Japanese toy tycoon TOMY International needs a Design Manager

Established in 1924, TOMY has been creating toys to spark imaginations across the ages 0 to 99! With the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog by their side, TOMY has incorporated their distinct Japanese style into every household across the world. Their unique collaborations with brands like Coco-Cola to the Incredibles Movie Series and their statement original collections like John Deere Utility Vehicles and Tomica® ensure  TOMY has something for every child and adult, irrespective of their age. Take this job opening and help new parents by creating valued products that enhance and support their perfectly imperfect journey.

TOMY International is a leading global designer, producer and marketer of a broad range of innovative, high quality toys made under the TOMY®, Ertl®, Johnny Lightning® and Tomica® brands as well as nursery products for mothers, infants and toddlers marketed under its The First Years®, Lamaze and JJ Cole® Collections brands. TOMY also markets its products under popular and classic licenses such as Pokemon, Transformers, Dinosaur Train, John Deere, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Cars, Fairies, and Toy Story. TOMY’s mission is to inspire and fulfill the dreams of children and parents worldwide. TOMY reaches its target consumers through multiple channels of distribution supporting more than 25,000 retail outlets throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and Australia. TOMY International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based TOMY Company.

The Opportunity

This is a role for a person with a passion for toys, games, and children’s entertainment with an innate ability to create fun rewarding experiences. The candidate should be particularly interested in Infant / Toddler Toys. This position is for a higher level designer with the ability to autonomously lead the development of a range of licensed products. The Design Manager will work with all teams to deliver on marketing strategies, safety requirements, cost limitations, schedules, and age-appropriate play value. The Design Manager will be responsible for managing a design team and will be required to work on both licensed and unlicensed opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Autonomously drive a product line from concept through production
• Autonomously interact with licensors, building a relationship and processing feedback
• Derive and exploit consumer insights
• Generate new product concepts
• Present new concepts
• React to feedback on concepts
• Create (or drive the creation of) materials to communicate concepts (sketches, models, renderings, 3D files)
• Manage art, design, and electronics assets through production
• Participate autonomously in necessary conversations with stakeholders (Marketing, Brand Management, QA, Asia manufacturing support, Packaging, Japan office) in a way that yields quality results and moves the project forward
• Maintain an updated expert knowledge base on relevant toy categories
• Have an expert knowledge base on the history of the relevant toy categories
• Driving blue-sky projects
• Digital file organization skills
• Track expenses and manage budgets for executive reviews
• Complete the development of design projects on time, with proper documentation

Education and Experience Required

• Illustrator, Photoshop, Rhino, Keyshot, Max or Solid Works knowledge
• 3D printer experience desired
• Keynote, PowerPoint and Office Suite
• Sketching ability
• Strong conceptual thinking
• Concept Generation
• Toyetic style
• Mechanical understanding
• Design methodology
• Understanding of materials and manufacturing process (including ergonomics and fabric knowledge)
• Child Development knowledge is preferred
• Ability to articulate insight-driven design solutions
• Ability and knowledge to take a toy from sketch to production
• Ability to design for licensed properties with licensor experience
• Ability to autonomously interact with licensors, managing a positive relationship
• 3D design ability to create mockups
• Ability to manage multiple projects
• Strong presentation skills

Location

Oak Brook, IL

Apply Now!


Check out all the latest design openings on Yanko Design Job Board

TOMY International, Inc. needs an Industrial Designer

Established in 1924, TOMY has been creating toys to spark imaginations across the ages 0 to 99! With the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog by their side, TOMY has incorporated their distinct Japanese style into every household across the world. Their unique collaborations with brands like Coco-Cola to the Incredibles Movie Series and their statement original collections like John Deere Utility Vehicles and Tomica® ensure  TOMY has something for every child and adult, irrespective of their age. Take this job opening and help new parents by creating valued products that enhance and support their perfectly imperfect journey.


Are you obsessed with design? Do you empathize with parents today and think about ways to make their lives better?

The First Years, a division of TOMY International, is looking for a motivated, multi-talented, and energetic product designer who loves to get their hands dirty, to dig deep and solve problems, and to carry their inspired design intent through every touchpoint of a product launch. The ideal candidate will mix Industrial with Graphic Design capabilities to create a holistic product solution. Children don’t come with an instruction manual; so for more than 65 years, we have been helping new parents by creating valued products that enhance and support their perfectly imperfect journey.
In this role, you will have the opportunity to champion new ideas while working closely with mechanical engineers, brand leaders, packaging, and other talented Industrial Designers. You will be influencing design on a cross-functional team where communication and collaboration is paramount. You will contribute directly to product categories such as Bath & Potty, Nursery, Toddler Feeding, Infant Care and Play, while also contributing to the development of our licensed products lines.
This role operates out of the Canton, MA office and reports to the Director of Design.

Responsibilities:

• Participate in immersion programs including store visits, design research, and focus groups
• Creative based activities – brainstorming, prototyping, etc.
• Frequent collaboration and communication with internal partners
• Application of insight into innovative design solutions and product concepts
• Regularly present design work to category leaders
• Knowledge of competitive landscape, market segments
• Ongoing analysis of market trends and category influencers
Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design or equivalent
• Minimum 3 years of experience in product or fashion design
• Experience using industry tools – Adobe Creative Suite, Sketchbook, Keyshot, SolidWorks, etc.
• Animation experience in Flash or After Effects a plus

Requirements:

• Strong fundamentals – sketching, concept creation, form development, and visual communication
• Understanding of manufacturing materials and processes
• Excellent communication skills – English speaking
• Creative thinker + problem solver
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and assignments simultaneously
• Ability to identify trends and opportunities in the marketplace
• A proactive worker with a positive attitude
• Experience bringing products to market a plus
• Organized and consistently delivers project work on time

TOMY International is a leading global designer, producer and marketer of a broad range of innovative, high quality toys made under the TOMY®, Ertl®, Johnny Lightning® and Tomica® brands as well as nursery products for mothers, infants and toddlers marketed under its The First Years®, Lamaze and JJ Cole® Collections brands. TOMY also markets its products under popular and classic licenses such as Pokemon, Transformers, Dinosaur Train, John Deere, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Cars, Fairies, and Toy Story. TOMY’s mission is to inspire and fulfill the dreams of children and parents worldwide. TOMY reaches its target consumers through multiple channels of distribution supporting more than 25,000 retail outlets throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and Australia. TOMY International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based TOMY Company, Ltd (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code No. 7867).

Apply Now for this job!


Check out all the latest design openings on Yanko Design Job Board

Or recruit your ideal candidate by posting a job here!

TOMY Soccerborgs Let Kids Play Robot Soccer

Is there anything better than robots playing sports? I think not. The latest in miniature robot sports games is TOMY Soccerborgs. These interactive robot toys for kids let them play a game of soccer, and battle it out on your table.

The robots come in sets of two with a remote control for each. Just move your bots around the field to shoot the ball into your opponent’s net. You can tackle, dribble, pass and shoot. You can even adjust the bumpers wider so that you can steal the ball from your opponent. They have two types of kicks: the right leg kicks the ball along the ground while the left leg can kick it into the air.

It makes me pretty excited about the robot sports that are coming our way in the future. And let’s face it, if we can keep real-life robots busy with sports, they won’t kill us.

The set comes with 2 Robots, 4 bumpers, 2 balls, 2 remote controls, 2 goals, and 1 sticker pack. The full set requires 10 AAA batteries. Naturally, they are not included. Soccerborgs are normally priced at $59.99, but they’re currently on sale on Amazon for just $27.99.

This is a fun game for kids that I would steal to play with myself.

[via Gadgetify]

Lightseekers brings your video game into the real world

Action figures can look a little staid next to video games where your character can walk, talk and fire all manner of weaponry. But there's still something special about the tactile experience of holding a cool character in your hand, which is why we...

Tomy iPhone Stand Dances to Your Music (Until You Hit It with a Mallet)

The latest iPhone accessory to enhance your music experience looks very hyper and annoying. It comes from Tomy and is an iPhone dock that dances to your tunes. It is compatible with iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5. It’s basically a humanoid-shaped stand that moves its limbs to the beat of the music being played.

iphone stand

Just put your iPhone in the stand, turn on the music and watch it dance. As an added bonus, you can download the Face Thing app on your iPhone and put your own or someone else’s face on the iPhone. The app uses a motion portrait technique to sync the image with the dancing body. I don’t think it would take long to find this thing completely annoying. It might make a good gift for someone you hate.

iphone stand1

This thing measures 17×13×10.5 cm and comes in three colors: red, white and blue for about ¥3465 yen (~$35 USD).

[Nlab via Damngeeky]