Lead - Footwear Developer - PAD + Young Movers

Job description

### **In Short…** ### As the Lead Developer for PAD (Lifestyle) + Young Movers (Kids), you will be responsible for inline Lifestyle products in our fastest-growing, largest product vertical, alongside specialized development engineered specifically for the young movers in our community. Honing craft takes time. It requires patience, resilience, and a dedication to the complex integration of footwear construction and systems. In this role, you are an individual contributor operating at the intersection of high-performance design for all-day wear and disciplined Swiss Engineering. **Your Mission…** - **Commit to the Craft:** You will lead the technical development for new silhouettes across both Adult and Kids categories, ensuring that every product meets strict engineering standards for performance, aesthetic, and fit. - **Master Complex Integration:** You will serve as the primary technical partner to Design, converting creative dreams into commercial reality without compromising on function. - **Bridge the Generations:** You will translate adult performance concepts into kid-specific footwear, understanding the unique biomechanical and durability needs of younger, developing feet. **Your Day-to-Day…** - **Execute the Technical Lifecycle:** Manage the end-to-end development process from initial 2D/3D design concepts through tech-packing, prototyping, and final production-ready samples. - **Drive Material & Tooling Innovation:** Partner with material sourcing and tooling teams to test, validate, and implement new compounds, textiles, and manufacturing methods. - **Lead Fit & Wear Testing:** Oversee rigorous fit and wear testing protocols for both adults and kids, analyzing feedback to iterate and optimize comfort, support, and durability. - **Collaborate Cross-Functionally:** Act as the central technical hub between Design, Product Management, Sourcing, and Tier 1 factory partners to ensure timelines and margin targets are met. - **Optimize for Scale:** Ensure blueprints and construction methods are optimized for mass production while maintaining the pristine aesthetic integrity of the brand. ### **Your Story…** - **The Technical Authority:** You bring **7+ years of footwear development experience**, with a proven track record of launching highly complex, performance-driven lifestyle or athletic products. Experience in kids' footwear development is a massive plus. - **Resilient Individual Contributor:** You have the patience and persistence to navigate the long development road. You take full accountability for the technical lifecycle and thrive when managing independent projects. - **A Problem Solver by Nature:** Ingenuity is at your core. You think differently, challenge the status quo, and find elegance in solving the most difficult construction puzzles while maintaining superior performance. - **Global Collaborator:** You have extensive experience working directly with overseas commercialization centers and factories, understanding how to communicate technical nuances across cultures. **Your Keys to Success…** - **Thrive in Ambiguity:** You don't wait for a perfect roadmap. In a fast-scaling environment, parameters change quickly; you view shifting priorities as an opportunity to innovate rather than a roadblock. - **Biased for Action (With Guardrails):** You possess a strong sense of urgency. You know when to move fast and trust your gut, and when to pause to ensure Swiss-engineered quality isn't compromised. - **The "No Job Too Small" Mindset:** Despite your seniority as a Lead, you are a hands-on builder. You are just as excited to brainstorm high-level platform concepts with Design as you are to roll up your sleeves and fix a tech-pack error. - **Comfortable with Constructive Friction:** Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You welcome diverse perspectives, lean into healthy debate with Design and Product management, and use pushback to sharpen the final product. - **Continuous Learner:** The footwear landscape—especially in sustainable materials and circularity—is evolving daily. You are naturally curious, constantly scouting new methods, and eager to apply fresh learnings to the PAD and Kids lines.