About the Role
Toy Designer
At Blue Marble, we design innovative toys and play experiences that inspire curiosity, creativity, and discovery. Our collaborative team brings ideas to life through thoughtful design, rapid iteration, and a shared passion for creating products that kids love.
We're looking for a creative, driven Toy Designer to develop innovative toys, play experiences, and consumer products from concept through production. In this role, you'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to bring thoughtful, user-centered products to life while balancing creativity, functionality, manufacturability, and consumer appeal. If you thrive in a fast-paced, idea-rich environment and love turning concepts into tangible products, you'll fit right in.
What You'll Do
Core Responsibilities:
Design & Innovation
- Design innovative, functional, and visually compelling toys, play experiences, and consumer products that align with Blue Marble's mission, brand, and strategic goals.
- Develop innovative product concepts that balance creativity, consumer appeal, manufacturability, and cost targets.
- Apply user-centered design principles to enhance product usability, durability, and play value.
- Conduct trend research, competitive analysis, and material exploration to inspire new product opportunities and maintain design relevance.
- Create sketches, renderings, CAD models, prototypes, and mock-ups that clearly communicate design intent throughout the development process.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Engineering, and overseas teams to define product requirements and support execution from concept through production.
- Present design concepts, prototypes, and recommendations with clarity and confidence.
- Participate in brainstorming sessions, design reviews, and iterative product refinement.
- Communicate effectively with cross-functional departments and overseas partners to support project milestones and product development.
Design Process & Methodology
- Utilize design thinking methodologies to solve complex challenges and develop engaging product solutions.
- Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, materials, and manufacturing processes to inspire innovation.
- Translate insights from user research and product testing into design improvements and new product opportunities.
- Manage design deliverables and support development milestones within established project timelines.
Product Development
- Create detailed product documentation, including CAD files, CMF specifications, assembly notes, and presentation materials.
- Evaluate prototypes and factory samples to ensure design integrity, manufacturability, quality, and cost objectives are achieved.
- Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing partners to troubleshoot design and production challenges while maintaining design intent.
Technical Expertise & Compliance
- Use SolidWorks, KeyShot, and Adobe Creative Suite to develop, visualize, and present production-ready product designs.
- Maintain and update CMF libraries and product specification documents.
- Ensure products meet applicable safety regulations and industry standards for children's products while working closely with the Compliance Team.
Intellectual Property
- Support patent documentation by preparing product illustrations, CAD visuals, and design materials.
- Ensure products comply with licensor brand guidelines and international product marking requirements where applicable.
What You Bring
Must-Haves
- Experience designing children's toys, play experiences, educational products, games, or consumer products.
- Strong sketching, visualization, ideation, physical prototyping, and model-making skills.
- Knowledge of materials, manufacturing processes, and product development for toys and consumer products.
- Familiarity with design thinking methodologies and user-centered design practices.
- Excellent verbal, visual, and written communication skills.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and KeyShot.
- Experience creating production-ready CAD using SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD software.
- A portfolio demonstrating creativity, strong design fundamentals, technical excellence, and products developed from concept through production is required.
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience designing licensed products.
- Experience with rapid prototyping and 3D printing.
- Experience with Rhino, Alias, ZBrush, Creo, or other advanced 3D modeling software.
Education & Experience
We're Looking For
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, Toy Design, Product Design, or a related field.
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience designing toys, play experiences, children's products, or consumer products.
- Experience developing products from concept through production.
Where You'll Work
- Location: Onsite in Ashland, Oregon
- Work Style: Collaborative, hands-on, and fast-paced
- Travel: Less than 10%
Why You’ll Love It Here:
- Competitive salary and performance-based bonus opportunities
- Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision, life)
- 401(k) to help you plan for the future
- Flexible paid time off—we trust you to recharge when you need it
- Employee Assistance Program
- A creative, collaborative, and yes—playful culture
- The chance to help shape iconic and emerging toy brands
- Real opportunities to develop within a dynamic, high-growth organization.
A Few More Things
This job description isn’t meant to cover everything—you may jump into other projects as we grow and evolve.
We’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work. Reasonable accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Blue Marble is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status.
Ready to build something fun with us?
Apply today and let’s create something amazing together.
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Relocation assistance
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Will you now, or in the future, require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B Visa status)?
Ability to Commute:
- Ashland, OR 97520 (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
