Merchandise Design Lead

About The Company

Makeship empowers influencers, creators, and brands of all sizes to develop and launch limited-edition products that matter to their fans. Leveraging our design, manufacturing, and marketing expertise, we work with our partners to bring their products to life through our community-powered crowdfunding platform. Each product is given a window of 21 days to be funded by the community before we produce and ship to fans worldwide. We put our brand behind every product and guarantee quality and ethical sourcing.

We're profitable, have grown the team from 2 to 70 people in 5 years, and have a three-year revenue growth of over 400%, ranking us 98th on The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top Growing Companies of 2024 list. We are also excited to announce that Makeship has officially been Great Place to Work-Certified for 3 years in a row! Learn more about us at Makeship.com.

About the Role

As an early team member, you’ll play a huge role in shaping our culture, our process, and the future of Makeship. Every day, you’ll collaborate, learn more about the content creation space, and watch your work impact the company and the community!

We want this to be the best work experience of your life, so we’ll pay you well, offer great benefits, invest deeply in your growth, and welcome you with our branded swag. You will also be joining one of Canada's fastest-growing start-ups!

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for a Merchandise Design lead. As a Merchandise Design Lead, you'll bridge creative vision and team execution - guiding designers to deliver exceptional, trend-forward products that align with Makeship’s business goals. This role combines hands-on creative leadership with team development and process optimization, ensuring the design team operates efficiently while producing high-quality, on-brand merchandise. You’ll be accountable for the merchandise design team’s overall creative output, workflow efficiency, and adherence to Makeship’s quality and brand standards.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the design and development of complex, multi-product campaigns, ensuring creative excellence and brand alignment.
• Approve high-level designs, providing clear, constructive feedback that balances client vision with manufacturing feasibility.
• Drive innovation by identifying emerging trends and translating them into actionable design directions for the team.
• Partner with the Design Manager to inform team resourcing, tool needs, and upcoming creative priorities based on campaign pipelines and product strategies.
• Lead and develop the design team through mentorship, constructive feedback, and collaboration with the Design Manager on performance and growth planning.
• Implement and manage quality control processes to ensure adherence to client, brand, and manufacturing standards.
• Continuously evaluate and refine workflows to improve efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.
• Oversee and ensure the team’s production files consistently meet accuracy, cost, and manufacturing readiness standards.
• Partner with Production, Sales and Marketing to align design output with campaign goals and company strategy.
• Communicate and present design strategies, trade-offs, and rationale clearly to internal stakeholders and clients to ensure alignment and minimize revisions.
• Maintain strong relationships with manufacturing partners, balancing innovation with production feasibility.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, ensuring they are delivered on time and within scope.
• Track project progress and proactively address risks or blockers in collaboration with the Design Manager.
• Lead departmental initiatives that drive innovation, improve tools/processes and elevate design quality across the organization.
• Other duties and responsibilities as required from time to time.
  
  

What You Bring

• 5+ years of professional experience in product or merchandise design with physical goods (e.g, plush, toys, apparel, collectibles).
• 3-5 years of experience mentoring or leading other designers, providing feedback, and guiding creative development.
• Post-secondary degree or diploma in Art, Design, Industrial Design, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of product design principles and manufacturing processes for consumer merchandise.
• Proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and production file standards.
• Solid grasp of how design supports brand strategy, business objectives, and cost efficiency.
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing or production partners.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, balance creative and operational priorities, and deliver high-quality results on time.
  
  

Bonus

• Prior exposure to process improvement or design operation initiatives.
• Familiarity with trend forecasting and creator or pop-culture product design.
  
  

Benefits & Perks

• Work remotely anywhere in Canada and/or access any of our hubs
• Health and dental benefits from day 1
• 4 weeks of paid vacation (including paid time off on your birthday)
• Additional 1 week of paid time off during the holidays
• Virtual & In-Person Social Events
• Annual Paid Volunteer Day Off
• 1:1 RRSP Matching Program Up to 3%
• $500 Pre-Tax Annual Health & Wellness Allowance
• $400 Pre-Tax Home Office Setup Allowance
• $65 Pre-Tax Monthly Phone Allowance
• Maternity and Parental Leave Top-Up Program
• Education Assistance Program
• Employee Referral Program
• Tenured Rewards Program
  
  

Salary Band: $75-85k CAD per annum. Individual salaries will be dependent on unique skills, experience and qualifications.

At Makeship we are committed to fostering an environment that welcomes people of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We are passionate about building an equitable and inclusive culture for our unique and diverse team of employees which makes us Makeship. As an equal-opportunity employer, we value and embrace everyone's opinions and differences, and actively seek new Makeshippers who will work respectfully with our team, propelling our company and the community forward. If there are any accommodations we can provide to make your interview experience more accessible and inclusive, please let us know in your application.