Product Development Manager, Licensing

About the role

We're seeking a Manager, Product Development to support the creative execution, product development flow, and approvals process for a major consumer products licensing portfolio across gaming, entertainment, and culturally relevant brands.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end product development and approvals process across assigned licensees, ensuring submissions move efficiently from concept through final approval and market launch.
• Serve as a senior day-to-day partner to the client product development team, supporting key submissions, approval workflows, creative feedback, and platform-related process needs.
• Review product concepts, artwork, packaging, samples, and related creative assets to ensure they are brand-appropriate, commercially viable, and aligned with client guidelines.
• Ensure product development remains on track against key launch dates, retail timelines, and client priorities by proactively managing routing, feedback, revisions, and approvals.
• Stay current on gaming IP updates, style guides, franchise moments, character priorities, visual identity, and product design needs to support high-quality products for fans.
• Develop creative support materials, including collaboration booklets, inspiration decks, benchmark presentations, product guidance, and look books to improve licensee execution.
• Manage and guide licensed consumer product designs in line with client brand guidelines, ensuring feedback is clear, actionable, and aligned with the product development process.
• Provide creative direction and product development feedback that improves design quality, strengthens brand consistency, and supports innovation across licensed product submissions.
• Identify style guide gaps, asset needs, and recurring licensee challenges in partnership with the client business and product development teams.
• Translate client creative expectations into practical product guidance that licensees can apply across concepts, artwork, packaging, samples, and marketing assets.
• Manage and support key relationships with licensee creative and product development teams, serving as a trusted partner across submissions, feedback, revisions, and approvals.
• Provide structured onboarding for new licensees, including approval process guidance, platform training, brand materials, creative expectations, and submission best practices.
• Lead product brainstorming and ideation with licensees to drive stronger concepts, better execution, and clear points of difference in the marketplace.
• Proactively identify submission issues, approval delays, or creative concerns, and recommend practical solutions that keep product development moving efficiently.
• Partner closely with internal licensing, creative, marketing, and client teams to ensure product development priorities are aligned, visible, and moving forward.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in product development, creative approvals, licensing, consumer products, design, or a related field.
• Strong design sensibility and creative judgment, with the ability to evaluate product, packaging, and marketing assets against brand standards.
• Experience working within consumer products, licensing, entertainment, gaming, lifestyle, toys, collectibles, apparel, accessories, or adjacent categories.
• Good understanding of product development timelines across multiple product categories.
• Able to manage multiple design projects, approvals, submissions, and deadlines at the same time.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to provide organized, constructive feedback.
• Strong relationship-building skills with licensees, clients, internal stakeholders, and creative teams.
• Highly organized, meticulous, proactive, and able to escalate issues while also recommending solutions.
• Growth-minded, solution-oriented, and motivated to deliver high-quality products for fans and consumers.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint and Excel.
• Experience with licensing approval systems is preferred.
• Creative software experience, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or similar tools, is a plus.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of brand licensing and consumer products.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Skills

• Strong design sensibility and creative judgment.
• Experience with consumer products, licensing, entertainment, gaming, lifestyle, toys, collectibles, apparel, accessories, or adjacent categories.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint and Excel.
• Experience with licensing approval systems.
• Creative software experience, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or similar tools.

Benefits

IMG Licensing offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Health care
• Retail
• Vacation and other paid time off
• Additional offerings

Pay

Hiring Rate: $53,250 - $71,000 annually

Schedule

To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, and build on relationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week.