Product Design Engineer

Department:

Clean Cooking – Hardware Development

Employment Type:

Permanent – Full Time

Location:

Aspen, CO

Workplace type:

Onsite w/ International Travel

About the role

The Product Design Engineer at Sun King's Clean Cooking Division will be a creative and curious contributor to three interconnected areas of development: the next generation of our Flow Monitoring and Control Device (FMCD) for LPG cylinders, next-generation manufacturing systems designed to scale clean cooking access globally, and groundbreaking new product applications built on our proprietary sensing technology. Working within an experienced engineering team, you will bring design thinking, hands-on prototyping ability, and a relentless drive to explore ideas and build things — from early concepts and bench experiments through to refined designs ready for manufacture. This role offers the rare opportunity to work on proprietary sensing technology with real expansion potential, travel to the field in Africa to engage directly with customers, and collaborate with world-class manufacturers in India and China. If you are energized by hard problems that matter, this is the role for you.

What you will be expected to do

• Contribute creative problem-solving and design thinking to next-generation FMCD development
• Explore and evaluate a wide range of design concepts in response to technical challenges, user needs, and manufacturing constraints
• Support the synthesis of field research, customer insights, and technical inputs into design directions and early-stage concepts
• Produce clear CAD models and design documentation (Onshape preferred) to communicate and develop ideas across the team
• Use AI-assisted tools selectively as a specialized accelerator for concept development, simulation interpretation, and design documentation
• Participate in design reviews, contributing well-reasoned perspectives and creative alternatives
• Research and explore flow sensing and MEMS sensor technologies
• Conduct independent research into flow sensing approaches for LPG metering — including thermal mass flow, ultrasonic, and MEMS-based sensors
• Build working knowledge through hands-on experimentation: bench testing, teardowns, and first-principles investigation
• Synthesize findings clearly to help the team evaluate technology options and make informed design decisions
• Investigate new applications of Sun King's developed proprietary flow sensing technology in adjacent industries and markets beyond LPG cooking
• Collaborate with electronics and firmware teammates to understand system-level integration requirements
• Drive rapid, hands-on hardware prototyping
• Build physical prototypes quickly and resourcefully using whatever fabrication methods best fit the problem: FDM/SLA 3D printing, laser cutting, manual and CNC machining, casting, hand fabrication, and more
• Test prototypes rigorously, think critically about results, and iterate fast
• Use simulation tools where appropriate to inform or validate design decisions (FEA, CFD, or equivalent) — curiosity and willingness to learn counts as much as prior experience
• Keep clear, useful records of experiments and iterations to build shared team knowledge
• Help grow and maintain the team's prototyping lab tools and capabilities
• Travel to field markets in Africa to inform product development
• Visit customers and stakeholders in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and other African markets to conduct interviews, observe usage patterns, and gather direct product feedback
• Translate field insights into new product concepts and application-specific designs — including burners optimized for low flow rates and high thermal efficiency
• Develop a first-hand understanding of end-user needs, cooking behaviors, and market constraints that feeds directly back into the design process
• Travel to manufacturer sites in India and China to support production development
• Work alongside manufacturing partners to contribute to the development of next-generation production systems designed for modularity and scalability
• Support the team's goal of reaching manufacturing yields in excess of 40,000 units per month, contributing design and process ideas that enable reliable, high-volume production
• Build relationships with suppliers and production engineers to deepen understanding of manufacturing constraints and capabilities
• Support product quality and continuous improvement
• Apply fresh eyes and critical thinking to investigate field failures and contribute ideas for design or process improvements
• Collaborate with manufacturers and vendors to understand production constraints and explore practical design solutions
• Support the broader team in identifying quality risks and developing practical mitigations

You might be a strong candidate if you have/are

• A bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechatronics, or equivalent practical experience
• 2 or more years of experience in hardware or product design — professional roles, independent projects, research, or design competitions all considered
• A genuine maker's instinct: you build things to learn, prototype to think, and iterate without being told to
• Comfortable with CAD as a thinking and communication tool, not just a documentation step — Onshape strongly preferred; SolidWorks or Fusion 360 also considered
• Experience or strong interest in the following areas:
• Flow sensing technologies — thermal mass flow, ultrasonic, MEMS pressure and flow sensors — at any level of depth
• Physical prototyping across a range of processes and materials, from rough mockups to refined functional models
• Simulation tools for design validation — FEA, CFD, or flow simulation — a bonus, not a requirement
• IoT hardware and embedded systems — curiosity about how devices work end-to-end
• AI tools used as a specialized instrument for design research, concept development, and documentation
• Scripting or light coding (Python or similar) for data wrangling or test automation — a plus
• A sharp, curious mind: you ask good questions, dig into problems independently, and communicate your reasoning clearly
• Comfortable working across cultures and time zones, with a collaborative and respectful approach
• Able to travel internationally at short notice

What Sun King offers

• A platform for professional growth in a rapidly expanding, high-impact sector — working on hardware that directly improves lives for millions of people
• A collaborative culture, energized by colleagues across Sun King who are collectively motivated by building a transformative, sustainable global venture
• A genuinely global environment: engage and learn alongside a diverse team spanning 14 countries and varied backgrounds
• Tailored learning pathways through the Sun King Center for Leadership to develop your leadership and engineering management capabilities

About Sun King

Sun King is the world's leading off-grid solar energy company, combining cutting-edge product design, fintech, and field operations to deliver energy access for the 1.8 billion people who live without an affordable and reliable electric-grid connection.

Sun King has built a new kind of energy utility: distributed, green, customer-centric, and affordable. We bring clean, reliable, decentralized energy directly into people's lives — from solar kits that provide first-time energy access to multi-kilowatt systems serving off-grid users and grid-connected customers alike, powering homes, schools, hospitals, farms, offices, and light manufacturing.

Already, 25 million homes and businesses rely on Sun King for electricity supply and the appliances and services it enables: lighting, televisions, fans, refrigeration, and smartphones.

Sun King makes solar products affordable to low-income households via 'pay-as-you-go' (PAYG) purchase financing. Customers pay a small deposit, then make manageable payments of as little as US $0.14 a day via mobile money or cash — unlocking savings versus kerosene and diesel, and owning their equipment outright after one to two years.

Sun King began by powering homes and businesses with solar through PAYG financing. Now, we're applying the same model to clean cooking equipment, helping households transition from wood-based fuels to modern, sustainable alternatives.

Sun King employs 3,500 full-time staff in 14 countries, with specialties spanning product design, data science, logistics, customer service, sales, software, operations, and more — all with a shared passion to serve off-grid families. Sun King is committed to gender diversity in the workplace; women represent 42% of Sun King's workforce.