Associate User Experience Designer - Future Lab

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:
Mattel’s Future Lab is our innovation and advanced concept team focused on exploring disruptive technologies and speculative play experiences. Our mission is to broaden play innovation, expand reach, and develop new ventures that respond to rapid cultural and technological shifts—reimagining what play means in an increasingly connected and digital world.

The Opportunity: 
We are seeking a visually talented and tech-curious Associate UX/UI Designer to support Future Lab’s concept and product development efforts across both discovery and production phases of work. You will have the opportunity to explore emerging technologies and speculative ideas in early-stage design, while also contributing to polished deliverables for near-term product initiatives.

This role is ideal for a designer who is excited to think boldly during exploration and also enjoys refining designs for real-world execution.

What Your Impact Will Be: 
​​​​​​​As an Associate UX/UI Designer in Future Lab, you will contribute to concept development, interface design, and prototyping across a spectrum of projects—from speculative R&D explorations to execution-ready production assets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Visual & UI Design: Support the creation of high-quality, brand-aligned user interfaces and visual assets using Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Microinteraction Support: Contribute to the design of simple animations or transitions to enhance interactivity, or assist in communicating ideas for motion design.
• Prototyping: Build wireframes, mockups, and clickable prototypes to demonstrate design ideas and user flows.
• Discovery & Speculative Work: Participate in early-stage, blue-sky concepting sessions; help visualize bold, future-forward ideas through sketches, mockups, and storytelling assets.
• Production Work: Help finalize UI components, design specs, and visuals for implementation in working products, experiences, or marketing deliverables.
• Creative Tool Exploration: Explore and experiment with AI-enhanced tools (for layout, visual generation, or prototyping) to support creative workflows.
• Collaborative Ideation: Participate in design sprints and brainstorming sessions with UX leads, PM’s, engineers, and designers.
• Design Systems: Help maintain internal design libraries and visual kits for consistency and reuse across projects.

What We’re Looking For: 
Education: Bachelor’s degree in UX/UI Design, Visual Communication, Graphic Design, or a related field.
Experience: 1–3 years of experience in UX/UI or visual design. Internships or freelance work are all valued.
Technical & Visual Skills:

• Strong visual design skills, with attention to typography, layout, color theory, and design systems.
• Expert proficiency in Figma for interface design, prototyping, and component libraries.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.
• Interest in user-centered design, visual hierarchy, and responsive UI patterns.
• Curiosity about AI design tools (such as those for visual generation, layout automation, or creative prototyping).
• Awareness of motion/microinteraction design concepts is a plus.

Portfolio: A portfolio showcasing your visual design process, even if from student work or personal projects. We value clarity of thinking as much as polish.
Team Mindset: Enthusiasm for learning, openness to feedback, and comfort working in a fast-moving, exploratory environment.

The annual base salary range for this position is between 56,000 - 81,000.
**This range is indicative of projected hiring range, however annual base salary will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

How We Work:

We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Our Approach to Flexible Work:

We embrace a flexible work model designed to empower a culture of growth, optimism, and wellbeing, where every employee can reach their full potential. Combining purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility, our focus is to optimize performance and drive connection for moments that matter.

Who We Are:

Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
Corporate Philanthropy