Sr. Manager, Material Design - HOKA Footwear

About the role

The Sr. Manager, Material Design for HOKA Footwear is responsible for defining and driving the future of material innovation across the footwear portfolio. This role shapes the long-term material design vision, translating brand ambition into seasonally relevant, athlete-informed, and commercially impactful product experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead seasonal material vision, design strategy, and application direction for lifestyle and performance footwear
• Define seasonal material palettes, expression frameworks, and application strategies aligned with brand and consumer insights
• Shape material design direction and dimensional strategy across product collections
• Translate consumer trends and insights into compelling, trend-driven material narratives and storytelling
• Refined and evolved existing material executions while pioneering new material innovation opportunities
• Lead material design execution on strategic footwear priority projects, driving solutions from concept through execution
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to deliver material and finish solutions
• Serve as the material design expert at both the product and collection level, influencing strategic decisions and design direction
• Foster alignment across functions to deliver innovative material and finish solutions that support business and consumer objectives
• Mentor design teams through material storytelling, design thinking, and consumer-centered innovation

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in industrial design, material design, product design, or related field
• 8+ years’ experience in footwear material design, with a focus on lifestyle or performance categories
• Advanced understanding of footwear material, construction, and process (Tooling + Upper)
• Ability to interpret consumer insights and translate them into compelling product narratives
• Skilled in concept creation and exploring material innovations
• Experience building inspiration presentations and mood boards for seasonal concepts
• Proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Miro or Lucid
• Familiarity with generative AI platforms (e.g., Midjourney, Vizcom)
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Expert level knowledge of performance and lifestyle trends and competitive landscape

Qualifications

• Expert level knowledge of performance and lifestyle trends and competitive landscape

Skills

• Expert level knowledge of performance and lifestyle trends and competitive landscape

Benefits

• Competitive Pay and Bonuses
• Financial Planning and wellbeing
• Time away from work
• Extras, discounts and perks
• Growth and Development
• Health and Wellness

Pay

$137,500.00 - $185,600.00

Schedule

In Office