance mechanical performance, manufacturability, cost, reliability, and user experience
Stay calm and solution-oriented when requirements evolve (because they will)

The product spans soft goods, mechanical systems, and electrical systems, so you must be comfortable working across disciplines and integrating them into a cohesive, reliable product. Experience in automotive interiors and comfort systems or similarly complex consumer products is highly regarded.

What we are building at Sleeping Duck and why

Sleeping Duck is a collective of engineers, designers, customer advocates, and medical professionals united by a shared mission: to create meaningful improvements in the quality of our customers’ lives. We focus on optimising sleep, because better sleep means more energy, better focus, and a greater capacity to thrive each day.

We began by challenging the traditional mattress industry, reimagining how mattresses and bed frames are designed, engineered, and purchased. Today, we’re expanding into new frontiers of sleep science, exploring how elements like temperature regulation, sensors, and lighting can make the sleep experience more restorative, comfortable, and uninterrupted.

One of our most exciting innovations is the Z10 Body Fit System, engineered in collaboration with a neurosurgeon and leading physiotherapists. Developed to support patients experiencing chronic pain and those undergoing surgery, the Z10 is delivering exceptional results, and is currently available exclusively through physiotherapists. Projects like this are what drive us: complex problems, human-centred design, and life-changing outcomes.

Our customers consistently tell us they love what we do, and their thousands of reviews on ProductReview speak for themselves. Ultimately, that’s what fuels us: helping people get their best night’s sleep, and creating experiences that truly exceed expectations.

We currently operate in Australia and the USA and will continue to grow into international markets.

What the role looks like in practice

You’ll be working directly with me and my Product Design and Engineering team. We are a small team, consisting of product designers, engineers, product managers and external consultants. In this role you will:

Translate early concepts and ideas into functional mechanical designs
Physically prototype designs for validation and assessment
Complete manufacturing ready design drawings via relevant CAD software
Source suppliers primarily in Australia, China & Vietnam
Identify, evaluate, and onboard manufacturing partners (internationally)
Develop manufacturing methods suitable for mass production
Spend significant time in factories to get buy in and upskill them on required production techniques
Design and implement rigorous QC processes to ensure consistent build quality
Own the product from concept through to production readiness
Work closely with designers, engineers, and external specialists across disciplines
Move quickly — this product has a 1-year timeline to launch

Initially, you’ll spend time working closely with me to deeply understand the product vision, the problems we’re solving and the work we have done to date and the constraints we’re working within.

You’ll then begin prototyping and developing the product at hand, with frequent feedback and iteration. As confidence builds, you’ll take increasing ownership of the product and drive it toward production independently.

Success in this role looks like a product that is well-engineered, manufacturable at scale, and built to a standard we are proud to put our name on.

What type of experience is relevant for this role

Ideally, you’ll bring:

A background in mechanical engineering or product design engineering with at least 7 years' experience
Adeptness in taking physical products from concept to mass production
Strong engineering and design drawing skills - SolidWorks experience is a nice to have
Proficiency in prototyping and building things yourself
Experience working with overseas manufacturers
Expertise in developing complex products involving soft goods, mechanical systems, and electronics
Proficiency in Mandarin (desired, not essential)

What you might like or dislike

Sleeping Duck is an evolving business, with ambitious projects and multiple competing priorities. Some projects get released, some projects get cancelled. You may spend time in one area which doesn’t see the light of day. It’s sometimes hard to stay across everything that is happening and changing.

As we are pushing hard to achieve many projects you’ll be expected to do the hours necessary to achieve this. It may include late night meetings, flying overseas, meeting at odd times due to different timezones, working weekends and being in the office as much as required to get the job done.

We are here in service of the company vision and our job is to provide ways on how we can achieve it. We are inspired by big goals - and strive to see how we can make it work. “This sounds too hard, complicated, or expensive” is not a slogan which exists at Sleeping Duck.

As we are small and nimble and well positioned for support and cross functional relationships. You’ll know everyone in the company and we all celebrate and win together.

How we hire - the process

Apply to this ad. We appreciate when you take the time to write personal cover letters and application notes. Reconsider the temptation to use AI to generate your words. We really just want to hear from you, personally in this instance.
Our People & Culture team will give you a call to discuss your application.
We will initially meet virtually for a 1:1 video call.
You’ll then come into the office, see what it’s like to work here, and meet with myself and other team members. We’ll delve deeper into your experience and skills.
For the successful candidate, an offer will be made.

The main objectives of the above is to see whether Sleeping Duck is a good fit for you, and to see how your skills and qualities match the role. You should be prepared to explain your thinking process - how do you strategically and systematically find things and how do you understand technical requirements. Have examples ready from your previous experience. Demonstrate your learnings from mistakes and what your ideal process would look like.

We want to see how you communicate with others, in a formal setting, but also informally, when we are just sitting around, having a chat. What are your motivations and challenges, fears and aspirations? What makes you, you.

If the above resonates with you, please apply now.