Footwear Materials Design Manager

Aquent; Beaverton (OR); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is seeking a Senior Manager, Footwear Material Design to lead innovative material concepts for sport footwear, bridging art, science, and streetwear culture. You will elevate consumer product experiences by shaping design direction, translating insights, and driving material innovation across cleated footwear, training and golf lines.

Collaborate with leadership and cross-functional partners, including product design, color design, and development teams, to position the brand at the

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in design, art, or a related field, or equivalent education/training.
• 8+ years in material/footwear design with leadership experience.
• Collaborative, solution‑oriented mindset.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite.
• Deep product creation knowledge including construction and build processes.
• Proven people management or leadership inclination.
• Ability to translate consumer insights into compelling product narratives.
• Experience with material innovations and technologies.
• Experience creating mood boards and inspiration presentations.
• Understanding of the Footwear Product Creation process.
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing partners to ensure design intent.
• Strong presentation skills for diverse audiences.
• Portfolio required.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with leadership and cross-functional teams to advance materials and manufacturing approaches.
• Shape design direction and dimensional strategy for materials.
• Translate consumer insights into compelling narratives at product/collection level.
• Integrate design, development, and manufacturing to achieve excellence.
• Leverage knowledge of youth culture, color trends, fashion, art, and sports for innovation.
• Work with color teams, developers, merchandisers, and project managers on cleated footwear.

Skills

Adobe Creative Suite

Presentation skills

Team leadership

Material design

Footwear design

Consumer insights

Communication

Education

Bachelor in design/arts or related field

Tools

Keynote

PowerPoint

Acrobat

Miro

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional individual to join a dynamic team as a Senior Manager, Footwear Material Design. This is an incredible opportunity to make a profound impact, combining your expertise, problem-solving abilities, and creative vision to shape the future of sport footwear material design. You will be instrumental in elevating the consumer product experience by seamlessly integrating art, science, and streetwear culture into high-performance products. If you are passionate about crafting compelling narratives and storytelling through innovative material concepts, and eager to drive material innovation, this role offers a platform to truly leave your mark on iconic products.

What You Will Work On

• Collaborate closely with leadership and cross-functional teams, including Footwear Product Designers, Color Design, Developers, and Product Line Managers, to advance innovative materials and manufacturing approaches on strategic projects.
• Shape design direction and dimensional strategy, elevating existing materials, and pioneering new material concepts.
• Translate consumer insights into compelling, trend and performance-driven narratives, becoming a recognized expert at both the product and collection level.
• Integrate design, development, and manufacturing processes to achieve product excellence.
• Leverage extensive research and a deep understanding of youth culture, color trends, fashion, art, and sports to position the brand at the forefront of material innovation.
• Work closely with color teams, developers, merchandisers, and project managers on all cleated footwear products, including training and golf footwear.

Who You Will Work With

• Your design partners in product design, color design, and graphic design.
• Technical and material development partners.
• Product management and merchandising teams.

What You Bring (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in design, art, or a related field (fashion, product, industrial, accessory, footwear, or textile design), or equivalent education, experience, or training.
• 8+ years of relevant design experience in advancing material design, textile design, or footwear design, with a strong preference for 10+ years in footwear design.
• Demonstrated collaborative nature and solution-oriented mindset.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
• Deep product creation knowledge, including construction and build processes.
• Proven people management skills or a strong desire to lead and develop teams.
• Ability to interpret consumer insights and translate them into compelling product narratives.
• Skilled in concept creation and exploring material innovations and technologies.
• Experience building inspiration presentations and mood boards for seasonal concepts.
• Comprehensive understanding of the Footwear Product Creation process.
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing partners to ensure design intent and material execution.
• Experienced with presentation programs such as Keynote, PowerPoint, Acrobat, and Miro.
• Strong presentation skills for both small and large groups.
• Collaborative, positive, a good listener, receptive to candid feedback, and open to diverse points of view.
• Passion for design, culture, and design excellence.
• Highly organized and self-sufficient.
• Courage to speak up for yourself and the team.
• A portfolio is required with all submissions.

Skills That Will Make You Stand Out (Nice-to-Haves)

• 3D rendering skills.
• Prior experience with leading brands in the athletic or fashion industry.
• Strong consumer and market acumen.
• Ability to ideate using digital platforms like Gravity Sketch or CLO.
• Experience creating 3D samples and hand mockups.