Altra: Footwear Designer II

VF Corporation•Denver, CO

11d•$82,080 - $102,600•Onsite

About The Position

Altra is seeking a Footwear Designer II to join their team. This role is critical in generating functional and aesthetically appropriate footwear for Altra’s Athletic, Outdoor, and Casual Lifestyle categories. The designer will participate in the creative direction for all footwear design projects, maintain a consistent and relevant design language, and provide industry insight and recommendations for creating elite technical product that aligns with Product Line Management, Sales and Merchandising vision and overall brand strategy. The designer will work alongside innovative leaders to create footwear that pushes boundaries and challenges old paradigms to innovate and discover solutions for Altra customers. Daily responsibilities include managing assigned projects and workload, collaborating with cross-functional product partners (Product Line Management, Product Development, Marketing, and Sales), coordinating design deadlines for on-time delivery, and participating in product strategy meetings. The role involves developing concepts and creative strategies, identifying opportunities for improvement, seeking out new design resources, materials, and technologies, and partnering with Product Line Management to develop briefs and lead idea generation. The designer will translate briefs and marketing plans into creative concepts presented through mood boards, prototypes, and presentations. They will also learn new skills, stay abreast of technical and digital design developments, and verbally present concepts to mid and senior-level managers, constructively discussing and receiving feedback. The position requires managing multiple projects with sensitivity to priorities and deadlines, and a willingness to travel to sourcing countries, factory partners, team offsites, and brand events. Other duties as assigned by the manager are also part of the role.

Requirements

3-5 years of experience and professional achievements.
Ability to understand complex and sometimes fuzzy problems in a fast-paced environment.
ATHLETIC Technical footwear design experience.
Proficient at Performance Tech Pack and Tooling 2D Blueprint creation.
Strong knowledge of foot anatomy.
Knowledge of how to design with footwear performance and biomechanics in mind.
Excellent rendering and presentation skills required.
High level of performance footwear materials knowledge.
Sound understanding of footwear manufacturing processes and technologies.
In-depth experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.) and Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, etc.).
An abundance of curiosity and desire to learn and grow your footwear craft.

Nice To Haves

Experience or interest in running.
Knowledge of 3D software such as: Blender, SolidWorks, Rhino, Keyshot, etc.)
AI Design and Agentic tools.

Responsibilities

Daily management of assigned projects and workload.
Collaborate with cross-functional product partners: Product Line Management, Product Development, Marketing, and Sales.
Coordinate Design deadlines to ensure on-time delivery of design projects and tasks.
Participate in product strategy meetings to ensure competitive product design and successful products for the Altra brand.
Develop concepts and creative strategies that fulfill objectives of category, concept, briefs.
Collaborate with cross-functional team members to ensure consumer and brand focus is met.
Participate in creation of short-term and long-term creative direction strategies.
Identify opportunities of improvement, process change, and initiate own proposals/projects.
Seek out new Design resources, materials and technologies to assist in the development of leading-edge product.
Partner with Product Line Management to develop and sharpen briefs, lead collaborative idea generation, and develop consumer insights with cross-functional teams.
Translate briefs and marketing plans into creative concepts that are clearly articulated in mood boards, interactive prototypes then develop presentations and storytelling vehicles to socialize and gain buy-in on your ideas
Learn new skills and stay abreast of technical and digital design developments and successfully apply these to work practices
Verbally present concepts and design solutions to mid and senior level managers. Ability to constructively discuss, utilize, and receive feedback to create excellent product.
Manage multiple projects, with sensitivity to department priorities and deadlines.
Willingness and ability to travel to sourcing countries, factory partners, team offsites and brand events to drive team projects.
Perform other duties as required/assigned by manager.