Director, Footwear Product Development

Rothy's•San Francisco, CA

2d•$187,000 - $227,000

About The Position

Rothy’s is looking for a Director of Footwear Product Development to lead and scale the end to end development of footwear. You will set development strategy, technical process, and team direction while working closely with design, merchandising, sustainability, and factory partners. As both a leader and hands on expert, you will make key technical decisions, ensure product excellence, and approve final product readiness. You will translate brand and product vision into scalable, high quality, sustainable footwear that delivers on margin and timeline targets. You will own and optimize the global footwear development calendar, establish stage gate governance, and redesign our development process to improve speed, margin, and product consistency.

Requirements

12+ years of hands on footwear product development experience, including leadership roles
A degree in biomechanics, engineering, kinesiology, textile science, or related field, or equivalent experience
Deep knowledge of footwear construction, materials, tooling, testing, and costing
Experience reviewing cost breakdowns, analyzing material yields, interpreting testing data, and making margin focused decisions
Proven ability to improve cost, lead times, and quality with global manufacturing partners
Experience implementing digital development tools and managing BOMs through commercialization
Advanced knowledge of footwear fit and last development, including shape, proportions, grading, performance refinement, and establishment of brand fit standards and last libraries
Experience establishing PLM systems and standardizing development processes to support business scale

Responsibilities

Lead the modernization of the footwear development operating model to build scalable systems, processes, and governance that support brand growth and category expansion
Align product development strategy with brand goals, profitability targets, and sustainability priorities through strong strategic leadership and cross-functional collaboration
Increase development speed and operational discipline by owning and optimizing the global footwear development calendar, enforcing milestone accountability, and proactively managing risk to ensure on-time commercialization
Redesign and institutionalize a scalable development framework, including stage-gate criteria, PLM governance, and sample control processes to improve efficiency, visibility, and consistency
Drive margin discipline by owning cost strategy, including cost breakdown reviews, material yield optimization, and factory negotiations in partnership with sourcing teams to meet target gross margins
Strengthen technical differentiation across materials, construction methods, comfort systems, lasts, and tooling to improve product performance and competitive advantage
Spearhead rapid prototyping and the application of innovative materials, tooling, and design technologies to accelerate development cycles and elevate product innovation
Review and approve outsoles, components, uppers, materials, and fit to ensure product performance, durability, cost efficiency, and brand quality standards
Elevate fit consistency across the footwear portfolio through clear fit standards, structured testing protocols, and disciplined last library governance across categories and seasons
Lead and inspire a high-performing Product Development team, strengthening technical expertise, raising performance standards, and building bench strength to support long-term growth
Clarify decision rights, roles, and milestone accountability within the Product Development organization to improve alignment and execution across developers and technical leads
Strengthen factory and supplier partnerships to improve development efficiency, scalability, and execution quality from prototyping through commercialization
Monitor and manage product development budgets to ensure disciplined resource allocation and strong return on investment
Continuously evaluate and evolve development strategies, processes, and capabilities to support business growth, innovation, and expansion into new categories