VF: Senior Innovation Designer
About The Position
The Senior Innovation Designer for Performance Footwear is a strategic creative leader responsible for shaping the future of the brand’s high-performance product ecosystem. The role leads discovery, design, and validation of breakthrough concepts at the intersection of design, biomechanics, engineering, and emerging technology. It leads complex projects, mentors teammates, and influences long-term innovation strategy, turning unproven ideas into validated, scalable solutions. The designer leads innovation projects from insight development through validated concept handoff; develops opportunity areas and contributes to multi-year roadmaps; and creates and evaluates concepts across cushioning, traction, upper construction, fit systems, and emerging technologies. The role builds advanced prototypes, collaborates with engineering, materials, and sports science teams to evaluate and refine solutions, and translates findings into design criteria, technical specifications, and performance requirements. As design lead for multidisciplinary teams, the Senior Innovation Designer mentors junior designers and helps deliver validated, manufacturable concepts for future product lines. The role presents concepts to executives, category leaders, athletes, and partners; protects design intent through prototyping and development; and produces concept decks, functional briefs, technical specifications, and design rationale. Success means advancing athlete performance, strengthening competitive advantage, elevating innovation design, and creating clarity and alignment across complex projects.
Requirements
- 6–10+ years of experience in performance footwear, advanced concepts, industrial design, or highly technical product creation.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Engineering, Biomechanics, or a related field.
- Demonstrated track record of delivering innovative solutions in ambiguous environments.
- Expert-level sketching, form development, 3D modeling, and storytelling.
- Strong prototyping skills across physical and digital methods.
- Ability to guide complex projects and influence decision-making across teams.
- Experience collaborating with engineering, sports science, material development, and athlete testing teams.
Nice To Haves
- Experience shipping category-defining or patented products.
- Deep knowledge of performance testing protocols, biomechanics, and athlete insights.
- Background in advanced materials, cushioning platforms, digital manufacturing, or computational design.
- Ability to connect high-level strategic thinking with hands-on execution and prototyping.
Responsibilities
- Lead multi-phase innovation projects from insight development through validated concept handoff.
- Identify long-term opportunity areas and influence the creation of the multi-year innovation roadmap.
- Drive early-stage experimentation by establishing hypotheses and designing test methods to validate performance claims.
- Communicate project strategy, risk, and impact to cross-functional leadership.
- Develop original design concepts across cushioning, traction, upper construction, fit systems, and emerging technologies.
- Translate athlete insights, biomechanics data, and material science opportunities into differentiated performance solutions.
- Create renderings, prototypes, and narratives to inspire action and alignment.
- Build and direct advanced prototypes using 3D modeling, additive manufacturing, experimental materials, and hands-on methods.
- Partner with engineering, materials, and sports science teams to evaluate function, refine solutions, and advance technical feasibility.
- Translate findings into actionable design criteria, technical specifications, and performance requirements.
- Serve as design lead across multidisciplinary teams, including engineering, materials, testing, product creation, and manufacturing.
- Mentor junior designers and elevate design thinking and technical rigor within the innovation team.
- Deliver validated, manufacturable concepts that influence future-season product lines.
- Present innovation concepts to executives, category leaders, athletes, and cross-functional partners.
- Preserve design intent through iterative prototyping, development, and transfer to product creation teams.
- Produce concept decks, functional briefs, technical specifications, and design rationale.
Benefits
- Additional compensation awards may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive, or commission potential.
- VF offers benefit programs; detailed information will be provided during the hiring process.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
