Footwear Development Director — Scale & Innovate

SupportFinity™; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

401k matching

Comprehensive health plans for you and

Supplemental mental health benefits

Monthly wellness reimbursement

Dog friendly offices

Employee Discount Program

Job summary

Rothy's in San Francisco is seeking a Director of Footwear Product Development to lead end-to-end development of footwear, setting strategy, process, and team direction with design, merchandising, sustainability, and factory partners.

As a hands-on leader, you will approve final product readiness, own the global calendar, and redesign development to improve speed, margin, and consistency while delivering on brand vision.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in footwear product development with leadership roles.
• Degree in biomechanics, engineering, kinesiology, textile science, or related field.
• Deep knowledge of footwear construction, materials, tooling, testing, and costing.
• Experience reviewing cost breakdowns and material yields to improve margins.
• Proven ability to improve cost, lead times, and quality with global manufacturers.
• Experience implementing digital development tools and managing BOMs through commercialization.
• Advanced knowledge of footwear fit and last development, including brand standards and last libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead the modernization of the footwear development operating model to scalable systems and governance.
• Align product development strategy with brand goals, profitability targets, and sustainability priorities.
• Increase development speed by owning the global development calendar and milestone accountability.
• Redesign a scalable development framework with stage-gate criteria and PLM governance.
• Drive margin discipline by owning cost strategy and factory negotiations with sourcing teams.
• Strengthen material differentiation and tooling to improve performance and competitive advantage.
• Spearhead rapid prototyping and application of innovative materials and tooling.
• Review and approve outsoles, uppers, materials for performance, durability and cost.
• Elevate fit consistency with structured testing protocols and last library governance.
• Lead a high-performing Product Development team and build bench strength.
• Clarify decision rights and accountability within the Product Development organization.
• Strengthen factory and supplier partnerships from prototyping to commercialization.
• Monitor and manage budgets for disciplined resource allocation.
• Continuously evolve development strategies to support growth and expansion.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Project management

Negotiation

Cost optimization

Root cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, biomechanics, kinesiology, textiles or related field

Tools

PLM systems

Costing tools

Job description

Rothy's in San Francisco is seeking a Director of Footwear Product Development to lead end-to-end development of footwear, setting strategy, process, and team direction with design, merchandising, sustainability, and factory partners.

As a hands-on leader, you will approve final product readiness, own the global calendar, and redesign development to improve speed, margin, and consistency while delivering on brand vision.