Job Description

The Director of Product Innovation is a visionary design leader who translates consumer insights into exciting, commercially successful product experiences. This role focuses on shaping the creative direction, design strategy, and innovation pipeline across multiple categories and brands with a core emphasis on product innovation. You will lead the BlueJ product team's design initiatives that push creative boundaries, cultivate a culture of innovation, and ensure design integrity and brand cohesion across Jazwares' Blue Sky division.

What You Will Do:

Define and champion the product design vision for assigned brands, ensuring creativity, innovation, and consumer relevance drive all initiatives. Lead ideation and concept generation for new IP and product experiences, translating trends and insights into compelling, design-led product opportunities. Serve as the creative ambassador for product innovation, guiding designers through storytelling, trend foresight, and hands-on creative direction. Oversee the design process from concept through final design handoff, ensuring visual and experiential integrity at every stage. Manage internal and external design resources to deliver exceptional creative outcomes on time and within scope. Evaluate and refine design concepts and prototypes to achieve breakthrough differentiation, while maintaining design feasibility and brand alignment. Establish and maintain design standards, ensuring quality, consistency, and innovation across all product lines. Lead and facilitate creative brainstorms and innovation workshops to unlock new thinking and inspire product storytelling. Identify whitespace opportunities and shape design directions that redefine category expectations. Manage licensor and partner relationships from a design collaboration perspective, ensuring brand compliance and creative excellence. Participate in all stages of the employee life cycle. Provide support to senior leadership and perform other duties as assigned. Lead and inspire the design team, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. Mentor and develop design team members, conducting performance reviews, providing constructive feedback, and setting clear performance expectations. Foster a positive and inclusive team culture that encourages creativity and collaboration. Monitor expenses and implement cost-saving measures without compromising quality or innovation.

What We Are Looking For:

10+ years of experience in consumer product design, innovation, or creative direction, preferably in toys, lifestyle goods, or consumer experiences. 5+ years of progressive leadership experience, and experience managing a product design team 5+ years of experience working with global manufacturing Project management experience Proven ability to develop and implement strategic plans for toy line development, aligning with company goals and brand strategies. Extensive experience overseeing the end-to-end development process for multiple toy lines, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget. Strong project management skills with a track record of streamlining processes and enhancing productivity. Experience in managing the workflow and allocation of resources to meet project deadlines and objectives. Ability to monitor expenses and implement cost-saving measures without compromising quality or innovation. Experience guiding teams to develop innovative solutions for product concepts, ensuring high standards of quality and innovation. Strong understanding of consumer trends, materials, form, color, and emotional product storytelling. Skilled in reviewing and approving design concepts, prototypes, and final products. Up-to-date with industry trends and capable of incorporating best practices into the design process. Champion of great design in products, ensuring they are within target cost and QA/QC requirements. Proven experience managing relationships with licensors, ensuring all products meet brand guidelines and licensor expectations. Experience leading brainstorm sessions and collaborating with team members to derive ideas and solutions for new and existing brands. Exceptional visual communication, presentation, and storytelling skills.

Working at Jazwares:

At Jazwares, we believe an innovative idea can come from anywhere and anyone. Through our three pillars, we foster innovation and encourage creativity in every area of our business.

Passion

: Our conviction and enthusiasm show in our products, relationships, and commitment to our community.

Collaboration

: We share one vision worldwide, constantly striving to improve and innovate together.

Humility

: We recognize the value in others and treat everyone with respect. Our strength lies in our people and talent.

Don't miss out on this extraordinary opportunity to be part of the fastest-growing toy company in the industry. Connect with us today and let's shape the future of play together!

JAZWARES is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, ancestry, disability, age, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law. Jazwares is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.

Who we are:

Jazwares, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading global toy manufacturer with a robust portfolio of owned and licensed brands. Founded in 1997, Jazwares celebrates imaginative play with a progressive focus on identifying new and relevant trends to transform into high-quality products for consumers of all ages. Jazwares engages consumers through innovative play experiences with popular brands such as Squishmallows(TM), Pokemon(TM), Hello Kitty(TM), Star Wars(TM), Disney(TM), BumBumz(TM), and Adopt Me(TM). In addition to toys, offerings include virtual games, costumes, and pet products. Headquartered in Plantation, Florida, Jazwares has offices worldwide and sells its products in over 100 countries. For more information, visit www.jazwares.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Recruitment Safety

Please be wary of unsolicited communications from individuals or websites you are not familiar with, or any communications requesting sensitive personal data or information. All official Jazwares employment information will come from our company email ending in

@jazwares.com

. Jazwares will never request any monetary payments at any point during its hiring process. If you have any questions about any unsolicited communications, you can reach out to jazlegal@jazwares.com. We look forward to you experiencing a safe and enjoyable application process at Jazwares!