Industrial Designer II

About Learning Resources

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!

Team & Position Description

We are looking for an Industrial Designer II 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 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 designer who enjoys building, iterating, and solving real product challenges with guidance from the Manager of Product Design. 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.

What We’re Looking For (Key Performance Objectives)

• Manage and support the development of 10–15 Learning Resources children’s toy products and/or Brightkins pet toy products annually, delivering assigned work against agreed project milestones from concept through production.
• Deliver high-quality design solutions on schedule and achieve approximately 90% approval from cross-functional partners within each project phase, incorporating feedback promptly when revisions are needed.
• Generate multiple concept directions for assigned projects and advance strong solutions within the agreed concept and refinement timelines; prepare 5–10 concepts annually for user testing through prototypes or renderings.
• Develop manufacturable, durable products by identifying and helping resolve design, engineering, material, and assembly challenges before final production handoff.
• Collaborate cross-functionally and with vendors to maintain project momentum and achieve 100% alignment with agreed development milestones and deliverable dates.
• Contribute to 1–3 continuous improvement initiatives annually within the Product Design or broader product development process.

Requirements/Ideal Attributes

• Portfolio showcasing strong toy design and product development experience
• BS/BA in Industrial Design, Toy Design, or equivalent
• 5+ years of consumer product development experience, preferably 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
• Knowledge of plastics, manufacturing processes, and design for manufacturing
• Strong communicator and collaborator across teams and external partners
• Proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable owning projects with guidance

We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.

Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.

Compensation Range: $77,000 – $87,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set and location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here ).

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