Job description

The Opportunity: • The primary role is the creation of breakthrough brand visual identities for new Mattel Venture toy packaging from concept through production. • Help Build brand guidelines, styleguides, visual toolkits, and design systems that clarify brand codes, graphic language, typography, color, photography/illustration direction, and packaging principles • Partner on packaging strategy, concept development, and design execution from early exploration through production, ensuring the work is strategically grounded, emotionally resonant, and visually distinctive. • Translate insights, raw concepts, and business strategy into clear creative narratives that secure alignment and buy-in from cross-functional partners and executive stakeholders. • Create high-quality presentations, concept boards, visual frameworks, and storytelling materials that communicate design vision with clarity, taste, and strategic intent. • Use AI tools thoughtfully and effectively to accelerate ideation, mood development, visualization, concept iteration, presentation development, and creative workflow efficiency. • Set and maintain a high creative bar for design taste, craft, and consistency • Partner with and direct, internal development designers and cross-functional creative contributors while effectively briefing and art directing external illustrators, photographers and vendors. • Partner with product design, marketing, insights, structural engineering, program management, legal, licensing, e-commerce, and global teams to ensure packaging and graphic assets deliver on strategy and can be executed at scale. • Balance creative ambition with cost, schedule, manufacturing, and retail realities. • Advocate for the consumer and the brand, ensuring final creative work is compelling, ownable, understandable, and aligned with key business objectives. • Successfully present and defend creative concepts to cross-functional teams, senior leadership, and executive management. What Your Impact Will Be: • 5+ years of professional packaging or graphic design experience, ideally within toys, consumer products, CPG, entertainment, or another highly visual consumer-facing industry. • Team player (ability to work with immediate team members and cross functional partners) • Ability to accept and give creative direction • Up to date on current trends: graphics, advertising, fashion, technology, entertainment, social, etc. • A portfolio demonstrating exceptional packaging design craft, including strong typography, composition, color, hierarchy, image-making, and product storytelling. • Experience establishing packaging brand guidelines, styleguides. • Experience in packaging design from concept through production, including structure, graphics, hierarchy, typography, color, materials, finishes, retail impact, and manufacturing considerations. • Demonstrated familiarity with AI-enabled creative tools and workflows, with the judgment to use them responsibly, efficiently, and in service of stronger creative outcomes. • Ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects with different delivery dates simultaneously, in order to meet tight deadlines • Excellent communication and organizational skills • Excellent presentation skills with the ability to articulate design and vision • Experience managing external partners, freelance specialists, and global production partners. • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, presentation tools, and modern design workflows; familiarity with 3D visualization, rendering, prototyping, and AI image/concept generation tools is strongly preferred. • Self-directed, proactive, and comfortable working through ambiguity in a fast-paced innovation environment with multiple parallel-path projects. Preferred Experience • Experience launching new brands, sub-brands, or franchise extensions from early strategy through consumer-facing execution. • Experience in toys, entertainment, licensed IP, consumer products, or youth/family lifestyle categories. • Experience developing omnichannel brand assets for retail, e-commerce, social, digital, and presentation environments. • Experience working with overseas partners and managing creative quality through production and commercialization. What We’re Looking For: • Demonstrated a growth mindset by staying curious and continuously learning, embracing challenges, and improving themselves. Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here! 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: This role is an in-office role Monday-Thursday, and work from home on Fridays. 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 collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more. Visit us at jobs.mattel.com and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers . Beware of recruiting scams: Mattel will only contact you through official @mattel.com or @smartrecruiters.com email addresses and will never ask for payment or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment. The pay range for this position is between $xx and $xx annual [per hour]. 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 culture where every employee can reach their full potential. Videos to watch: The Culture at Mattel Corporate Philanthropy

Requirements

Must-haves

The primary role is the creation of breakthrough brand visual identities for new Mattel Venture toy packaging from concept through production.
Help Build brand guidelines, styleguides, visual toolkits, and design systems that clarify brand codes, graphic language, typography, color, photography/illustration direction, and packaging principles
Partner on packaging strategy, concept development, and design execution from early exploration through production, ensuring the work is strategically grounded, emotionally resonant, and visually distinctive.
Translate insights, raw concepts, and business strategy into clear creative narratives that secure alignment and buy-in from cross-functional partners and executive stakeholders.
Create high-quality presentations, concept boards, visual frameworks, and storytelling materials that communicate design vision with clarity, taste, and strategic intent.
Use AI tools thoughtfully and effectively to accelerate ideation, mood development, visualization, concept iteration, presentation development, and creative workflow efficiency.
Set and maintain a high creative bar for design taste, craft, and consistency
Partner with and direct, internal development designers and cross-functional creative contributors while effectively briefing and art directing external illustrators, photographers and vendors.
Balance creative ambition with cost, schedule, manufacturing, and retail realities.
Advocate for the consumer and the brand, ensuring final creative work is compelling, ownable, understandable, and aligned with key business objectives.
Successfully present and defend creative concepts to cross-functional teams, senior leadership, and executive management.
5+ years of professional packaging or graphic design experience, ideally within toys, consumer products, CPG, entertainment, or another highly visual consumer-facing industry.
Team player (ability to work with immediate team members and cross functional partners)
Ability to accept and give creative direction
Up to date on current trends: graphics, advertising, fashion, technology, entertainment, social, etc.
A portfolio demonstrating exceptional packaging design craft, including strong typography, composition, color, hierarchy, image-making, and product storytelling.
Experience establishing packaging brand guidelines, styleguides.
Experience in packaging design from concept through production, including structure, graphics, hierarchy, typography, color, materials, finishes, retail impact, and manufacturing considerations.
Demonstrated familiarity with AI-enabled creative tools and workflows, with the judgment to use them responsibly, efficiently, and in service of stronger creative outcomes.

Nice-to-haves

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, presentation tools, and modern design workflows; familiarity with 3D visualization, rendering, prototyping, and AI image/concept generation tools is strongly preferred.
Experience launching new brands, sub-brands, or franchise extensions from early strategy through consumer-facing execution.
Experience in toys, entertainment, licensed IP, consumer products, or youth/family lifestyle categories.
Experience developing omnichannel brand assets for retail, e-commerce, social, digital, and presentation environments.
Experience working with overseas partners and managing creative quality through production and commercialization.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

design systemsai

Platform: smartrecruiters
Effort: medium

Benefits

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