Creative Footwear Materials Designer

Overview

Creative Footwear Materials Designer

Location: Portland, OR (Hybrid; occasional onsite collaboration required)
Contract Length: 13 months

Overview

We are seeking a highly creative and experienced Footwear Materials Designer to support a special product initiative focused on innovative footwear concepts across performance, lifestyle, and culture-driven categories. This role will partner with designers, developers, and cross-functional teams to create compelling material stories that balance creativity, consumer relevance, technical execution, and brand identity.

The ideal candidate is passionate about footwear, deeply connected to sneaker culture and streetwear, and brings a strong portfolio demonstrating material exploration, design process, and finished product execution.

Responsibilities

• Develop creative footwear material concepts across multiple product categories and collections
• Research and identify emerging materials, finishes, textures, and construction techniques to elevate product design
• Create material stories and presentations that communicate design intent, inspiration, and consumer relevance
• Partner with footwear designers, product developers, suppliers, and cross-functional teams to bring concepts from idea through execution
• Support the development of innovative material applications while considering performance, aesthetics, manufacturability, and cost
• Review prototypes and provide design feedback throughout the product creation process
• Collaborate on special projects, partnerships, and culturally relevant product initiatives
• Stay informed on footwear trends, sneaker culture, streetwear, and evolving consumer preferences

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in creative footwear material design, footwear design, or related product design roles
• Bachelor’s degree in design, industrial design, footwear design, fashion design, or equivalent professional experience
• Demonstrated experience working across multiple footwear segments or product lines
• Strong portfolio showcasing:
  • Material concepts and experimentation
  • Footwear design process
  • Design exploration and iterations
  • Final product execution
  • Ability to communicate creative rationale and design decisions
• Strong understanding of footwear materials, including:
  • Leather
  • Canvas
  • Synthetic materials
  • Wovens
  • Meshes
  • Upper constructions
  • Footwear trims (preferred)
• Passion for skateboarding, sneaker culture, streetwear, or youth lifestyle markets
• Ability to balance creative vision with technical requirements and business considerations
• Strong collaboration, communication, and presentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing footwear materials for skateboarding, action sports, sneaker, or streetwear categories
• Experience supporting footwear collaborations, partnerships, or limited-edition product launches
• Knowledge of footwear manufacturing, material sourcing, and supplier capabilities
• Experience working with global brands or highly recognizable consumer product organizations
• Understanding of consumer trends and cultural influences impacting footwear design

Portfolio Requirements

Candidates should provide a portfolio that demonstrates:

• Recent footwear material design work
• Creative approach and design point of view
• Material exploration and development process
• Examples of challenges, iterations, and design decisions
• Ability to bring fresh ideas and concepts to a culture-driven footwear category

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