---
title: 'Prototype/Fabrication Specialist at OXMAN'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/prototype-fabrication-specialist-oxman-new-york-nbw5tsf17thr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Prototype/Fabrication Specialist at OXMAN

- **Company:** OXMAN
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/oxman/ed4814ce-8a78-4542-9e20-89bc59b17520

## Job description

## OXMAN

OXMAN is a nature-based research and design company based in Manhattan. We incubate ventures and technologies that reimagine the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Working across disciplines, from architecture and ecology to materials science and computation, we develop nature-centric solutions to critical environmental challenges.

## Role Overview

Are you an inventor, a creator, a maker of things? OXMAN is seeking a specialized artisan and fabricator to translate complex designs into functional products, custom assemblies, and precision parts. This role focuses on hands-on workshop execution, collaborating closely with designers and scientists to support diverse prototyping and project requirements. The Specialist will be part of the OXMAN fabrication team and will work out of our world-class Manhattan prototyping shop. If you prefer to spend most of your time in the workshop and want to build wonderful things with us, please apply and include a link to your portfolio of past projects.

## Key Responsibilities

- Fabrication: Design and produce components using manual and CNC machinery, including CAD/CAM development.
- R&D Support: Partner with design and science teams to execute specialized prototyping needs.
- Assembly: Fit, align, and calibrate complex assemblies to precise tolerances.
- Quality Control: Validate that all prototypes, jigs, and tools meet exact manufacturing specifications.
- Safety: Maintain strict adherence to OSHA standards and workplace safety protocols.

Required Experience

- Minimum of 5 years of professional workshop experience with traditional and digital fabrication tools.
- Proven expertise in CNC/manual machining, mechanical assembly, and machine building.
- Proficiency in CAD/CAM software (preferably Fusion360) and design-for-manufacturing principles.
- BS in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design, or a related technical degree.
- Ability to interpret complex blueprints and engineering drawings with exceptional attention to detail.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to operate effectively in unstructured, dynamic environments.
- Mechanical aptitude and interest in hands-on work.
- Physical Stamina & Precision: High manual dexterity and the ability to stand for long periods, lift heavy materials, or work in enclosed spaces.

## Preferred Experience

- Experience working in startups, R&D organizations, pilot plants, or product development environments.
- Ability to work across disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, controls, and manufacturing engineering.
- Knowledge of safety standards and best practices in a workshop environment

Essential Qualities

- Problem-solver who is comfortable operating in uncertainty and without structure and can find tangible, pragmatic solutions.
- Team player capable of working with a wide range of roles and personalities.
- Strong safety culture and dedication to creating a safe environment.
- Creative, dynamic, and operates with flexibility.
- Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to quality.
- Strong organizational skills around tools and components.
- Effective communication skills.
- Self-starter: you own your work.

## About OXMAN

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: OXMAN is a design company fusing design, technology, and biology to invent multi-scale products and environments that empower synergy between Nature and humanity.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Startup/Early Stage)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (787 Eleventh Ave)
- **Founded**: 2024 (public launch)
- **Founders**: Neri Oxman

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Design Services, Biotechnology, Materials Science, Architecture
- Target customers: B2B (corporate partners, industry clients), Academia, and Nature as a "co-client"
- Mission or purpose statement: To shift from human-centric design to Nature-centric design, creating design solutions by, for, and with Nature while advancing humanity. The company aims to heal the rift between Nature and humanity.

## Products & Services
- **O° Shoe (The O Shoe)**: A 100% biodegradable shoe made without petrochemicals, producing zero microplastics. Unveiled in October 2024. Represents the company's platform technology applied to consumer goods.
- **Platform Technologies**: R&D arm that invents platform technologies enabling design and production "by, for, and with Nature." These platforms can be applied across industries and scales—from consumer goods to urban plans, pharmaceuticals to apparel, organisms to rockets.
- **Design & Consulting Services**: Activist design practice that partners with industry and academia to implement Nature-centric values across design, manufacturing, construction, and operational practices.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding — Not publicly disclosed
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Goodman Group (partnership to explore design for ecosystem biodiversity and resilience), Foster + Partners (designed the OXMAN lab in NYC)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of ~24 employees (+4.5% YoY growth); active job postings; public launch in October 2024 with significant press coverage; first product (O° Shoe) unveiled; partnership with major real estate group Goodman Group

## Competitive Advantages
- **Founder & Brand**: Founded by Neri Oxman, a world-renowned designer, architect, and former MIT Media Lab professor, giving the company immense credibility and a powerful network.
- **Interdisciplinary Approach**: Uniquely combines hardware, software, and "wetware" (biology) in a single practice, integrating an atelier, workshop, and lab.
- **Nature-Centric Design Philosophy**: A radical differentiator positioning Nature as a "co-client," moving beyond sustainability toward regeneration and synergy.
- **Platform Technologies**: Cross-scale, hierarchical design tools that can be applied across multiple industries, creating a defensible IP moat.
- **First Mover in Biodegradable Materials**: The O° Shoe is a tangible proof point of their platform's capability, addressing the massive microplastics problem.

## Strategic Focus
- **Platform Development**: Scaling their platform technologies for broader industry application across multiple sectors.
- **Partnerships**: Leading corporate partners in implementing Nature-centric values across their operations (e.g., Goodman Group).
- **Product Commercialization**: Bringing the O° Shoe and other bio-integrated products to market.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Building a world-class interdisciplinary team of designers, engineers, scientists, and makers.
- **Thought Leadership**: Advancing the "Nature-centric design" philosophy as a new paradigm for the design and construction industries.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Culture**: A clear, bold vision to heal the rift between Nature and humanity. Work is framed as a "calling" with profound impact.
- **Interdisciplinary Excellence**: Opportunity to work at the intersection of design, engineering, biology, and computation with a world-class team.
- **Creative & Intellectual Freedom**: Emphasis on taking risks, exploring "impossible" challenges, and pursuing profound questions.
- **Values**: The company culture emphasizes integrity, empathy, mediation of dichotomies (design/R&D, made/grown), balancing the timely and timeless, and pursuing the profound.
- **Work Environment**: Based in a first-of-its-kind atelier, workshop, and lab in New York City, designed by Foster + Partners.
- **Team Composition**: Small (~24 people), highly specialized team with backgrounds from MIT Media Lab, top universities, and leading design/tech firms. Emphasis on self-direction and collaboration across disciplines.
- **Location**: New York City (HQ) with presence in France. Hybrid/office policy not explicitly stated but likely in-person given the lab/workshop nature.

## Sources
1. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/company)
2. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/mission)
3. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/careers)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxman)
5. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oxman-unveils-the-o-shoe---a-100-biodegradable-shoe-made-without-petrochemicals-producing-zero-microplastics-302290648.html)
6. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neri-oxman-launches-oxman-a-revolutionary-practice-transforming-design-generation-manufacturing-and-construction-for-the-simultaneous-benefit-of-humans-and-the-natural-environment-302264818.html)
7. [fosterandpartners.com](https://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/foster-partners-and-neri-oxman-complete-the-groundbreaking-design-and-innovation-lab-for-oxman)
8. [goodman.com](https://www.goodman.com/news/2024/oxman-partnership)

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