Senior Industrial Designer
About The Position
We are Learning Resources®, and learning is where we play. Voted one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces, we’re a growing, family-owned company known for our award-winning educational toys, including top sellers Pretend & Play® Calculator Cash Register, Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and multiple Toy of the Year winners! We even help pets learn and grow through our pet brand Brightkins®. If you’re curious, collaborative, and a kid at heart, you’ll feel right at home here. Join us in shaping the future of learning with our award-winning team! We are looking for a Senior Industrial Designer to join our Creative team in Vernon Hills, IL. This role offers the opportunity to design across a diverse range of toy and pet brands, including high-impact products for both Learning Resources and Brightkins®. You’ll work on a collaborative, fast-paced team that values creativity, ownership, and bringing products to life quickly—from early concept exploration through production. This is a hands-on role for a senior designer who enjoys building, iterating, and solving real product challenges. If you're passionate about toy design and want to make a direct impact in a growing, family-owned company, we’d love to hear from you.
Requirements
- Portfolio showcasing strong toy design and product development experience
- BS/BA in Industrial Design, Toy Design, or equivalent
- 10+ years of consumer product development experience, expert-level experience in children’s toys (pet product experience also a plus)
- Proficiency in Rhino, KeyShot, Adobe Creative Suite, and 3D prototyping tools
- Strong hands-on prototyping skills across materials and methods
- Deep knowledge of plastics, manufacturing processes, and design for manufacturing
- Strong communicator and collaborator across teams and external partners
- Highly proactive, independent, and detail-oriented with strong ownership mindset
Nice To Haves
- pet product experience also a plus
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and development of 15–20 Learning Resources children toy products and 10–14 Brightkins pet toy products annually, from concept through production
- Own projects end-to-end, proactively driving progress, identifying risks, and moving work forward with minimal supervision
- Generate multiple concept directions and quickly iterate from sketch through 3D models and functional prototypes
- Develop CAD models, renderings, and specification documents to communicate concepts to internal teams and external vendors
- Translate concepts into manufacturable, durable, and functional products by resolving engineering, material, and assembly challenges
- Partner with cross-functional teams (Product Management, Manufacturers/engineering, Packaging, Creative, Marketing, Sales) to maintain momentum and meet timelines
- Support user testing and incorporate feedback to refine and validate product concepts
- Mentor junior designers and contribute to a collaborative, high-performing team environment
Benefits
- profit sharing bonus potential
- 401k matching
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
