Designer II, Footwear Innovation

About the role

We are looking for a creative, hands-on footwear designer who is energized by open-ended innovation work and excited to grow their craft within a small, collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Take the themes and creative direction set by design leadership and generate a high volume of ideas, sketches, and concepts that help the team visualize new high-performance footwear possibilities.
• Explore design language, form, function, and materials within defined innovation projects, balancing creativity with performance goals and manufacturability.
• Create sketches, renderings, rough prototypes, detailed tech packs, and 2D CAD files that clearly communicate concept intent, and partner with development counterparts to share the information needed to make and test them.
• Build and iterate on rough prototypes, integrating handcraft and making as a core part of the creative process.
• Draw inspiration and insight from consumers, internal wear testing, and the internal sports research lab to ideate and conceptualize new high-performance footwear constructions and technologies.
• Apply knowledge of footwear, design, human performance, and manufacturing to explore fresh approaches to familiar high-performance footwear challenges.
• Provide design exploration for innovation projects and contribute concepts to innovation reviews and mainline design reviews.
• Present concept work clearly to the design manager so they can keep cross-functional partners informed on concept progress.

Requirements

No supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Strong sketching and ideation skills, with the ability to generate many concepts quickly.
• Solid understanding of footwear design, construction, and production, including materials/fabrics, molding, and assembly.
• Strong hands-on prototyping and making skills; integrates handcraft into the creative process.
• Strong 2D CAD and tech-packaging skills.
• Proficient with Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop).
• Highly creative, curious, and genuinely energized by open-ended, ambiguous creative challenges.
• Comfortable taking creative direction and translating a set theme into multiple concept directions.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Able to work through and manage ambiguity.
• Strong verbal, written, and visual communication skills.
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Able to travel 10-15% of the time, domestically and internationally.

Skills

• Knowledge and experience with sustainable design and manufacturing (preferred).

Benefits

No specific benefits mentioned.

Pay

$80,000 - $100,000, commensurate with experience.

Schedule

No specific schedule mentioned.