Job Description

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Opportunity:

Mattel Animation Studios is seeking an experienced Sr. Producer to oversee the production of animated television series, specials, and short-form content from development through final delivery. Serving as the senior production lead on assigned productions, this individual contributor is responsible for driving production strategy, execution, operational excellence, and cross-functional alignment while ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest creative and production standards.

The Senior Producer partners closely with creative leadership, production teams, external animation studios, and cross-functional stakeholders—including Finance, Legal, Brand, Consumer Products, Franchise, Operations, and Post Production—to proactively manage production plans, mitigate risk, solve complex challenges, and drive successful outcomes across multiple concurrent productions.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the Senior Producer is recognized as a subject matter expert in animation production and serves as a trusted advisor to leadership, influencing production best practices, mentoring less experienced producers, and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives across Mattel Studios.

What Your Impact Will Be:

Production Leadership

• Serve as the senior production lead for multiple animated productions, overseeing execution from development through final delivery.
• Develop comprehensive production strategies, schedules, staffing plans, budgets, and operational approaches that support creative and business objectives.
• Balance priorities across multiple concurrent productions, ensuring resources, timelines, and production goals remain aligned.
• Independently lead production planning and execution while providing leadership with timely recommendations on strategic decisions requiring executive alignment.

Production Strategy & Operational Excellence

• Drive production planning, forecasting, scheduling, staffing, budgeting, and resource allocation across assigned projects.
• Anticipate production risks and implement mitigation strategies before issues impact schedules, budgets, or creative deliverables.
• Identify opportunities to improve production workflows, operational processes, and cross-functional collaboration across the studio.
• Champion production best practices and contribute to the development of scalable production standards and methodologies.

Studio & Vendor Leadership

• Serve as the primary production partner for external animation studios, production vendors, and strategic partners.
• Evaluate production proposals, staffing models, schedules, bids, budgets, and production methodologies to ensure alignment with studio objectives.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and studio leadership to support negotiations, vendor selection, scope discussions, and production agreements.
• Build strong relationships with external production partners while maintaining accountability for quality, schedule, budget, and delivery expectations.

Financial & Production Management

• Oversee production budgets throughout the lifecycle of assigned productions, partnering closely with Finance on forecasting, cost management, variance analysis, and financial reporting.
• Monitor production performance against schedule, budget, staffing, and milestone commitments.
• Recommend operational trade-offs and production solutions that balance creative priorities with financial and scheduling objectives.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the central production partner across Creative, Brand, Franchise, Consumer Products, Operations, Legal, Finance, Marketing, and Post-Production.
• Facilitate alignment among diverse stakeholders while balancing competing priorities and production needs.
• Lead complex production, planning, vendor, budget, and milestone meetings involving senior internal and external partners.
• Communicate production status, key risks, mitigation plans, and recommendations clearly to executive leadership.

Leadership Through Influence

• Mentor Producers, Associate Producers, Production Coordinators, and other production team members by sharing knowledge, providing guidance, and reinforcing best practices.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, and operational excellence across production teams without direct people management responsibilities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to production leadership on complex production issues, operational improvements, and strategic initiatives.
• Contribute to studio-wide operational initiatives that strengthen production capabilities and improve organizational effectiveness.

​​​​​​​ Quality & Delivery

• Ensure productions meet Mattel Studios' creative, technical, legal, and operational standards throughout the production lifecycle.
• Oversee creative review workflows, production approvals, asset management, quality control, localization coordination, and final delivery requirements.
• Resolve complex production issues independently while escalating matters requiring executive decisions appropriately.

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For:

• Demonstrated a growth mindset by staying curious and continuously learning, embracing challenges, and improving themselves.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible animation production experience, including leadership of complex animated television or streaming productions.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple high-profile productions simultaneously from development through delivery.
• Deep expertise in animation production pipelines, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, post-production, localization, and delivery workflows.
• Strong understanding of production financing, forecasting, vendor management, and operational planning.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex productions with minimal supervision.
• Exceptional cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship management skills with internal stakeholders and external production partners.
• Excellent judgment, strategic thinking, and problem-solving abilities in fast-paced production environments.
• Experience mentoring producers and contributing to production best practices preferred.
• Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and production management software.
• Experience with ShotGrid, Premiere, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Final Draft, and other animation production tools is preferred.
• Passion for premium animation, operational excellence, and collaborative storytelling.

*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!

How We Work:

We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Our Approach to Flexible Work:

This role is an in-office role Monday-Thursday, and work from home on Fridays. We embrace a flexible work model designed to empower a culture of growth, optimism, and wellbeing, where every employee can reach their full potential. Combining purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility, our focus is to optimize performance and drive connection for moments that matter.

Who We Are:

Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
Corporate Philanthropy