Lead Product Development Engineer

The Opportunity: This Hot Wheels position is a focused, technical engineering role responsible for supporting and helping to drive technical product innovation and the development of creative new product concepts into manufacturable solutions. The Lead Product Development Engineer serves as the focal point for technical decision-making, ensuring designs meet financial cost targets, performance expectations, schedules, safety, and quality standards. In this role, you will lead value engineering and advanced product quality planning at the brand level, while setting the technical direction across projects. You will help support early proof of concept models, with a focus on electro-mechanical performance-based items. You will mentor and guide engineers, providing technical oversight and elevating team capabilities. You will partner with cross-functional teams—including Design, Marketing, Program Management, Quality, Packaging, Manufacturing, and external development partners to ensure efficient execution and a seamless flow of product concepts through the development lifecycle.What Your Impact Will Be: Lead cost and performance feasibility assessments with Design and PMs to ensure concepts can be efficiently manufactured while meeting cost and schedule objectives.Drive innovation in mechanisms and electro-mechanical systems, including breadboard and prototype development to achieve functional toy goals.Own and define technical specifications, translating design intent into precise, manufacturable requirements for tooling, materials, and production processes.Apply manufacturing knowledge in plastics, assembly techniques, molding processes, and integration of electronics to deliver robust and scalable solutions.Mentor and develop engineers, setting technical direction and reviewing designs to strengthen team expertise across mechanical and electro-mechanical domains.Champion value engineering and quality assurance initiatives, ensuring products meet brand objectives, safety regulations, and consumer expectations.Anticipate risks and resolve complex technical challenges, demonstrating strong problem-solving and strategic decision-making throughout the development lifecycle.Strategic impact: Anticipate risks, propose solutions, and drive projects to meet business objectives on schedule.