Toy Designer

Toy Designer (Contractor/Intern)

“Kawaii” (Japanese for cute) is now the #1 subculture for women globally. Blind boxes. Claw machines. Gashapon machines. But most importantly… never-ending cuteness. 

Founded by a former TikTok executive, Utopic aspires to be the next big name in kawaii culture. By building a live service mobile game and portfolio of collectible toys, we aim to popularize a new generation of cute characters for kawaii fans around the world. 

We are looking for an art curator and talent scout with elevated taste to help identify emerging art talent and build a portfolio of cute character designs. This is a remote contract/internship role (1 month with the possibility of extension). Join us to create a cultural phenomenon.

What you’ll do: 

• Conduct trend research and material exploration to inspire product innovation
• Create toy designs that balance creativity, brand alignment, consumer appeal, manufacturability and cost targets
• Generate sketches, renderings, 3D models, prototypes, and mock-ups 
• Liaise with production partners and facilitate product development, ensuring quality, cost efficiency, and timely execution
• Participate in product packaging design to ensure cohesive aesthetic experience across toys and packaging

What you’ll bring:

• 1-3 years of job experience (university students are welcome to apply)
• Toy design, fine arts, illustration, product design, industrial design degrees preferred
• Experience with designing and developing vinyl, PVC, or ABS toys preferred
• Experience with 3D modeling, sculpting, and rendering preferred (ZBrush, Rhino, SolidWorks or similar tools is a plus) 
• Familiarity with toy development landscape and cycle preferred
• Strong portfolio of character designs and toy designs
• Familiarity with art toys, collectibles, kawaii culture and cozy games preferred
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and project management skills required