What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Design position at MIRACLE RECREATION E?
At PlayPower, we are not just a company; we’re a passionate family of brands dedicated to creating moments of joy and inspiration through play. As a global leader in crafting premier recreational equipment, our mission is to ignite imaginations and fuel creativity in people of all ages. By joining our team of over 1600 employees across the world, you are joining a community that believes in the Power of Play! If you're ready to make a lasting impact and bring laughter and fun to the lives of children and adults, explore our exciting opportunities to help us to create a world where play knows no limits.
Company Values:
- Honesty and Integrity
- Respect and Caring for Others
- Openness and Collaboration
- Individual and Team Accountability
- Passion and Purpose
Position Overview
The Director of Design provides strategic, creative, and organizational leadership for PlayPower’s Outdoor Play design function. This role sets the long-term design vision, fosters a culture of innovation, and ensures high-quality, market-relevant product design aligned with PlayPower’s mission, brand strategies, and business objectives. The Director of Design operates at a broader organizational level—guiding multiple brands, mentoring design leaders, and integrating design strategy across Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Operations. The Director of Design champions meaningful, relevant, and innovative play experiences while ensuring design excellence, scalability, and commercial success.
Position Location:
Primary position is onsite Monday through Friday (8AM-5PM) out of either the Dallas, TX, Charlotte, NC or Lewisburg, PA location and is not remote eligible. Only under special circumstance(s) will the person be allowed to work remotely and with express written consent of senior leadership.
Principal Duties & Responsibilities
- Define and lead the overall design vision, strategy, and creative direction for PlayPower Outdoor Play brands.
- Partner with executive leadership to align design strategy with corporate goals, brand positioning, and multi-year product roadmaps.
- Champion a learning organization that encourages experimentation, innovation, and continuous improvement in design and development.
- Establish and evolve design processes, governance, and best practices across brands and teams.
- Oversee the concept-to-launch design lifecycle to ensure products balance play value, form and function, manufacturability, cost targets, and customer value.
- Lead and inspire innovation efforts, futuring initiatives, and exploratory concept development.
- Ensure strong Visual Brand Languages for each Outdoor Play brand, maintaining consistency while supporting brand differentiation.
- Guide the Creative Problem-Solving process and ensure design solutions align with PlayPower’s mission, vision, and 1–3 year product development plans
- Lead, mentor, and develop design leaders, managers, and creative teams across Outdoor Play brands.
- Conduct high-level design reviews and critiques, setting quality standards and coaching teams toward excellence.
- Foster an inclusive, collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives and high-performance teamwork.
- Oversee design resources, budgets, capacity planning, and prioritization across multiple programs and brands.
- Ensure design teams are properly staffed, trained, and equipped to meet current and future business needs.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of tools, systems, and workflows; recommend and implement improvements.
- Manage external partnerships with vendors, agencies, and innovation partners to enhance creative output.
- Maintain a strong understanding of competitive products, market trends, child culture, materials, manufacturing methods, and outdoor play experiences.
- Support Sales and Marketing by articulating and communicating the design and innovation story internally and externally.
- Represent PlayPower in the marketplace through industry events, customer engagements, training sessions, seminars, and speaking opportunities
- Disseminate design vision, concepts, and insights throughout the organization.
- Ensure alignment between innovation objectives and commercial execution.
Qualifications, Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
- Bachelor’s degree in Design or a related field (Master’s degree strongly preferred).
- Extensive experience in product design leadership within a consumer, industrial, or play/recreational environment.
- Proven ability to lead and inspire multidisciplinary creative teams.
- Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate vision into executable plans.
- Excellent design critique, storytelling, and communication skills (written, verbal, and visual).
- Deep understanding of innovation processes, design thinking, and product development lifecycles.
- Proficiency in visual communication, sketching, rendering, or equivalent design expression.
- Ability to balance creative ambition with business, cost, and manufacturing realities.
Travel Requirements:
- Some travel is required.
Working Conditions:
Normal office environment setting or may be exposed to noise if working in or around a production area. Schedule is Monday through Friday, normal business hours. Constantly required to sit, use hands, talk, and hear. Occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Compensation:
Compensation for this position will be commensurate with the candidate's experience, qualifications, and geographic market standards (Dallas, TX, Charlotte, NC or Lewisburg, PA) that align with industry standards.
There is a possibility of a bonus(es) based on individual performance and merit to be paid at the sole discretion of the company, but bonus(es) are not guaranteed unless outlined in writing in the offer letter extended to the candidate selected for the position.
PlayPower and its subsidiaries, PLAYPOWER, offers a competitive benefits package including, but not limited to, paid time off, health insurance, and 401(K) for full-time positions.
Qualified candidates only. Please apply through our website and click on careers or on really. Although we appreciate all interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Reference checks and pre-employment drug testing will be conducted.
Disclaimer:
The pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting but could be higher based on education, experience, and the location of the position. Please note, compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each opening. We take into consideration the minimum requirements outlined in the job description, such as an individual's education, training and experience, the position's work location, required travel (if any), and external market conditions when determining the final salary for potential new hires. Be aware that salary estimates published via alternate online job boards may not be a true representation of the actual pay range offered for this position. Please refer to the job description for accurate starting pay range information or feel free to discuss this with an HR professional if you are chosen to move forward with an interview. This position may be eligible for bonuses based on company discretion.
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the position and is not an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, or working conditions associated with it. PLAYPOWER reserves the right to change job duties, including essential job functions, according to business necessity.
EEOC Statement:
PlayPower and all subsidiaries are committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability, and military or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other action covered by federal or applicable state/local laws.