Fast paced medical design consultancy with the opportunity to work on a large number of interesting projects
Pros
I really enjoyed my time having the privilege to work at Design Catapult. I got along great with my coworkers and enjoyed the collaborative environment the company created. The Medical Design aspect of the company is very interesting and in my opinion they're strongest suit. The Owner and Vice president work hard to keep projects moving through the office so even despite all the craziness dealing with COVID over the last 2 years I never felt any fear of being laid off, in fact we had even more work from increased interest in medical devices. Being an engineering focused consultancy first all Industrial Designers on staff get the chance to take projects all the way from initial concept to fully functioning product. This experience is very valuable for the client because it means the concepts industrial designers are presenting are coming from a place of real world practically. Young designers starting out here are going to benefit immensely from the CAD knowledge held by the staff. Design Catapults speed and flexibility within the Solid Works CAD system is one of the companies best skills professionally. If you take the time to learn what this company has to offer you are going to become a marketable designer in the medical device industry.
Cons
By the nature of consultancy work there are going to be slow periods though out the year. This is natural in this industry, but when this is the case Designer on staff will find them selves filling out rolls wherever the company is lite. I personally found this valuable because assisting Mechanical and Electrical Engineers give young designers a greater holistic view of a product development cycle and fosters greater inter-office rapport, but it may require some adjustment for any young designer coming in expecting a solely focused Industrial Design firm experience. If you're unable or have to no desire to become highly competent in Solidworks then you are going to struggle to make an impact at this company. Developing a working understanding of mechanical design and how to execute in CAD whilst collaborating with Mechanicals Engineers is probably the top skill to develop as a designer while working here. Once again not necessarily a con but if you fancy yourself more of an artistic designer who eschews high level CAD work you wont find much success here simply based off of the resources Client coming through the doors need.
