Senior Industrial Designer

Learning Resources•Vernon Hills, IL

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Learning Resources is a growing, family-owned company known for its award-winning educational toys and pet products. We are seeking 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

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