Manager, Design & Development Footwear

Lucchese•Dallas, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, Design & Development – Footwear is responsible for executing the design and development of western footwear products from concept through commercialization. This role supports category objectives by partnering closely with merchandising, sourcing, and leadership to deliver products that meet brand standards, consumer expectations, and business goals. This position combines creative and technical expertise to deliver products on time, within cost targets, and aligned to GTM objectives. The Manager, Design and Development, Footwear is primarily responsible driving the development process for footwear for El Paso and Mexico under the direction of the Senior Director, Product Design and Development. This role includes domestic and international travel, supports research and development activities, and executes seasonal design assignments based on merchandising briefs.

Requirements

Significant knowledge of boot making construction, materials, and components.
General understanding of costing, material yields, time studies, and workmanship requirements.
Ability to apply skill sets both creatively and analytically.
Ability to work independently while managing multiple projects concurrently.
Demonstrates a strong sense of urgency and responsiveness.
Drives Results: Consistently delivers on development timelines, GTM milestones, and assigned product objectives.
Plans and Aligns: Effectively manages workflow and aligns tasks to seasonal development calendars and priorities.
Collaborates: Works effectively with cross-functional teams and external partners to achieve product goals.
Customer Focus: Understands the western consumer and incorporates insights into design and development decisions.
Process Management: Executes the product development lifecycle with discipline, accuracy, and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint, CAD and sketching skills are preferred.
Preferred 5+ years of relevant experience in the western footwear market.

Responsibilities

Identify trends in the core western market and translate relevant ideas to seasonal design.
Communicate the trends to the broader organization in understandable terms.
Execute seasonal product assignments aligned to brand and merchandising requirements.
Maintain relationships with key stakeholders across Merchandising, Product Development, Sourcing, Brand and Creative.
Identifying, refining and solving design execution problems.
Know and understand seasonal merchandising briefing documents.
Merge trends and design briefs into designs that inspire and delight the western marketplace consumers.
Identify and resolve fit issues.
Maintain quality levels expected by the brand and consumer.
Execute the end-to-end product development process from concept through GTM milestones and production readiness.
Support delivery of product that aligns with target cost, margin expectations, and price/value positioning.
Partner with sourcing and factories to make informed material and construction decisions to help meet cost and quality goals.
Contribute to line reviews and line close activities by ensuring product readiness, accuracy, and alignment with briefs and timelines.
Maintain ownership of development timelines to ensure on-time sample delivery and commercialization.
Execute seasonal product assignments including silhouettes, materials, stitch patterns, and construction details.
Identify and resolve design, fit, and construction challenges throughout development.
Ensure team and vendors understand all scorecards applied to the business.
Maintain knowledge of the landscape to support informed material and vendor decisions.
Create and manage tech packs and product specifications to support sample development.
Review samples, provide feedback, and partner with factories to achieve desired fit, quality, and construction.
Maintain sample tracking and development documentation.
Maintain close communication with El Paso and sourced factories.
Submit tech packs to factories, sourced factories, and communicate requirements clearly.
Ensure product flow meets Go-To-Market timelines.
Work closely with merchandising, sourcing, and production teams to ensure alignment across product decisions.
Communicate development status, risks, and solutions effectively.
Incorporate feedback from cross-functional partners to improve product outcomes.
Share knowledge and best practices with peers and junior team members.
Provide informal guidance on western footwear construction, materials, and development processes.
Contribute to a collaborative and solutions-oriented team environment.
Manage multiple products and projects simultaneously with strong attention to detail.
Ensure adherence to development calendars and GTM timelines.
Identify opportunities to improve product development efficiency and execution.