Footwear Developer II, Innovation (Footwear Innovation)

Location: Seattle, Washington, US; on-site

Salary: $98,286–$147,428 per year

Company

hirify.global develops running footwear, gear, and experiences focused on performance, innovation, and reducing environmental impact.

What you will do

• Lead innovation footwear projects from briefing and design through development, tech transfer, and commercialization.
• Develop prototypes, acquire and manage samples, create technical packages and bills of materials, and evaluate blueprints, patterns, materials, and constructions.
• Collaborate with Design, Product Line Management, Product Validation, Engineering, Quality Assessment, Sustainability, vendors, factories, and Asia Development teams.
• Define materials, components, testing criteria, costs, quality targets, and manufacturing processes for product performance and sustainability objectives.
• Drive project meetings, decision-making, communication, critical dates, and on-time delivery across cross-functional teams.
• For athlete projects, lead racing footwear and track-spike development, athlete testing, production approvals, and World Athletics and WFSGI-related activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Biomechanics, Engineering, Kinesiology, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of experience leading high-performance technical running footwear projects from conception to retail.
• Expertise in technical footwear development, manufacturing, costing, process development, and project management.
• Strong communication, collaboration, organization, independent working, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong computer skills, including Illustrator, Smartsheet, and MS Office; Flex PLM knowledge is a bonus.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, including development trips and quarterly domestic travel for athlete projects.

Nice to have

• 3+ years of athletic footwear innovation experience.
• Experience developing track and field spikes or road racing shoes.
• Knowledge of track and field, road racing, and World Athletics footwear competition rules.
• Experience developing plates and thermoplastic materials through injection and carbon fiber molding processes.

Culture & Benefits

• Work within a culture centered on collaboration, creativity, innovation, and movement.
• Support inclusive and equitable participation across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills.
• Collaborate with professional athletes, sports marketing, suppliers, manufacturers, and global development teams.
• Participate in development trips, athlete testing, competitions, and product research activities.