Product Design & Development Associate

Job ID 10127157 Location London, United Kingdom Business Disney Experiences Date posted Aug. 01, 2025

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Job Summary:

About The Role & Team

Step into a truly magical “sketchbook to shelf” opportunity at Disney, where your creativity will help shape the future of Hardlines, especially within our beloved Plush category. Here, you’ll dream up, design, and develop trend-setting products for licensees and DTRs, guiding imaginative concepts all the way from initial sketches to the hands of Disney fans.

You’ll provide technical direction, creative inspiration, and hands-on support throughout the entire product journey, ensuring every plush creation captures the enchantment and storytelling Disney is known for.

This position is a permanent role located in the Hammersmith, London office, with an expectation of four days per week in the office.

What You Will Do

Championing the Creative Process: Lead the journey from blue-sky brainstorming through design development, ensuring every plush concept is both innovative and unmistakably Disney.
Design Direction & Trendsetting: Offer dynamic design insight, creative feedback, and trend forecasts to licensees, whether it’s the perfect 2D sketch or a 3D prototype that brings characters to life.
Storytelling Through Product: Craft compelling pitches and mock-ups that capture the essence and magic of Disney’s beloved icons, collaborating closely with the Senior Product Design and Development Manager.
Inspiring Partners: Empower licensees by sharing your expertise on Disney’s brand, creative assets, and product development tools, ensuring every collaborator is set up for creative success.
Building Lasting Relationships: Forge strong connections with licensees and stakeholders, nurturing a collaborative spirit and a shared vision for magical results.
Keeping Disney’s Legacy Alive: Immerse yourself in Disney’s rich universe, its characters, stories, and creative traditions to authentically translate them into new, trend-setting consumer products.
Staying Ahead of the Curve: Dive into design and pop-culture trends, attend inspiration trips, and bring back fresh ideas to keep the Hardlines portfolio vibrant and relevant in the EMEA market.
Ensuring Excellence: Oversee the approval process, guiding product submissions through Disney’s Online Product Approval (OPA) system, and make sure every creation meets the highest standards of quality and compliance.
Team Player: Collaborate across regional, local, and global teams, lending your creative eye and expertise wherever needed on special projects or design initiatives.

Required Qualifications & Skills

Demonstrated proficiency in 3D design, graphic illustration, and sketching, with advanced skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, supported by strong visual abilities.
Demonstrated commercial product development experience, ideally within related categories or in a product design capacity at a licensee, retailer, or supplier
Exposure to packaging processes and familiarity with style guides and the Online Product Approval (OPA) system (desirable)
Hands-on experience in creating prototypes or models
Awareness of industry trends within relevant categories and broader design fields, along with working knowledge of key manufacturing techniques and their applications
Strong communication skills to express clear product design briefs and basic design concepts using CAD, digital tools, or collaboration with third-party design partners
Ability to meet deadlines and manage budgets as directed
Exceptional design and conceptual abilities
Understanding of fabric, colour, and product design principles
Confident presentation skills for sharing design ideas with internal and external collaborators at all levels
Awareness of production methods and graphic applications, with an eye for colour and form (preferred)
In-depth knowledge of fabrics and stitching techniques (preferred)
Capacity to positively influence and support change among stakeholders
Proficiency in written and spoken English for business; additional European languages are a plus
Digital literacy, including familiarity with Mac OSX, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and MS Office
Cultural sensitivity and an understanding of diverse markets across EMEA

The Perks

25 days annual leave
Private medical insurance & dental care
Free Park Entry: the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free
Disney Discounts: entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing
Excellent parental and guardian leave
Employee Resource Groups – WOMEN @ Disney, Disney DIVERSITY, Disney PRIDE, our new disability & neurodiversity focused group - ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

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About Disney Experiences:

Disney Experiences brings the magic of Disney stories and franchises to life through theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, unique vacation experiences, products and more around the world. Disney shines in the travel industry with six resort destinations in the United States, Europe and Asia; a top-rated cruise line; a popular vacation ownership program; and an award-winning guided family adventure business. Plus, Disney's global consumer products operations include the world's leading licensing business; the world's largest children's publishing brands; one of the world's largest licensors of games across all platforms; and Disney store locations around the world and on the web.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with The Walt Disney Company Limited, which is part of a business we call Disney Experiences.

The Walt Disney Company Limited is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, colour, religion or belief, sex, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, disability or pregnancy or maternity. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

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Explore this Location EMEA

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