Senior Product Designer - Barbie

Company Description

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:
We are seeking a highly creative and innovative Sr. Designer to join our Barbie product design team, focused on fashion and innovation. This role offers an exciting opportunity to shape the future of Barbie, one of the most iconic brands in pop culture history. We work with an equally passionate cross functional team that spans the globe, making our design-led toy company one of the best in the industry.

Job Description

The Opportunity:
The Global Product Design team is a group of passionate and inspired creatives with the goal of creating the best toys on earth! As a Barbie product designer, you will play a crucial role in developing fashion lines that resonate with today's diverse audience while continuing to empower and inspire the next generation of girls. Your designs will not only shape the aesthetic of Barbie dolls but also reflect and promote the values of diversity, empowerment, and creativity. With the recent success of the Barbie movie, the brand has experienced a remarkable resurgence in popularity, capturing the attention of a new generation. This presents a pivotal moment to leverage the brand's cultural relevance and momentum, allowing your work to inspire and engage audiences in innovative ways. By integrating contemporary fashion trends and innovative ideas, you will contribute to making Barbie a relevant figure in today’s society, inspiring young minds through imaginative play and representation. Your work will help Barbie remain a symbol of empowerment and aspiration, driving conversations around fashion and identity in a constantly evolving cultural context.

What Your Impact Will Be:

• Create trendy and imaginative clothing and accessory designs for Barbie, ensuring alignment with brand values and current fashion trends from concept ideation through to final product development.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate innovative materials, sustainability practices, and technology into Barbie products.
• Conduct market research and trend analysis to identify opportunities for innovative toy concepts and product extensions that resonate with fans and consumers.
• Engage with pop culture influences and trends to ensure Barbie remains relevant and appealing to a broad audience, including collaborations with influencers, artists, and fashion designers.
• Advocate for inclusivity in design, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of girls and women globally through Barbie's fashion lines.
• Iterate on toy designs based on internal feedback, user testing, and market insights to optimize play value, functionality, and appeal while staying true to brand essence.
• Generate creative ideas, sketches, renderings, and 3D models to visualize toy concepts and effectively communicate design vision to cross-functional teams.
• Work closely with engineers, sculptors, and manufacturers to refine designs, ensure feasibility, safety, and adherence to quality standards, and oversee the prototyping and production process.
• Stay up to date on technologies, materials, and manufacturing processes to innovate and improve toy designs while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
• Mentor junior designers to foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning within the design team.

Qualifications

What We're Looking For:

• 4+ years of toy, fashion, and/or textile experience
• Knowledge of material and manufacturing process
• Proficient in Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite Illustrator and 2D computer programs
• Strong communication and organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and multi-task to meet deadlines
• Ability to effectively work autonomously and in a team environment
• Strong portfolio demonstrating strong design excellence, details, aesthetic and problem solving showcasing innovative designs and a passion for current trends.
• Interest and knowledge of current trends. Understanding of features and play patterns in the toy industry is a plus.

Additional Information

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.

Our Approach to Flexible Work:

We embrace a flexible work model designed to empower a culture of growth, optimism, and wellbeing, where every employee can reach their full potential. Combining purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility, our focus is to optimize performance and drive connection for moments that matter.

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:
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