Senior Manager Product Development

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Manager of Product Development to lead and transform our plush category into a Center of Excellence. This strategic lead will oversee all plush development, driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of plush design, construction, and materials. Working as a critical counterpart to the Licensing Sales team, you will ensure our plush product strategies perfectly align with commercial goals while elevating brand integrity.

Currently, we have over 100 partners (including licensees and agents) to create & launch branded product for hit TV show Bluey. In this role, you will work with mostly internal partners and some external partners, agents, production partners and various global teams to support our product development creative output, approvals and sample management processes.

The ideal candidate should have the capability to work from our NY office at least 2–3 days per week, with the option to be remote for the remaining days each week.

Responsibilities

• Architect global plush design playbooks to elevate uniform character execution across hardlines toy partners categories while carving out distinct, high-revenue visual identities for core, seasonal, trend, collectible, and plush-adjacent lines
• Establish a plush center of excellence to pioneer cutting-edge design, construction techniques, and material innovation
• Maintain rigorous plush quality control to serve as the critical eye for brand integrity and character accuracy across regions
• Creative direction of plush guide development to establish consistency
• Support Marketing, Licensing Sales, and Retail teams by creating presentation-ready plush trend/inspiration boards and product development boards for pitch meetings
• Build extensive licensed preschool character plush design experience; adapt brand art seamlessly for multiple uses and themes; create artwork that lives alongside guides to elevate and reimagine world of Bluey artwork
• Partner closely with product development, marketing, and creative teams to ensure design alignment
• Provide high-quality visual direction, design overlays, supporting day-to-day development with licensees, agents and Ludo to translate feedback into elevated commercial design solutions
• Prepare and deliver production-ready artwork; offer hands-on support through product mockups, illustrations, repeatable patterns, packaging solutions, retail mockups and graphic assets for use across all licensing categories and file organization to ensure accurate and efficient partner execution
• Partner with Ludo production partners as needed to advocate for bespoke asset needs to create trend-forward executions
• Ensure that all product follows design requirements through adherence to style guides and rights owner feedback and that all necessary Legal, Sustainability, and Brand Protection requirements are featured on products and packaging
• Update internal kick-off guides, mini guides and tool kits to align with global brand themes and new partner onboarding
• Drive cross-category alignment by extending plush design expertise into apparel, co-brands, and high-profile collaborations to guarantee absolute consistency in 3D patterning, material execution, and character integrity
• Direct and mentor PD Coordinators on textile selections, structural pattern execution, and sewing construction considerations
• Provide guidance to develop integrated electronic features, mechanisms, and unique packaging

Requirements

• 7+ years of Product Development experience with 2+ years supporting plush and/or toys
• Deep understanding and experience designing for preschool licensed plush for North America and Latin America, as well as licensed goods and product development
• Hands-on design experience in the licensing/entertainment industry
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite including Illustrator and Photoshop
• Adept at using AI tools to generate concepts, brand-right assets and quick mockups for proof of concept
• Highly skilled in creative and analytical thinking capabilities
• Deep passion for and ability to identify global and regional plush trends as they apply to North America and Latin America business
• Proven ability to adapt style guides to fit needs of the region while upholding brand integrity
• Effectively collaborate, influence and communicate with internal and external stakeholders
• Highly organized, adaptable, efficient, patient, and detail-oriented
• Proactive and positive mindset team player who brings inspiration and drive to perform at the best-in-class level
• Self-motivated to work independently on complex projects and deadlines
• Strong curiosity and aptitude for learning new systems and software
• Experience working with Mediabox Product Approvals system or similar approvals software
• Strong written and oral communication skills

Benefits

We don’t focus simply on what we do – we also care how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are important to us. Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential. We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC – whether that’s to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles, unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.

Pay

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $90,000 – $110,000. The actual base salary offered depends on the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and geographic location of the position.