Assoc Manager Product Designer

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 Hot Wheels Tracks and Playsets design team is a group of passionate and inspired designers with the goal of creating the best toys on earth.  We are looking for motivated, challenge seeking, innovative thinkers to create the next Hot Wheels Licensed Entertainment toys for kids.  Our products range from dynamic vehicle playsets, over-the-top tracks sets and unique accessories as well as Hot Wheels Licensed Entertainment die-cast designs.  We work with an equally passionate cross function team that spans the globe with our international partners, making our design led toy company of Mattel one of the best in the industry.  Are you up for the challenge? The Opportunity:  The Product Design Associate Manager will lead and inspire a group of designers on 1 or more of our key segments of business in Hot Wheels Licensed Entertainment Tracks and Playsets, creating innovative products.  This Design manager must be on top of the latest in kids trends, pop culture, entertainment, kid insights and fun play.  The Product Design Associate Manager will execute and help create product design visions, strengthen the voice of our designers and will be ready for any hands-on managing 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:  The Business You have a thorough understanding of the toy product design-development processes With strong ability to ideate, sketch, illustrate, generate rough models Thorough understanding on final modeling and production Have a clear understanding of the Toy industry and entertainment Industry, with familiarity of toys both past and present within vehicles category You are a strategic design thinker: Able to contribute and execute on product design vision Brings fresh POV with innovative design concepts Solid understanding of how to design for the target consumer, influenced by kid usability and parent expectations and needs. Willingness to lead and be led, taking in feedback and commentary on projects and apply where necessary You are a visual designer Able to create visual design language in a product that is suitable for our core audience and maintains the Hot Wheels edge Understanding of how play and design work together in product to tell a concise 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: Working 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 adapt fast to new design challenges Capable of pivoting and revising 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 (You will be able to take on design projects as well) The Team You are a design leader You manage a team of designers and empower them to grow and foster forward thinking  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 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 What We’re Looking For: 5+ years of cross-functional experience in a product development   2+ years of people leading experience and managing 2 or more group of individuals Able to thrive in the world of Hot Wheels Licensed Entertainment Tracks, Playsets and vehicle design with innovating forward thinking Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and quantitative thinking Collaborative and communicative team player who enjoys driving and overseeing projects and processes cross-functionally with a wide range of personalities Self-directed problem-solver - you're proactive in tackling new challenges and working through uncertainty Structured thinker who's able to develop frameworks to support strategic decisions On top of trends in the toy space and adjacent industries Strong negotiation & relationship building skills Must be self-motivated and able to manage multiple parallel-path projects. Minimum of 2+ years of experience in production related capacity Have a passion for making great product *The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a cult