Mattel

Producer, External Development - Mattel Digital Studios

Mattel$90K — $130K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years in game production or project management with a focus on mobile free-to-play.
  • Proven track record of guiding games through development from concept to launch.
  • Strong organizational skills and knowledge of production methodologies and tools.
  • Experience utilizing AI tools to enhance production efficiency.
  • Solid understanding of free-to-play development and live operations.
  • Passion for gaming and understanding of its various genres.
  • Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive approach.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate the daily production process and maintain milestone schedules.
  • Establish and manage production rituals and documentation for predictable delivery.
  • Utilize AI workflows to streamline reporting and documentation tasks.
  • Act as the primary contact for external development teams, ensuring clear communication.
  • Keep internal departments informed and aligned throughout development.
  • Translate product vision into actionable briefs and requirements for external studios.
  • Ensure external teams adhere to Mattel's brand guidelines.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits package
  • Resources for personal and professional growth
  • Inclusive workplace culture promoting belonging
  • Opportunities for career advancement
  • Talent community for sharing company updates and job alerts
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Opportunity:

The Producer, External Development at Mattel Game Studios keeps our externally-developed games moving - on schedule, on brief, and on quality. In our publisher model, every title is built by an external studio, which makes disciplined production the difference between a plan and a shipped game.

Working closely with the Lead Producer, Publishing, you will run the day-to-day production process for your titles: tracking milestones, coordinating across internal teams and external partners, surfacing risks early, and keeping communication clear and consistent. This is a hands-on, process-oriented execution role - ideal for someone who brings structure to ambiguity and uses modern, AI-assisted workflows to do it faster and better.

The ideal candidate has real mobile free-to-play production experience, a builder's instinct for process and organization, and a genuine appreciation for Mattel's core brands.

What Your Impact Will Be:

  • Production & Delivery Coordination Run the day-to-day production process for your titles: maintain milestone schedules, track deliverables and dependencies, and keep external studios aligned to agreed timelines, scope, and budget expectations - escalating to the Lead Producer when plans need to change.
  • Process & Operating Rhythm Establish and maintain the production rituals, documentation, and tracking that keep delivery predictable - milestone definitions, status rollups, risk logs, and meeting cadences across internal teams and external partners.
  • AI-Enabled Production Use AI-assisted workflows to accelerate the work - status synthesis and reporting, meeting and build-review summaries, documentation and brief drafting, and early risk surfacing - and apply judgment about where AI speeds things up and where it does not.
  • Partner Communication Serve as a primary day-to-day point of contact for external development teams, facilitating clear, consistent communication and timely follow-through.
  • Internal Stakeholder Coordination Keep internal Mattel departments - brand, marketing, licensing, legal, and finance - informed and aligned throughout development.
  • Product Support Help translate product vision and priorities into clear briefs, requirements, and tasks for external teams, and contribute relevant market and competitive context that keeps titles aligned.
  • Brand Stewardship Help ensure external teams understand and uphold Mattel's brand guidelines, providing feedback that protects brand integrity.


Qualifications

What We're Looking For:
  • Experience 5+ years in game production, product, or project management within the video game industry, with hands-on mobile free-to-play experience.
  • Production Track Record Demonstrable experience helping take games through the development lifecycle, from concept to launch and live operations.
  • Process Discipline Strong organizational rigor and fluency with production methodologies (Agile/Scrum, Waterfall, etc.) and tooling (Jira, Confluence, Asana, etc.). You bring structure to ambiguity and build process that speeds up shipping rather than slowing it down.
  • AI-Enabled Workflow Demonstrated use of AI tools to make production work faster and better - reporting, documentation, summarization, and analysis - with the judgment to know where AI helps and where it does not.
  • F2P Fluency Solid practical understanding of free-to-play development, business models, and live operations.
  • Passion for Games Passion for the art and science of games (of any genre/model), as both a fan and a professional.
  • Problem-Solving Mindset Strong analytical skills with a proactive approach to identifying and resolving challenges.
  • Communication Excellence Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, capable of tailoring messages for technical, creative, and business audiences.
  • Collaborative Spirit A true team player with the ability to build strong working relationships and influence effectively across teams.

Bonus Points If You Have
  • Deep familiarity and passion for Mattel's core brands and their potential within the digital gaming space (Barbie™, Hot Wheels®, Monster High™, Masters of the Universe®, Uno®, etc.).
  • Experience working with and on behalf of a licensed IP.
  • Operated as a producer in both a studio and a publisher environment.
  • Experience shipping or operating live mobile titles (F2P or premium).
  • Experience integrating AI or automation into a production pipeline with external partners.


*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate's work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential.

Additional Information

Don't meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!

About Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is a global toy company that designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of toys and games. The company's brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, and more. Mattel's products are sold in over 150 countries and the company has manufacturing facilities in 10 countries. Mattel is committed to sustainability and has set a goal to achieve 100% recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastic materials in all products and packaging by 2030. The company is also committed to diversity and inclusion and has been recognized for its efforts in this area.
Learn more about Mattel
Size
36,300 employees
Market Cap
$5.9 billion
Industry
Net Income
$126.6 million
Founded
1945
5 Year Trend
-4.3%
Revenue
$4.5 billion
NASDAQ

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