Manager Product Design - Preschool Entertainment

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:
The Preschool Entertainment design team is a group of passionate, creative and motivated designers with the goal of inspiring and stimulating the imagination of preschoolers.  We are looking for an enthusiastic, dynamic and innovative designer who wants to design best-in-class toys for beloved preschool entertainment franchises.  Our products range from mini figures to playsets, through plush, vehicles and role-playing accessories.  We work with an equally passionate cross functional team that spans the globe with our international partners, making our design led toy company, Mattel, one of the best in the industry.  Are you ready to inspire our next generation of Preschooler?

The Opportunity: 
The Product Design Manager will lead and inspire a group of designers on the Preschool Entertainment brands, creating innovative products that are rooted in trends, kid insights and fun play.  The Product Design Manager will execute and help create product design visions, strengthen the voice of our designers and will be ready for any hands-on management that is required to keep the business moving.  You will guide, nurture and grow your design team to empower the future leaders within the organization.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

What We’re Looking For:
The Business

• You have a thorough understanding of the toy product design-development processes
  • From ideation sketches, illustrations, rough models, to final modeling and production
  • Have your finger on the pulse for the latest in toy trends, materials, content and innovation
  • Have a clear understanding of the Toy industry, with familiarity of toys both past and present in the preschool entertainment categories.
• You are a strategic design thinker:
  • Able to contribute and execute on product design vision
  • Bring fresh POV with innovative design concepts
  • Passionate in Preschool Entertainment brands/toys
  • Understand the stories, essence and play pattern of our licensed brand portfolio as it comes to life in toys
  • Build strategy around a toy line across a variety of price points and play styles
  • Solid understanding of how to design for the target consumer, influenced by kid usability and parent expectations and needs
  • Can take in feedback and commentary on projects and revise where necessary
• You are a visual designer
  • Able to create visual design language in a product that is suitable for the pre-school audience
  • Set the visual stage in color, shape and story every season by presenting and applying trend
  • Understanding of how play and design work together in product to tell a story
• An excellent communicator:
  • Able to present to an audience of varying sizes both clearly and confidently
  • Can take concepts and distill them into a clear, understandable narrative to garner buy-in throughout the organization through a variety of medium
• Collaborator:
  • Work with outside licensors to build the best product.  To be able to be a problem solver, partner and toy advocate.  To share communication in both directions to ensure alignment across all parties.
  • Work with Mattel’s Consumer Insights team to identify opportunities, consumer needs, parent, and kid purchase behaviors
  • Partner with Mattel’s cross-function team of experts in Marketing, Packaging, Engineering and Product Management.  
• You are nimble:
  • Able to pivot and revise on projects and strategy where business necessitates
  • Occasionally participate in design efforts outside of your area of expertise, and as your own skillset dictates
• Multi-tasker:
  • On projects with varying complexity through maximization of your design team and internal / external resources of Mattel (Internal cross function team, International Mattel partners, outside vendors)
  • Can jump in on any given situation as a hands-on manager to assist your design team

The Team

• You are a design leader
  • You manage a team of designers and empower them to grow and foster forward thinking
  • You are able to form a strong business relationship with your team gaining trust through collaboration, guidance, teamwork and empathy
  • You will maximize each designers’ skill within the team and nurture their areas of opportunity
  • You will guide your team to best fulfill strategic product needs
  • You can lead but also be led
• You are a role-model
  • You lead by example and maintain professionalism, representing the core values of Mattel
  • You are passionate and inspire your design team to make toys that matter and make an impact

The annual base salary range for this position is between $104,800.00 and $152,000.00.
**This range is indicative of projected hiring range, however annual base salary will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

How We Work:

We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are:

Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in more than 195 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies.

Mattel is recognized as a Great Place to Work™ and as one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2022.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers including minorities, females, veterans, military spouses, individuals with disabilities, and those of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
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