Junior Product Developer

Goliath; Guildford; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Goliath in Guildford is seeking a Junior Product Developer to turn clever toy concepts into real products. You’ll bridge designers’ ideas with factories, assessing materials, costs and manufacturability while keeping play value at the heart of every decision.

You’ll collaborate with our global teams across the US, Netherlands and Hong Kong to take prototypes to shelf readiness, while owning hands-on development and ongoing improvements.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years industry experience in toys or FMCG.
• Hands-on experience of manufacturing and design for manufacture.
• Strong project management and ability to juggle multiple projects.
• Curiosity about how a toy works and how it looks.
• Willingness to travel internationally occasionally.

Responsibilities

• Take a designer’s concept and work out how to make it real: materials, processes, parts and all.
• Build working prototypes to prove a concept works and to survive testing.
• Create and maintain Bills of Materials for quotes and final costings.
• Investigate product costs to confirm content and enable value-engineering.
• Collaborate with the Design Team to ensure ideas are manufacturable.
• Assist in negotiating competitive product costs, samples and tooling investment.
• Coordinate with Product Integrity and QA to ensure toys are safe and compliant.
• Support prototype and tooling development through to sign-off.
• Prepare for occasional international travel and off-site meetings.

Skills

Industry experience 1-2 years

Tools

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

Job description

Goliath is a privately owned, global hard hitter in toys and games, with 12 subsidiaries around the world bringing our products to families everywhere.

We are looking for a Junior Product Developer to help turn brilliant toy ideas into real products that kids can’t put down. You’ll be the bridge between our designers’ wildest sketches and the factories that make them: figuring out how things are built, what they cost and how to make them even better. Working with a vibrant crew of internal and external partners, including our US, Dutch and Hong Kong offices, you’ll follow toys from the very first prototype all the way to the finished product on shelf.

We’re entrepreneurial, fast-moving and market-driven, so you’ll need to be organised, proactive and as happy working independently as you are as part of a team, even when things get busy. Ready for the next step in your career?

You will

• Take a designer’s concept and work out how to make it real: materials, processes, parts and all
• Build working prototypes to prove a concept works (and see if it survives testing!)
• Create and maintain Bills of Materials, the recipe for every toy, which our Far East team uses for quotes and final costings
• Dig into product costs to confirm content and find clever value-engineering wins without losing any of the fun
• Work hand in hand with the Design Team, sharing your input on early concepts so great ideas are also makeable ones
• Help negotiate competitive product costs, samples and tooling investment
• Partner with Product Integrity and Quality Assurance to make sure every toy is safe, legal and ready for little hands
• Team up with external agencies for samples, prototypes and other design services when needed
• Support prototype and tooling pattern development, right through to sign-off
• Pack your bags for occasional international travel and off-site meetings

What you bring

• 1–2 years of industry experience, ideally in toys or FMCG
• Strong project management skills: you can juggle schedules across multiple projects at once and still spot the tiny detail everyone else missed
• Hands‑on experience of manufacturing and design for manufacture, with a strong understanding of current techniques, materials, software and processes
• A true toy lover: you’re as curious about how a toy works as how it looks
• A creative problem solver with initiative and a drive to keep improving
• A team player who listens, understands other people’s views and objectives, and communicates clearly, which is essential when your team spans several countries
• An outgoing, open and energetic personality with a good sense of humour
• Self‑motivation and a hunger to keep growing your skills, knowledge and experience

Nice to have

• Experience working with Far East offices and vendors
• Good knowledge of CAD software (SolidWorks/Fusion 360)
• A degree in product design or equivalent, though hands‑on experience counts just as much
• Opportunity to work on fast‑paced, high‑performing international brands
• Collaborate with teams across a multinational business
• Freedom to make your mark on the brands and projects you work on
• A fun, dynamic working environment with experienced and driven colleagues
• Work on the most fun products you can imagine, lots of variety, and no two days are the same
• Opportunities for international travel
• Competitive salary and company pension scheme