Sourcing & Production Specialist FTW

Laceless Design; Greater London; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Axel Arigato is seeking a Sourcing & Production Specialist for footwear in Gothenburg. You will bridge product development and production, ensuring high-quality, timely footwear production from prototypes to launch while coordinating with local sourcing teams and suppliers.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in footwear production/sourcing, including costing and material testing, with at least 2 years in-brand.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in footwear production/sourcing, including costing, materials, fit, wear, quality, and testing
• At least 2 years of that experience within a brand
• Strong analytical and negotiation skills
• Organized and technical, with solid planning and forecasting ability
• Able to balance several complex priorities running at once
• Solution-oriented, with an uncompromising eye for product quality
• Willing to travel to our production markets

Responsibilities

• Serve as the production specialist for footwear during the entire product development lifecycle
• Work with the Product Development & Sourcing office to ensure smooth industrialization from prototypes to production
• Manage tier two suppliers by forecasting, negotiating, and sourcing materials to enhance quality, sustainability, availability, and margins
• Manage packing materials and other special projects
• Travel to production markets to assist with supplier onboarding and launches and to train local sourcing teams during industrialization and initial orders
• Review bulk materials and samples with sourcing teams
• Maintain product trackers and ensure completion of all critical production gates
• Analyze CBDs and negotiate prices for core styles
• Project-lead the quick-strike critical path and different approval gates
• Manage our tooling budget, tooling ordering, amortizations, and follow-up

Skills

Footwear production

Sourcing

Negotiation

Forecasting

Planning

Analytical skills

Brand experience

Travel willingness

Job description

We're looking for our next Sourcing & Production Specialist in Footwear. The role sits between Product Development and Production, ensuring high-quality, timely, and well-planned footwear production from start to finish. You'll manage tier one and two supplier relations and development in close collaboration with our local sourcing teams, facilitating seamless industrialization, prioritizing supplier coordination, and ensuring material excellence throughout every stage of the footwear lifecycle.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Serve as the production specialist for footwear during the entire product development lifecycle
• Work with the Product Development & Sourcing office to ensure smooth industrialization from prototypes to production
• Manage tier two suppliers by forecasting, negotiating, and sourcing materials to enhance quality, sustainability, availability, and margins
• Manage packing materials and other special projects
• Travel to production markets to assist with supplier onboarding and launches and to train local sourcing teams during industrialization and initial orders
• Review bulk materials and samples with sourcing teams
• Maintain product trackers and ensure completion of all critical production gates
• Analyze CBDs and negotiate prices for core styles
• Project-lead the quick-strike critical path and different approval gates
• Manage our tooling budget, tooling ordering, amortizations, and follow-up

ARE YOU THE ONE?

We're looking for someone with most of the following:

• 5+ years of experience in footwear production/sourcing, including costing, materials, fit, wear, quality, and testing
• At least 2 years of that experience within a brand
• Strong analytical and negotiation skills
• Organized and technical, with solid planning and forecasting ability
• Able to balance several complex priorities running at once
• Solution-oriented, with an uncompromising eye for product quality
• Willing to travel to our production markets

DETAILS

Contract type: Full-time

Reports to: Head of Development & Production Footwear

Location: Gothenburg, travel required

Work mode: On-site

ABOUT AXEL ARIGATO

Founded in Sweden in 2014 by Albin Johansson and Max Svärdh, Axel Arigato was born with a disruptive mindset, modernising and democratising the sneaker landscape through a blend of style, quality, community and a digital-first approach.

Grounded in Scandinavian minimalism and elevated with playful, intentional details, every piece is designed with care: crafted to move globally, worn with individuality.

What began online expanded into physical spaces built for energetic cultural exchange: stores and experiences where conversations, performances and unexpected activations dissolve the boundaries between brand and culture.

Today, Axel Arigato continues to evolve with purpose via a people-powered approach. It shows up where culture happens: on streets, at events and across cities.

Built on curiosity. Driven by connection.

OUR VALUES

Diversity, Respect, Openness, and Passion are our values that we live and breathe. They are the foundation for our current state and what we will always bring with us to the future.