The Opportunity
Located in Toronto’s design district near King & Spadina, Cortex Design is a full-service product development firm specializing in the design and engineering of technically complex medtech products.
We’re hiring a Design Engineer to help turn strong product ideas into working prototypes, manufacturable designs, and disciplined engineering deliverables across medtech and consumer wellness programs.
This is an early-career role for someone who wants to build real products in a fast-moving consultancy environment. At the entry point, you might be a recent graduate with strong internships and evidence that you already understand how product development works in practice. At the upper end, you may bring up to 3 years of post-graduation medical device design experience, along with working familiarity with ISO 13485. In either case, you need to be ready to contribute to development projects, learn quickly, ask good questions, and take ownership of your work.
You’ll work across concept development, prototyping, CAD, design detailing, verification, and production-ready documentation. You’ll collaborate closely with industrial designers, engineering teammates, clients, vendors, and manufacturing partners to move products forward with speed and rigour. We’re looking for someone who can think clearly, communicate well, and deliver exceptional design engineering solutions.
This is a hybrid role based in downtown Toronto, with approximately 70% in-office and 30% remote work. Compensation for this role is $65,000–$80,000 CAD, commensurate with experience. Candidates at the lower end of the band will typically be strong new graduates with relevant internship experience. Candidates at the upper end will typically bring around 3 years of post-graduation medical device design experience and familiarity with regulated development environments.
What are WE Like?
We’re not your average medtech consultancy.
Cortex is an ISO 13485-certified, design-led firm that lives at the intersection of human-centred design and engineering excellence. We exist to create beautiful, life-changing experiences that substantially improve human quality of life.
We’ve helped clients develop award-winning, emotionally resonant products that span healthcare and consumer markets—and we’re just getting started. Our team is multidisciplinary, collaborative, fast-moving, and deeply invested in client success.
We’re also the only Canadian team ever to win an XPRIZE, and we take pride in blending artistry with technical rigour.
Clients come to us because they want products that are intuitive, beautiful, and engineered with discipline. Our downtown studio houses everything from early research and prototyping to precision assembly, giving us the ability to move fast and deliver with confidence.
If you want an inside look at how we think and work, check out our website, follow us on LinkedIn, or explore our blog.
What You’ll Do
- ake industrial design intent and help convert it into functioning mechanical concepts, prototype-ready models, and production-feasible designs.
- Build and detail CAD in SolidWorks with enough precision, structure, and judgment that your work can move from concept into prototyping and manufacturing without creating avoidable downstream issues.
- Contribute across the full development process, including prototyping, design iteration, engineering detailing, design verification, and production documentation.
- Support engineering decisions with thoughtful research, sound reasoning, and practical recommendations rather than waiting for perfect certainty.
- Create manufacturing-ready drawings and design outputs for processes such as injection molding, die-casting, CNC machining, and extrusion.
- Work on products that integrate electronics, mechanical assemblies, and user-facing requirements, while keeping the system as a whole in view.
- Help define and assess test criteria in a way that makes success and failure measurable, not subjective.
- Collaborate closely with industrial design, engineering, and manufacturing stakeholders to resolve design challenges with speed and discipline.
- Contribute to client and vendor interactions with professionalism, preparation, and follow-through.
- Keep project information, records, and documentation organized enough that others can trust and build on your work.
- In a small, high-performing team, take responsibility for the practical work that keeps development moving, whether that means building, documenting, coordinating, or stepping in where needed.
What We’re Looking For
Foundational Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
- Strong internship or co-op experience in product development. We are not looking for graduates with only academic project experience.
- Up to 3 years of post-graduation engineering experience in product development.
- Strong day-to-day CAD capability in SolidWorks.
- Working knowledge of prototyping, mechanical design detailing, engineering drawings, and DFM considerations.
- Comfort working on electromechanical products with real user, manufacturing, and business constraints.
- Ability to communicate clearly, take direction well, and follow through without needing constant supervision.
- Attention to detail that shows up in your CAD, your drawings, your documentation, and your decision-making.
- Bias to action. You notice gaps, ask smart questions, and move work forward.
Advanced Competencies
- 1 to 3 years of post-graduation experience designing medical devices or other regulated products.
- Familiarity with ISO 13485 and the expectations of disciplined design documentation in a regulated environment.
- Hands-on exposure to high-volume manufacturing methods such as injection molding, die-casting, extrusions, and related production constraints.
- Ability to move between concept-level problem-solving and detail-level execution without losing quality.
- Good engineering judgment around prototype strategy, verification, and design trade-offs.
Preferred Competencies
- Experience working with industrial designers, electronics teams, suppliers, or manufacturing partners in a cross-functional development environment.
- Freehand sketching ability, digital or traditional.
- Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite.
- Exposure to Fusion 360 or Onshape.
- Early project coordination experience.
- Evidence that you help raise the level of the team, not just complete your own assignments.
How We Work
We expect engineers here to understand the people, environments, and use cases behind the products they’re building. Good decisions come from context, not just technical correctness.
You should be comfortable making progress when requirements are unclear. Consultancy work moves quickly, and the right answer often comes from disciplined iteration, not waiting for perfect information.
You will work across disciplines. That means listening well, sharing context early, taking feedback seriously, and making decisions that hold up across design, engineering, manufacturing, and client realities.
You should care about the quality of execution. That includes how you model in CAD, how you document, how you prototype, how you prepare for reviews, and how reliably you close loops.
You should also bring initiative. We value people who can spot problems, propose practical solutions, and own outcomes without needing to be pushed at every step.
This role is not a fit for someone who wants narrowly defined tasks, avoids ambiguity, or treats details as someone else’s problem.
Show Us What You’ve Done
A portfolio will move you to the top of the list.
If you have one, show us products, prototypes, mechanisms, CAD work, engineering drawings, test setups, or development work that demonstrates how you think and how you execute. We care about clear problem-solving, sound engineering judgment, and the quality of the work more than polished presentation alone.
If you do not have a traditional portfolio, show us concrete proof of execution: internships, shipped work, prototype development, technical projects, manufacturing documentation, or systems you helped bring to life. Be specific about your role, your decisions, and the outcome.
We are especially interested in candidates who can demonstrate:
- real-world product development exposure, not just coursework
- hands-on build and prototype experience
- strong communication of design intent and engineering rationale
- evidence of ownership, follow-through, and learning velocity
Hiring Process
Our process is designed to assess how you think, communicate, and execute:
- 15-minute screener interview with the Sr. Director of Product (virtual)
- 30-45 minute technical interview with the Design Engineering Team Lead for selected candidates (virtual or in person)
- Practical assignment for selected candidates, designed to take up to 4 hours (virtual or in person)
- Final team interview with the design engineering team, 60 to 90 minutes, in person at our downtown Toronto office
Pay: $65,000.00-$80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
- Profit sharing
- Vision care
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Toronto, ON M5V 2G5: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Toronto, ON M5V 2G5
