Footwear Innovation Designer II — Prototyping & Materials

ARC; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 82,000 - 108,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellbeing benefits

401(k) retirement savings with company

Paid time off

No Wasted Day program

Employee discounts and gear

Job summary

ARC’TERYX is seeking a Designer 2 – Footwear Innovation in Portland to explore, prototype, and validate future footwear concepts that advance our product vision. You will identify athlete needs, develop experimental concepts, build prototypes, test materials, and translate insights into opportunities.

This on‑location role focuses on creating a strong Arc’TERYX footwear DNA across fit, durability, and performance while collaborating across teams and partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field.
• 5+ years hands‑on experience in footwear innovation/design/product development.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, materials, fit, components, tooling, prototyping methods, and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Support exploration of future footwear innovation opportunities through athlete insight, field observation, product research, trend awareness, and competitive analysis.
• Translate research and user needs into early concepts, prototypes, experiments, and product hypotheses.
• Build and evolve Arc’TERYX footwear innovation DNA across fit, ride, traction, protection, durability, materials, construction.
• Create sketches, concept boards, mockups, prototypes, test samples, material explorations, and visual storytelling to communicate new footwear possibilities.
• Translate concepts into detailed tech packs for manufacturing partners.
• Build, test, and iterate footwear prototypes to validate comfort, fit, performance, and durability in real outdoor conditions.

Skills

Adobe Illustrator

Sketching

Prototype building

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Communication of concepts

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Footwear Design, Innovation, Engineering

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Job description

ARC’TERYX is seeking a Designer 2 – Footwear Innovation in Portland to explore, prototype, and validate future footwear concepts that advance our product vision. You will identify athlete needs, develop experimental concepts, build prototypes, test materials, and translate insights into opportunities.

This on‑location role focuses on creating a strong Arc’TERYX footwear DNA across fit, durability, and performance while collaborating across teams and partners.