Experienced Luxury Mattress Design & Product Development Engineer

Experienced Luxury Mattress Design & Product Development Engineer Premium Sleep Systems, Comfort Engineering & Production Documentation DanKen Industries is seeking an experienced luxury mattress design and product development engineer to help us develop high-quality premium mattresses from concept through production-ready documentation. We are looking for someone with strong verified experience in mattress design, mattress construction, comfort engineering, material selection, layering systems, support systems, production specifications, and manufacturing-ready documentation. This role is not only for someone who understands general bedding design. We need someone who understands how a premium mattress is engineered, built, tested, costed, sampled, packaged, and prepared for production. Our goal is to develop luxury mattresses that can pair with our upholstered beds, smart beds, bedroom furniture, and high-end furniture collections. These products should feel premium, look premium, and be built with proper comfort, support, durability, and production consistency. Product Categories We are interested in developing premium mattress products such as: - Luxury mattresses - Hybrid mattresses - Pocket spring mattresses - Memory foam mattresses - Latex mattresses - Gel foam mattresses - Pillow-top mattresses - Euro-top mattresses - Tight-top mattresses - Luxury hotel-style mattresses - Smart bed-compatible mattresses - Mattress-in-a-box products if practical - Custom mattress collections for DanKen bedroom sets The selected specialist should understand how to develop mattress designs that balance comfort, durability, support, material cost, production feasibility, packaging, and customer experience. Key Experience Required The ideal candidate should have strong experience with: - Luxury mattress design - Mattress product development - Mattress construction engineering - Foam layering systems - Hybrid mattress construction - Pocket spring systems - Innerspring systems - Memory foam, gel foam, latex, high-density foam, and support foam - Comfort layers, transition layers, support layers, and base layers - Firmness levels and comfort profiles - Edge support systems - Quilting design - Ticking and mattress cover materials - Breathability, cooling, airflow, and temperature-control features - Mattress durability and compression performance - Mattress production specifications - Mattress BOMs and material specifications - Mattress sample development - Mattress packaging and shipping considerations - Factory-ready documentation We are especially interested in someone who understands how to develop mattresses that feel premium, support the body properly, and can compete with higher-end retail mattress products. Technical Mattress Knowledge Needed This role requires someone who understands the technical side of mattress development, not just the exterior appearance. The candidate should understand: - Mattress internal structure - Layer composition - Foam densities - Foam ILD / firmness ratings - Spring count - Pocket coil gauge - Coil zoning if applicable - Edge support construction - Quilting thickness - Cover/ticking materials - Fire barrier considerations - Breathability and airflow - Cooling materials - Mattress height and profile - Compression and roll-packing limitations - Durability expectations - Comfort testing - Support testing - Production repeatability - Material yield and waste control - Cost impact of each material layer The candidate does not necessarily need to be a licensed engineer. However, they should have a strong technical mattress-development mindset and understand how to design mattresses that can actually be manufactured, sampled, tested, costed, packaged, shipped, and repeated in production. Comfort & Support Development Comfort and support are major parts of this role. We need someone who can help develop mattress comfort profiles such as: - Plush - Medium-plush - Medium - Medium-firm - Firm - Luxury hotel feel - Pressure-relief focused - Cooling comfort - Hybrid support feel - Premium memory foam feel - Zoned-support feel if applicable The specialist should be able to recommend material combinations and layer structures that create the desired comfort feel while still controlling cost and maintaining product durability. This may include guidance on: - Top comfort layer thickness - Transition layer materials - Support foam thickness - Pocket coil height - Coil gauge - Edge support foam - Quilting design - Pillow-top or euro-top construction - Cooling gel, latex, breathable foam, or specialty material options - Cover fabric selection - Overall mattress height and construction Material & Component Knowledge The selected specialist should be able to help define, compare, and specify materials such as: - Memory foam - Gel memory foam - High-density support foam - Latex foam - Polyurethane foam - Comfort foam - Transition foam - Pocket springs - Bonnell springs if applicable - Continuous coils if applicable - Edge support foam - Fire barrier material - Quilting foam - Fiberfill - Mattress ticking - Cooling fabric - Stretch knit covers - Jacquard covers - Non-slip bottom fabric - Side panels - Handles if needed - Tape edge materials - Thread, zippers, borders, and trims The goal is to create a proper mattress specification that can be quoted, sampled, tested, and manufactured consistently. Mattress Design & Engineering Deliverables Needed The selected specialist should be capable of providing a complete mattress development and production documentation package depending on the product and scope. Deliverables may include: 1. Mattress Concept & Product Development Package - Mattress product concept - Target customer and comfort profile - Mattress type recommendation - Mattress height recommendation - Mattress construction strategy - Product positioning notes - Reference product analysis - Recommended product lineup if needed 2. Mattress Layering & Internal Construction Package - Full mattress layer breakdown - Comfort layer specifications - Transition layer specifications - Support layer specifications - Base layer specifications - Pocket spring or coil system recommendations - Edge support structure - Pillow-top, euro-top, or tight-top construction details - Mattress cross-section drawing or diagram - Internal structure notes 3. Material Specification & BOM Package - Full mattress BOM / bill of materials - Foam density specifications - Foam firmness / ILD recommendations where available - Coil gauge and spring count recommendations - Cover/ticking specifications - Quilting material specifications - Fire barrier material recommendations where applicable - Edge support material specifications - Thread, tape, border, zipper, handle, and trim specifications - Material alternatives for cost control 4. Comfort, Testing & Quality Package - Comfort profile recommendations - Firmness target - Support target - Durability considerations - Compression and recovery considerations - Airflow and cooling recommendations - Edge support performance notes - Sample testing recommendations - QC checkpoints - Defect checklist - Factory inspection points 5. Production, Packaging & Manufacturing Documentation Package - Production-ready mattress specification sheet - Factory work instructions - Assembly sequence - Cutting and layering instructions - Quilting and sewing notes - Tape-edge and finishing notes - Packaging recommendations - Roll-pack or flat-pack feasibility notes - Carton and shipping considerations - Final production-ready file package - Revision support for sample development where agreed Not every item will apply to every mattress design, but we are looking for someone capable of supporting complete mattress product development from concept through production readiness. Manufacturing & Cost Awareness We need someone who can help design mattresses that are premium but still cost-conscious. The specialist should understand how different materials affect: - Comfort - Durability - Production cost - Weight - Shipping cost - Packaging method - Compression ability - Warranty risk - Retail positioning - Profit margin The goal is not only to design a comfortable luxury mattress, but to create a product that can be produced at a realistic cost and sold profitably. 3D Visuals / Product Presentation Ability to create mattress visuals is a plus. This may include: - Mattress renderings - Cross-section diagrams - Layer breakdown images - Cover design visuals - Quilting pattern visuals - Product lineup visuals - Room or lifestyle presentation if available Photorealistic rendering ability is preferred but not required if your technical mattress product development and production documentation skills are very strong. Type of Specialist We Are Looking For We are looking for someone who is: - Experienced - Detail-oriented - Technically strong - Manufacturing-minded - Comfort-focused - Cost-conscious - Practical - Able to work from references and target product direction - Able to develop premium mattress specifications - Able to create production-ready documentation - Able to communicate clearly - Able to work with suppliers and manufacturers - Able to support ongoing mattress product development - Able to work with a lean startup budget in the beginning We are not looking for someone who only understands mattress marketing language. We need someone who understands how mattresses are actually built, specified, sampled, tested, and manufactured. Work Volume and Long-Term Opportunity DanKen Industries has a growing amount of furniture and mattress product development work planned. This is not intended to be a one-time project. For the right specialist, there may be ongoing work across multiple mattress collections, comfort levels, bedroom sets, smart beds, upholstered beds, and luxury sleep products. We are looking for a long-term product development partner who can help us build a consistent, premium mattress line that aligns with DanKen’s luxury furniture brand. Because we are a new startup, we need someone who can be lean and flexible with compensation in the beginning. We prefer a fair flat-rate structure that allows us to develop products while controlling early-stage costs. As the company grows, samples are approved, production is established, and product development volume increases, there may be room to revisit compensation and create a longer-term working relationship. First Trial Project We would like to begin with one trial project to evaluate workflow, communication, technical knowledge, documentation quality, product-development ability, and overall fit. The first trial may involve developing one luxury mattress concept or mattress collection that can pair with our upholstered beds or smart beds. If the first project goes well, we would like to continue with steady ongoing work. To Apply Please provide: - Examples of mattress products you have developed - Examples of luxury mattress design or product development work - Examples of hybrid, foam, latex, or pocket spring mattress experience - Examples of mattress specifications, BOMs, or production documentation if available - Examples of mattress cross-section drawings or layer diagrams if available - Explanation of your mattress construction and comfort-development knowledge - Explanation of your experience working with mattress manufacturers or suppliers - Your preferred design/documentation tools - Your general flat-rate expectations - Your availability for ongoing work We are looking for someone experienced, reliable, technically capable, and interested in helping develop a premium mattress product line from the early stage into long-term production.