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Orchard Robotics is building AI-powered systems to automate farming and secure America's food supply. The company has raised over $25 million from leading investors and is trusted by some of the nation's largest farms. Their core product combines AI-powered camera systems mounted on tractors that scan millions of plants with FruitScope OS, a farm-management platform that provides growers with precise data on yield, crop health, disease, and required interventions.
As Founding Design Engineer, you will establish and lead the design function across the entire company. This is a broad, generalist role reporting directly to the CEO, responsible for creating a cohesive design vision that spans product, brand, marketing, hardware, and physical environments.
Key responsibilities include: building and evolving Orchard's design system; owning end-to-end product design for FruitScope OS from customer research through prototypes and visual design; establishing brand design across the website, sales materials, presentations, and communications; designing marketing materials including tradeshow booths, field-day experiences, and product packaging; supporting the hardware team with industrial design thinking and operator experiences; and raising the company-wide quality bar through design principles and feedback.
You will work at the intersection of art and technology with 1-5 years of real-world design experience. The ideal candidate has a strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional taste, product thinking, and visual craft; experience across product, software, brand, marketing, and physical design; proven ability to take zero-to-one projects from research to shipped work; fluency in Figma and modern prototyping tools; comfort with AI tools like Claude Code; and a low-ego, highly iterative working style. The company culture emphasizes resilience, continuous progress, and a "farmers first" mentality where all team members spend time in the field monthly.
