Footwear Developer, Women’s

About the role

Rothy’s is seeking a creative and analytical Footwear Developer to support the development of innovative, high-quality footwear. This role collaborates with Product Design, Merchandising, and factory partners to bring footwear from concept through commercialization.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Product Design, Merchandising, and factory partners to develop footwear from concept through commercialization, supporting alignment to design intent, quality standards, cost targets, and timelines.
• Evaluate bottoms, components, upper patterns, knitting, materials, and constructions from fit, performance, durability, costing, and manufacturing feasibility perspectives.
• Provide technical input and identify potential risks early in the development process, proposing alternative solutions as needed.
• Support resolution of product development issues by partnering cross-functionally to deliver cost-effective and timely solutions.
• Analyze cost differences across prototypes and sample stages; review CBDs, yields, and material usage, and support cost negotiations to achieve margin goals.
• Partner with integrity and quality teams to support fit consistency, comfort, and performance from development through production.
• Analyze materials and components for physical properties, performance, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness to ensure appropriate application.
• Participate as a key contributor in all sample reviews (prototype, development, fit, confirmation, TOP) to support quality and executional consistency.
• Coordinate and contribute to cross-functional development meetings to review progress, align on decisions, and support on-time delivery.
• Maintain clear, proactive communication with factory and vendor partners throughout development and production.
• Identify opportunities to improve product integrity, development efficiency, and cost savings, contributing ideas and solutions to the broader team.

Requirements

• Able to interpret design intent and product needs with growing independence and technical confidence.
• A self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment and is comfortable learning on the fly.
• Collaborative, solutions-oriented, and eager to partner across teams.
• Curious, adaptable, and open to feedback and new ways of working.
• A clear and effective communicator with internal and external partners.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills and follow-through.
• Willing and able to travel domestically (1–3 times per year) and internationally (quarterly).

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of footwear product development and/or production experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Product Development, Engineering, Industrial Design, or another applicable technical field.
• Working knowledge of footwear construction, materials, components, costing, testing, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience reviewing and analyzing costing and testing data to support product improvements.
• Understanding of the footwear development and commercialization lifecycle.
• Experience working with Asia-based factories or vendors.
• Strong computer skills, including PLM and Google Sheets/Docs/Slides; Adobe Illustrator experience a plus.