Sr. Manager Product Design - Games

Mattel•El Segundo, CA

3d•$154,000 - $193,000•Onsite

About The Position

Mattel is looking for an experienced and imaginative Senior Manager, Product Design to help shape the future of one of the world's most iconic games portfolios. From UNO, Pictionary, Scrabble, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Blokus, KerPlunk!, and beyond, you'll lead the design of play experiences that entertain millions of players around the world. This is a leadership role for someone who understands that great games don't happen by accident. They are built through thoughtful mechanics, relentless iteration, meaningful playtesting, and exceptional product design. You'll lead a team responsible for transforming ideas into physical products that are intuitive to learn, rewarding to master, and unmistakably Mattel. Working across Design, Marketing, Engineering, Consumer Insights, Packaging, Licensing, and Operations, you'll help define what families and friends will be playing for years to come.

Requirements

8+ years of experience designing tabletop, card, party, strategy, or family games, with a strong understanding of what creates engaging, enduring gameplay.
Experience leading the complete game development process, including ideation, game mechanics, prototyping, playtesting, balancing, iteration, and product commercialization.
3+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing creative teams.
Demonstrated success bringing physical consumer products from concept through manufacturing.
Strong understanding of player motivation, game systems, probability, progression, accessibility, and player experience design.
Knowledge of consumer product development, manufacturing processes, materials, tooling, and production constraints.
Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and successfully lead complex product development programs.
Strong communication, storytelling, and presentation skills.
Passion for games, curiosity about how people play, and a desire to create products that become part of family traditions.

Nice To Haves

Experience shipping commercially successful tabletop or card games.
Experience facilitating structured playtesting, game balancing, and consumer research.
Experience working across licensed entertainment brands or global product development organizations.
Familiarity with modern tabletop gaming trends and mechanics across hobby and mass-market categories.
A genuine love of games and play, whether that's inventing mechanics, hosting game nights, collecting modern board games, or simply believing that bringing people together through play is one of the best jobs in the world.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and development of new gameplay experiences across Mattel's portfolio of family, party, strategy, and trading card games.
Guide projects from early concept exploration through prototyping, playtesting, refinement, and final product execution.
Apply game design principles, player psychology, behavioral science, and consumer insights to create experiences that are simple to learn, rewarding to play, and built for repeat engagement.
Champion rapid prototyping and iterative development, using playtesting and consumer feedback to continuously improve mechanics, pacing, accessibility, and overall player experience.
Identify opportunities to reinvent classic brands while developing entirely new ways to play.
Lead the physical design of products, translating gameplay into intuitive, beautifully crafted components and experiences.
Partner closely with Engineering and Packaging to balance creativity with manufacturing feasibility, quality, cost, and sustainability.
Drive thoughtful decisions around materials, component design, ergonomics, visual hierarchy, and tactile interaction.
Review prototypes and production samples to ensure the integrity of the gameplay experience is preserved through manufacturing.
Lead, coach, and develop a team of Product Designers, creating an environment where curiosity, experimentation, and creative excellence thrive.
Establish clear priorities while balancing multiple development programs across varying timelines and levels of complexity.
Foster a culture of constructive critique, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Consumer Insights, Engineering, Packaging, Licensing, Operations, and external development partners.
Drive projects from concept through commercialization, ensuring products launch on time, on budget, and at the highest quality standards.
Anticipate risks, solve complex design challenges, and make informed tradeoffs throughout development.
Improve design processes, workflows, and best practices that enable faster innovation and stronger collaboration across the Games organization.