The mission of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is to transform human healthcare and the environment by emulating the way nature builds. Developed as an alliance between Harvard and other premier academic and clinical partner institutions, Institute faculty and staff collaborate in high-risk, fundamental research and science-driven technology development. A major focus of the Institute is to translate the technologies developed by its faculty and staff into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators and establishment of corporate alliances. For more information, visit: http://wyss.harvard.edu/.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University seeks a talented and creative individual to contribute to the design, fabrication, and documentation of soft wearables. Reporting to the Lead Staff Engineer of Bioinspired Robotics and working closely with the Platform Faculty, Staff and Researchers, the Industrial Designer will work on research, development and prototyping using soft goods, textiles and apparel related to assistive technologies and education and outreach. The individual will support ongoing research and translational efforts and interact with other researchers as well as external clinical collaborators, patients and industry partners. More specifically, the successful candidate will:

Interact with potential end-users of medical technologies, such as individuals with physical impairments, physical therapists, surgeons and patients, and identify unmet clinical needs that may be used to motivate technology development.

Develop an understanding of the functional requirements of various wearable embodiments through focus groups, literature reviews, and discussions with engineers, scientists, and biomechanists.

Document findings, in collaboration with other researchers, staff, and faculty develop, and test engineering concepts against identified user needs.

Provide design input, soft goods selection, iterative soft goods fabrication for wearable technical garments with a focus on simplifying construction, reducing weight, mass, and bulk for ergonomic and user friendly form factors.

Explore how mechanical and textile components can be combined to create new functionality in soft wearables to achieve the specific functional requirements of the applications.

Create technical drawings / sketches / graphics and representations of concept designs such that construction information and strategic concepts can be reviewed by other team members and used for reports, presentations and grant/patent applications.

Develop instructional materials based on soft goods design and fabrication procedures for sharing with other research team members and use for external education and outreach efforts that can also enable people without sewing and pattern making skills to create soft wearable components.

Test constructed garments for functionality and usability with target audiences, collect and document feedback, and identify necessary metrics to measure and optimize various system parameters against functional requirements.

Job Req - 47239BR