Junior Industrial Designer – Entry Level

Beer & Beverage Industry | Austin, TX

Location: Austin, Texas (On-Site, Full-Time)

Reports to: Design Director

Taphandles designs and manufactures custom tap handles, dispense towers, and branded point-of-sale for breweries and beverage brands worldwide. Our products show up where brands compete hardest: at the bar.

We're hiring a Junior Industrial Designer for our Austin studio. This is an early-career role with a high creative bar. You'll learn from experienced designers under our Design Director, take your ideas from sketch to manufactured product, and see your work installed in bars and restaurants within months.

We move quickly, value originality, and design products built to get made. See our work at www.taphandles.com.

What You'll Do

• Translate customer briefs into original, thoughtful product concepts
• Generate hand sketches and rapid ideation drawings
• Explore multiple directions before refining toward strong solutions
• Create presentation-ready renderings and visual storytelling assets
• Build and refine 3D models, with training and mentorship from senior designers
• Apply design-for-manufacturing principles from early concept stages
• Prepare production-ready artwork in Adobe Illustrator for our factory and global production partners
• Ask smart questions to close gaps in a brief
• Support prototyping, sampling, and production documentation
• Own smaller projects end to end as your skills grow

Who You Are

• 0–2 years of professional experience; recent and upcoming graduates welcome, and internships count
• Portfolio showing strong sketching ability and visual thinking
• Strong conceptual skills; you generate ideas and carry them through
• Comfortable working through ambiguity to find a path forward
• Fluent in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
• Foundational 3D modeling (Rhino preferred) and rendering (KeyShot) experience
• Deep interest in physical products and how things are made
• Open to feedback and able to iterate quickly
• Clear communicator with strong critical thinking skills
• Permanent U.S. work authorization

We value raw ability, design taste, and problem-solving instincts most. If you can sketch beautifully and think dimensionally, we'll teach you the rest.

Bonus Experience

• ZBrush or digital sculpting tools
• Exposure to branding, packaging, or beverage-related products

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $55,000 – $65,000 annually (based on experience and portfolio strength)
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Paid time off
• 401(k) with 4% company match

Equal Opportunity

Taphandles is an equal opportunity employer.

To Apply

For best consideration, email your resume and portfolio (PDF under 10MB) along with a brief introduction to recruit@taphandles.com.