Junior Designer

Designworks is the design innovation studio of BMW Group. For 25 years, we have been stimulating our parent company, as well as a select group of companies with ambitious visions for the future. We inspire and challenge the companies we work with to be at the forefront of their industries - in design, technology and innovation.  We are the architects of future – designing systems that impact and improve the world we live. If you share our vision and view yourself as an independent, creative thinker, we invite you to join our team in this exceptional role located in Santa Monica, CA.

WHAT AWAITS YOU.

• Supports a wide range of deliverables for projects/clients across diverse industries, bringing innovation and creative excellence to Designworks’ outputs.
• Conducts design efforts from research through concept creation, development, implementation, and collaboration with development partners and vendors to ensure high-quality solutions.
• Applies design knowledge to moderate to high complexity assignments and influences projects with creative problem-solving and analysis.
• Champions a culture of experimentation and curiosity, regularly introducing innovative processes, emerging technologies, and forward-thinking methodologies that elevate the quality and ambition of studio outputs.
• Navigates the intersection of tradition and innovation — balancing proven design principles with a restless drive to incorporate next-generation tools and techniques that redefine client expectations.
• Participates in the development of new internal workflows and toolchains that support scalability and efficiency as the studio's scope of work continues to broaden across geographies, industries, and disciplines.
• Originates and develops ideas for products, interfaces, or brand experiences; evaluates concepts on aesthetics, usability, sustainability, materials, production methods, and client specs.
• Integrates findings and sketches into compelling designs and presentations; collaborates with cross-functional teams and embraces a holistic, cross-industry design approach.
• Supports strategic services (contextual research, design strategy, design identity) with multi-disciplinary teams, manages hours, and maintains relevant system documents (e.g., Workfront).

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING.

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial design, Transportation Design, Automotive Design, or an equivalently ambitious creative discipline.
• 1 to 2 years of design experience or equivalent, with a portfolio that demonstrates range, risk-taking, and a profound desire to push beyond the expected.
• Advanced proficiency across 2D/3D software including Alias, Maya, Blender, Cinema 4D, Keyshot, and the Adobe Creative Suite, with the adaptability to rapidly adopt emerging tools as the landscape evolves.
• Experience with Figma and cloud-based collaboration platforms, with an intuitive grasp of how design workflows are shifting toward real-time and AI-augmented environments.
• A deep feel for form, proportion, and materiality, paired with the conceptual ambition to challenge conventions and author new aesthetic futures.
• A natural innovator who constantly seeks new ways of thinking, making, and solving, treating every project as an opportunity to push the boundaries of what design can be and do.
• Strong communicator who can articulate bold creative ideas with clarity and conviction, verbally, visually, and through the work itself.
• A self-driven learner who actively tracks developments in design technology, fabrication, and culture and finds ways to bring that knowledge back into the studio.
• Genuine love for design, someone who lives and breathes aesthetics, stays endlessly curious, and brings relentless creative energy to every project.
• A bold aesthetic vision with the ambition to define the next generation of design language, not just interpreting trends but anticipating and shaping them.
• Native fluency in AI-assisted design workflows, actively integrating generative tools into day-to-day creative practice and treating AI as a core creative collaborator rather than an optional add-on. 

WHAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• 401(k) with Company match a