Creative Development Engineer
Posted 7 Oct 2026
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 10+ yrs
- Management level
- People management
- Employment
- On-Site
- Contract
- Full-time
No salary listed for this role.
The Creative Development Engineer provides creative, technical, and operational leadership for the development of vehicles, products, branded experiences, and specialty fabrication initiatives. This role owns the path from an initial idea or creative brief through concept development, digital design, engineering coordination, prototype validation, manufacturing, and final production. The position ensures that every solution is visually distinctive, technically sound, safe, manufacturable, durable, and aligned with brand, client, and business requirements.
Working at the intersection of creative direction and advanced manufacturing, the Creative Development Engineer translates ambitious concepts into accurate, production-ready outcomes. The role leads the use of modern development tools and processes, including 3D scanning, CAD and surface modeling, virtual-reality design reviews, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, CNC manufacturing, and computational fluid dynamics. These capabilities are applied to improve design quality, chassis and component fitment, aerodynamics, consistency, production speed, and collaboration across teams.
The Creative Development Engineer partners closely with executives, clients, licensing partners, designers, engineers, fabricators, and production teams to maintain alignment from the earliest creative discussions through final delivery. This leader communicates design intent clearly, resolves technical and manufacturing constraints without compromising creative impact, and establishes repeatable digital workflows that reduce risk and shorten development timelines. The role also guides and mentors multidisciplinary teams, promotes adoption of emerging technology, and builds an environment where artistic vision, engineering rigor, and hands-on production expertise work together to deliver exceptional results.
Essential Functions
1. Lead concept development, design strategy, and execution for custom vehicles, branded assets, and products.
2. Translate creative direction into production-ready designs using sketches, 3D models, renderings, and technical documentation.
3. Develop presentation - quality renderings, animated 3D presentations, and prototypes for internal reviews, client approvals, and concept pitches.
4. Support brand development through vehicle graphics, wraps, logos, illustration, and related visual assets when required.
5. Establish and improve digital design-to-manufacturing workflows using 3D scanning, printing, and CNC.
6. Mentor designers and artists while fostering clear communication between creative, engineering, and manufacturing functions.
7. Identify and implement emerging technologies that reduce development time, improve accuracy, and strengthen collaboration across creative and technical teams.