Designer, Women's & Kids Footwear

American Exchange Group•New York, NY

2d•Onsite

About The Position

American Exchange Group is seeking a creative, trend-focused, and detail-oriented Footwear Designer to lead the design and development of women’s and kids’ footwear. The role involves translating fashion and footwear trends into commercially relevant products at appropriate price points, and developing market-driven collections across multiple classifications while balancing design, cost, and quality. The designer works with the Design Director and partners with Merchandising, Sales, Product Development, Production, and overseas vendors to take concepts from initial inspiration through production. This is a fully onsite position at the company’s New York City headquarters in the Garment District.

Requirements

At least 5 years of footwear design experience; experience in women’s, kids’, or value-focused footwear is preferred.
A strong portfolio demonstrating commercial footwear design, trend interpretation, and product development.
Strong understanding of footwear construction, materials, components, and manufacturing processes.
High proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Illustrator and Photoshop.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including experience using it for spec sheet detailing.
Experience creating footwear CADs, technical drawings, colorways, and production-ready specifications.
Ability to create linesheets and miniwalls.
Ability to translate fashion and footwear trends into commercially successful products while maintaining brand and customer relevance.
Strong organization, attention to detail, process orientation, and follow-through.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work effectively under tight deadlines.
Strong communication and collaboration skills for working cross-functionally with Merchandising, Sales, Product Development, and Production.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with quick turnaround times.
Fully onsite attendance at the NYC headquarters in the Garment District.

Nice To Haves

Experience working directly with overseas factories and vendors is strongly preferred.
Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, Footwear Design, Product Design, or a related field is preferred.

Responsibilities

Work with the Design Director to conceptualize and design trend-right women’s and kids’ footwear.
Research fashion, footwear, color, material, and consumer trends to identify commercial opportunities.
Translate market trends and customer direction into compelling, commercially viable footwear designs.
Develop seasonal footwear collections across multiple classifications, price points, and retail channels.
Create sketches, CADs, colorways, technical drawings, and production-ready specifications.
Specify proposed products and provide detailed design direction for product development and production.
Select and develop materials, components, trims, colors, and construction details while maintaining target costs.
Collaborate with Product Development and overseas factories to achieve design intent, quality, cost, and timeline goals.
Review samples, provide revisions and approvals, and ensure final products meet design and commercial objectives.
Participate in line reviews, presentations, market research, and customer meetings as needed.
Monitor competitive products and emerging trends in moderate, juniors, private label, and off-price footwear markets.
Manage multiple projects and seasonal deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Assist with additional design projects and responsibilities as needed.