Toy Designer - Trends

About the Role

As a Product Designer for Trends, you will design and develop innovative toy products across hard and soft goods for key trend-driven properties. Working closely with the Design Manager and Packaging Designer, you will turn emerging trends into engaging play experiences that align with brand strategies and licensor requirements.

Responsibilities

• Instrumental in generating new toy concepts and designing new play experiences for new and/or existing brands and product lines.
• Deliver end-to-end product design including research, concepts, prototypes, and user testing.
• Champion great design in high-quality products while ensuring they meet target cost and QA/QC requirements.
• Create systems of play centered around compatibility, usability, and superior play experiences.
• Build consensus among team members throughout the design process.
• Collaborate with branding, product management, engineering, packaging, licensors, and other internal teams to create products that fit the brand and meet licensor requirements.
• Attend brand and licensing meetings and brainstorming sessions to gather information for product design.
• Successfully present and communicate concepts to brand, development, management, and licensor teams.
• Ensure delivery of precise, clear, and complete product turnover specifications and confirm they are understood by the international team/factory.
• Work with outside vendors and support the overall strategic goals of the product.
• Provide direction and feedback during the development process, ensuring attention to licensor and brand assurance.
• Complete, review, document specification changes, submit for licensor approval, and provide comments for illustrative turns, sculpts, paint masters, and sample reviews.
• Work closely with brand/management teams to resolve development issues while ensuring designs meet target cost, schedule, and brand standards.
• Participate in the entire lifecycle of project development from concept through initial ideation, refinement, prototype execution, and turnover to development teams.
• Champion high-quality designs and products that meet target cost and QA/QC requirements.
• Collaborate with the packaging design team to ensure product and packaging alignment.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Toy Design, Industrial Design, Mechanical/Industrial Engineering, or a related field is a plus.
• 3+ years of product design experience in the toy industry, with a proven track record across both hard goods (action figures, plastics, playsets) and soft goods (plush, textiles).
• 1+ years of experience collaborating directly with global manufacturing vendors (Asia preferred), with a strong understanding of plastic injection molding, assembly, and creating precise turnover specification packages.
• Deep understanding of creating cohesive systems of play (compatibility, articulation, and usability) within strict licensed brand style guides (experience with Pokémon or entertainment properties is a plus).
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) and expertise in creating highly detailed control drawings and rendered illustration concepts.
• Proficiency in G-Suite/MS Office.
• Exceptional visual, verbal, and written communication skills for pitching concepts to licensors and cross-functional teams.
• Highly adaptable critical thinker who can manage multiple shifting priorities and deadlines while keeping projects moving forward.
• Collaborative team player who can also work independently to problem-solve and execute design goals.

Benefits

• Basic medical insurance 100% company-paid for employees and their children.
• Employee basic life and AD&D insurance.
• 401(K) retirement program with Jazwares matching up to 4% of pretax or post-tax deferrals.
• Short and long-term disability.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Flexible work schedule: Monday through Thursday on-site, optional WFH on Fridays, up to 20 workdays fully remote each year.
• Time Off for vacation and sick leave.
• Opportunity to volunteer for up to 16 hours a year on community service projects through Jazwares Cares.

Pay

The salary range for this position is $70,000.00 - $91,740.00 per year. The base salary may vary based on experience, role tenure, performance, industry, and location. Eligibility for the annual performance incentive may apply.

Schedule

Flexible work schedule that includes Monday through Thursday on-site, with an optional work-from-home Friday.