3D Footwear CAD Designer — Rapid Prototyping & Visualization

FashionUnited; Denver, Northern (CO, KY); Hybrid; USD 82,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

Altra, a VF brand, seeks an Inline 3D CAD Footwear Designer to bring inline footwear products to life through advanced 3D design and visualization. You will collaborate with Footwear Design, Development, Product Management, and Innovation teams to translate concepts into production-ready geometry and compelling renderings.

This role requires 2–5 years in footwear design and proficiency in Rhino 3D, Blender, and SolidWorks, with travel ~10%.

Qualifications

• 2-5 years of professional experience in footwear design, product creation, or advanced 3D modeling.
• Strong proficiency in Rhinoceros 3D, Blender, SolidWorks or similar 3D surfacing/modeling software.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, tooling development, materials, and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality 3D models of footwear concepts, components, and tooling from concept through commercialization.
• Partner closely with Footwear Designers to translate sketches, concepts, and design intent into digital 3D form.
• Build and refine outsole, midsole, and upper models to support design reviews, prototyping, and factory communication.
• Develop renderings and visualizations to communicate product ideas, storytelling, and material/color execution.
• Support rapid iteration by creating fast-turn digital prototypes that accelerate decision-making.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Development, Product Management, and Tooling Manager to balance performance, manufacturability, and cost targets.
• Maintain digital model integrity and handoff to factory partners for tooling and engineering refinement.

Skills

Footwear design

3D modeling

Rhino 3D

Blender

SolidWorks

Concept modeling

Visualization/Rendering

Collaboration

Performance footwear

Time management

Tools

Grasshopper

Houdini

KeyShot

Maya

Job description

Altra, a VF brand, seeks an Inline 3D CAD Footwear Designer to bring inline footwear products to life through advanced 3D design and visualization. You will collaborate with Footwear Design, Development, Product Management, and Innovation teams to translate concepts into production-ready geometry and compelling renderings.

This role requires 2–5 years in footwear design and proficiency in Rhino 3D, Blender, and SolidWorks, with travel ~10%.