Location: Los Altos, CA (San Francisco Bay Area)
Eligibility: Graduating College Seniors, Graduate Students, and Alumni

About DesignX

DesignX is a studio-based design education organization grounded in the belief that creativity is a form of intelligence—and that design gives form to creative intention. We create learning environments where imagination turns into things you can touch, wear, build, and play with in the physical world—through both structured and open-ended challenges, real materials, and thoughtful making.

Serving students ages 7–15, DesignX offers immersive programs in fashion, toy, product, and architectural design. Students learn by making, iterating, receiving critique, and completing work with care. This human-centered approach develops deep creative judgment, real material fluency, rich collaboration, and true confidence—for both the budding designers and the fellows who guide them.

Over the past decade, DesignX has engaged more than 8,000 students across Silicon Valley, building design literacy and creative agency that extend well beyond the studio or program.

The Fellowship

The Creative Lead Fellowship in Soft Toy Design is conceived as a formative professional experience for emerging designers.

As a fellow, you will be entrusted with leading students through the complete design process—framing problems, fostering discovery, and guiding the creation of tangible soft toy products. Along the way, you will refine your creative judgment, strengthen your leadership, and practice mentoring in a fast-paced studio-like setting. Technology may enable aspects of ideation, yet the true emphasis lies in cultivating the human dimensions of design: imagination, discernment, collaboration, and craft.

Fellowship Responsibilities

• Lead through practice: Guide students from concept development to finished soft toy, while advancing your own interpretive and design capabilities.

• Elevate execution: Focus on framing challenges, coaching learners, and cultivating critical reasoning in the execution of ideas.

• Develop leadership acumen: Hone skills in delegation, communication, and studio management through direct responsibility for class teams.

• Advance through mentorship: Work closely with senior staff who will challenge assumptions, broaden perspectives, and invest in your growth.

• Deliver with distinction: Plan and enable six student collections of age-appropriate soft-toys, executing 10–15 unique concepts weekly (80+ toys) in a fast-paced, studio-like environment.

• Engage AI thoughtfully: Use AI where applicable as an enabling tool, while developing the discernment to refine and contextualize its outputs.

Candidate Profile

• Demonstrated proficiency in product design, toy design, industrial design, or related fields, with experience in soft goods — prototyping, and/or material exploration.

• A commitment to growth—not only as a designer but as a leader, mentor, and critical thinker.

• Intellectual curiosity and experience using soft goods tools, along with the ability to use AI as a tool to strengthen the uniquely human capabilities that give design its meaning—intentionality, emotional resonance, cultural context, and the craft of making.

• Enthusiasm for working with young learners, combined with empathy, patience, and the ability to inspire.

• Reliability, professionalism, and openness to feedback in a collaborative environment.

Fellowship Details

• Program Dates: June 15 – July 26, 2026

• Training: May 23, June 11 – 12, 2026

• Commitment: Full-time

• Compensation: Competitive

Application

Please submit: Cover Letter, Resume, and Portfolio