Materials Designer - Footwear

Aquent is seeking an innovative Materials Designer to join a globally recognized athletic and lifestyle brand, renowned for shaping trends and influencing culture through groundbreaking footwear. This is an unparalleled opportunity to leave your footprint on the world of design, directly impacting the future of seasonal footwear collections. Your creativity and technical prowess will transform concepts into tangible products, blending artistic vision with commercial viability, and pushing the boundaries of material design to inspire athletes and trendsetters globally. You'll be at the forefront of innovation, driving the aesthetic and functional evolution of products that will be celebrated by millions worldwide.

What You'll Do

• Drive the design and development of materials for upcoming seasonal footwear collections.
• Generate and refine material concepts, create detailed CADs, develop color and material applications, and produce compelling presentation assets.
• Collaborate extensively with footwear designers, color designers, graphic designers, material developers, product teams, and merchandising partners to ensure cohesive and innovative product lines.
• Leverage extensive material libraries to identify and select appropriate materials based on design intent, performance requirements, availability, and cost efficiency.
• Engage with vendors and material development teams to facilitate material selection, development, pricing negotiations, and flawless execution.
• Balance creative direction with commercial and production considerations, demonstrating a strong understanding of material costing.
• Maintain and update critical design information and CADs within design systems.
• Utilize Miro to foster collaborative design, ideation, and streamline workflow processes.
• Produce accurate 2D technical drawings and design specifications as needed.
• Contribute to seasonal storytelling through innovative use of materials, texture, color, finish, and advanced manufacturing methods.
• Incorporate feedback swiftly and effectively, maintaining design integrity while adhering to fast-paced deadlines.
• Proactively identify new materials, technologies, and sustainable solutions to enhance the consumer experience.
• Present compelling concepts, material recommendations, and design solutions to internal stakeholders.

What We're Looking For

• Approximately 2-5 years of materials design experience, ideally within footwear, athletic, fashion, or a closely related product category.
• A strong understanding of footwear materials and the material development processes.
• Demonstrated experience with material costing, pricing discussions, navigating material libraries, working with vendors, and collaborating with material developers.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Illustrator.
• Experience with managing and uploading CADs within design systems.
• Experience working in Miro.
• A keen understanding of color, materials, texture, form, trend, and consumer-focused design principles.
• Ability to create accurate 2D technical drawings and clearly communicate design intent.
• Exceptional communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, highly collaborative creative environment.
• Receptive to feedback and capable of quickly incorporating direction into design work.
• Bachelor's degree in Design, Art, or a related discipline preferred, but not required with relevant professional experience.

Nice to Have

• Recent experience within a major athletic footwear organization or similarly complex footwear environment.
• Experience with footwear manufacturing and development processes.
• Adobe Photoshop and InDesign proficiency.
• Experience creating physical mockups, samples, or prototypes.
• 3D design software experience.
• Knowledge of sustainable materials and manufacturing practices.
• Experience creating and delivering presentations using Keynote, PowerPoint, or Acrobat.

About Aquent Talent:

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.