Sr. Manager, Engineering

Location: Wilton, CT

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

What will you work on?

We are seeking a Senior Manager, Product Engineering to lead the technical strategy and execution of our product portfolio, spanning wooden, hybrid, and multi-material toys. This role is both strategic and hands-on, serving as the primary engineering authority within Product Development and a key thought partner to the VP of Product Development.

This leader will oversee mechanical engineering, materials, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing readiness while directly managing and mentoring a team of engineers.

How will you create impact?

Engineering Leadership & Strategy

• Serve as the senior technical leader for Product Development, providing engineering strategy, structure, and rigor across the portfolio.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, design best practices, and documentation discipline across the full product lifecycle.
• Translate product and brand strategy into clear engineering roadmaps, priorities, and resourcing plans.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior leadership, providing clear recommendations on feasibility, risk, cost, and timelines.

Player-Coach Execution

• Remain hands-on as needed, reviewing CAD, validating designs, solving complex technical problems, and supporting critical milestones.
• Review and approve engineering deliverables for technical accuracy, safety, manufacturability, and compliance.

Product Development & Design Execution

• Partner closely with Design, Product Development, Brand, and Quality to translate creative concepts into production-ready designs.
• Guide engineering decisions across wood, plastics, textiles, metals, paints, and finishes.
• Provide clear cost, design, and manufacturing trade-off options to support decision-making.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure all products meet or exceed global toy safety and regulatory standards (ASTM F963, CPSIA, EN71, ISO).
• Partner with Quality and Compliance teams on risk assessments, testing protocols, and failure-mode analysis.
• Champion durability, child safety, and age-appropriate engineering throughout development.

Manufacturing & Global Sourcing

• Collaborate closely with global manufacturing and tooling partners across Asia and other production regions to ensure manufacturability, cost efficiency, and quality standards.
• Lead DFM/DFA reviews, tooling development, pilot runs, and overall production readiness in partnership with regional manufacturing teams.
• Support troubleshooting and issue resolutions before and after handoff to global production teams.

Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Strengthen and scale engineering processes, workflows, and PLM usage to improve predictability, visibility, and speed to market.
• Improve turnover, package quality and consistency.
• Introduce sustainable materials and manufacturing practices where feasible.
• Establish metrics to measure engineering effectiveness, quality, and delivery performance.

What are your skills and experience?

• Flexibility to adjust working hours as needed, including early mornings or late evenings, to support collaboration with Asia-based partners.
• Deep expertise in mixed-material products, including wood and plastics.
• Extensive experience working with overseas manufacturing partners, preferably in Asia.
• Strong knowledge of global toy safety standards and compliance requirements.
• Advanced proficiency in CAD tools (SolidWorks or equivalent), DFM/DFA, prototyping, testing, and technical documentation.
• Experience engineering high-volume retail products.
• Familiarity with sustainability initiatives and eco-friendly materials.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally approximately 15% of the time.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-HM1

The anticipated pay range for candidates who will work in CT is $138,000 to $160,000 Per Annum . The offered pay to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to years of experience within the job, years of experience within the required industry, education, etc. Spin Master Inc. is a multi-state employer, and this salary range may not reflect positions that work only in other states.

This job posting is tied to an open vacancy.

What you can expect from us:

Our mission is to Make Life More Fun with a vision to push the boundaries of innovation, creativity, and fun.

• Growth and Career Opportunities

• Flexible Work Hours

• Innovation, Collaboration and Fun

• Comprehensive Benefits

• Other fun Perks!

What’s it like to work here?

Spin Master is a fast-paced, hands-on organization that provides many great opportunities for impactful decision-making; though our challenging start-up atmosphere isn’t for everyone, we have a proven record of opportunities for future advancement and internal transfers for our passionate and results driven team.

Everyone is welcome in our sandbox and we are committed to an accessible and inclusive hiring process that provides reasonable accommodation to all applicants.

Spin Master strives to create an accessible and inclusive application and selection process and is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to job applicants who may require provisions to participate in the recruitment, selection and/or assessment processes. Should you require an accommodation, please contact our Talent Acquisition team, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 416 364-6002 and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @SpinMaster to stay up to date on Spin Master career opportunities.

We do appreciate all interest; however only those selected for interview will be contacted.