Altra: Senior Footwear Developer, Special Projects & Collaborations

About the role

The Senior Footwear Developer owns end-to-end footwear development while leading strategically important, high-visibility projects that require exceptional project management, cross-functional influence, external partner collaboration, and the ability to translate unique creative visions into commercially viable products that uphold Altra's fit, performance, quality, and brand standards.

What you will do

• Lead end-to-end footwear development for strategically important collaborations, special projects, limited-edition initiatives, and other high-visibility programs from concept through commercialization.
• Serve as the primary development partner for external collaborators, athletes, designers, ambassadors, agencies, brand partners, and special project stakeholders.
• Translate creative vision and collaborator input into actionable development requirements that uphold Altra's fit, performance, quality, consumer experience, and brand standards.
• Drive alignment across Product Management, Design, Merchandising, Marketing, Engineering, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Asia Development, and external partners throughout the development process.
• Develop and manage project timelines, workback schedules, milestone tracking, risks, dependencies, and critical decisions for multiple concurrent projects with differing launch requirements.
• Proactively identify and resolve development, quality, sourcing, manufacturability, and timeline risks to maintain project objectives and milestone adherence.
• Act as a trusted development expert and communication hub, providing clear direction, updates, and recommendations that keep internal, external, and global partners informed and aligned.
• Partner with Asia Development, manufacturing, and factory teams to communicate product vision, evaluate feasibility, and influence execution that balances design intent, quality, performance, manufacturability, and timing.
• Manage compressed timelines and unique development challenges with strong project management, prioritization, organizational discipline, and cross-functional influence.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and timely technical documentation within Flex PLM and related systems to support development execution and commercialization readiness.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of footwear product development experience.
• Excels in fast-paced environments with shifting priorities and compressed timelines.
• Demonstrated success leading complex footwear projects from concept through commercialization.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, materials, tooling, manufacturing processes, and costing.
• Exceptional project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously.
• Proven ability to influence and communicate effectively across global, cross-functional, and external partner teams.
• Strong collaboration and relationship-building skills with internal stakeholders and external collaborators.
• Experience working directly with Asia-based development and manufacturing partners.
• Ability to balance creative vision, commercial requirements, and brand standards.
• Proficiency with Flex PLM, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Serve as a mentor and technical resource for junior and mid-level developers, sharing development expertise and best practices across the team.
• Represent special projects and collaborations in cross-functional and leadership reviews, providing recommendations that inform go/no-go and prioritization decisions.
• Willingness to support domestic and overseas travel, including to Asia-based development and manufacturing partners, with increased flexibility expected during peak development and collaboration periods.

Pay

$103,680.00 USD - $129,600.00 USD annually. This position is eligible for additional compensation awards that may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive, or commission potential. Specific details of the additional compensation eligibility for this position will be provided during the recruiting and interview process.