Footwear Product Developer

With nearly half a million customers in more than 97 countries, Xero Shoes is a lifestyle footwear brand focused on helping people everywhere discover the benefits of natural movement. Are you passionate about health & wellness and want to make an extraordinary difference in people’s lives? Come work with Xero Shoes! We are looking for a Senior Footwear Developer - someone who is a dynamic, ambitious, highly energetic, and self-motivated person able to thrive in a fast-paced environment while leading your team by example.

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Description:

The Footwear Product Developer will be responsible for the research and the assistance in the   development of new footwear from the approved design through the confirmation stage. The Footwear Product Developer will work within a team-oriented structure consisting of all disciplines necessary and available to coordinate the development of a product line achieving product objectives within the established timelines.

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The Footwear Product Developer responsibilities:

Project Management

• Show a history of effective communication practices, establishing and maintaining open, clear consistent and reliable working relationships with overseas development partners.
• Be relied upon to own project tracker documents to ensure timely completion of regular daily tasks. Provide feedback to management on areas that need additional focus.
•  Display a solid understanding of department workload and demonstrate ability to prioritize efforts and push when necessary to achieve development calendar milestones.

Technical Skill

• Show an established and reliable competency in footwear development, analysis and troubleshooting with the ability to speak intelligently about footwear development with other product team and company colleagues.
• Measure and document product attributes, perform fittings and investigate construction issues with no supervision.  Ability to fully dissect a shoe to fully understand details about construction that affect decision-making conversations.
• Expected to recommend solutions from moderate to complex level shoe engineering challenges that arise throughout the development process.

Industry Knowledge

• Has obtained 2-3 years of footwear development employment history and established a highly proficient level of technical knowledge of development, engineering and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the footwear industry in your ability to recommend relevant and viable solutions to problems, in alignment with generally accepted industry best practices.
• High level of comfort speaking with material suppliers, factory technicians, outside contractors and consultants about shoe development best practices and objectives.

Process & Systems

• In-depth knowledge of company processes with a demonstrated ability to follow and improve those processes.  Understand the limitations of the process and to constantly evaluate for process refinement.
• Show ownership in department systems in your dedication to the timely accomplishment of objectives.  Ability to understand how those systems feed into the greater product team initiatives.

Strategy & Vision

• Be a key contributor to the development of department and brand strategy.  
• Show support to company leadership in abiding by brand guidelines, practices, goals and initiatives and encourage colleagues to follow suit.  
• From a solid foundation of development experience and industry knowledge, show ability to adapt or modify daily decisions and/or priorities to more fully align with broader company objectives.  Show an ability to think strategically in all aspects of your job functions.

Other Responsibilities Include:

• Assists and contributes ideas for product design, construction, materials, compounds and components to enhance functionality, aesthetics, fit and profit margin.
• Generates a technical development package to communicate intended construction and aesthetic details of each project to factory development partners.
• Examines all prototypes to assure all specifications are correct and within product cost target.
• Facilitate the fit and wear testing at appropriate prototype stage.
• Evaluates the feedback and implements revisions.
• Understands cost implications with ability to recommend cost savings and value engineering techniques.
• Assists on production quality issues when necessary.
• Participating in international and domestic travel as required to achieve a high level of product and component development, including visits to manufacturing countries / factories to assist and review commercialization and production on key product(s).
• Accepts accountability to graphic design, production, and sales teams. 

Qualifications:

• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with others. 
• Excellent organizational skills including effective time management, strong self-management and meeting or improving upon deadlines.
• Ability to work under stress from demanding deadlines, customer contact and changing priorities and conditions.
• Familiarity with trends in the outdoor sportswear, footwear, and fitness industries is helpful.
• Applicable technical degree preferred - manufacturing, mechanical, or chemical engineering, product design, biomechanics, etc.
• Knowledge of minimalist shoes and constructions a plus
• A minimum of two years of experience in footwear development is required.

Job Type: Salary exempt, 40 hours per week, Full-time  

• Must be able to regularly commute to the Broomfield office (2-3days per week)
• Pay: $$90,000.00 - $105,000.00  DOE

This range is an estimate, based on potential employee qualifications, operational needs and other considerations permitted by law. The range may vary above and below the stated amounts, as permitted by Colorado Equal Pay Transparency Rule 4.1.2.  The range listed is just one component of Xero’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and equity awards.

Benefits Include:

• Medical, Dental upon employment
• Additional employee funded ancillary benefits, such as: qualified HSA, or FSA, and Voluntary Life / AD&D, Accidental, Critical Care etc. are also available if you choose to participate
• 401k eligible after 3 months of employment
• Xero Shoes provided life insurance
• Employee bonus and incentive plans
• Sick and vacation accrual

Xero Shoes is handling our own recruitment. We will not respond to solicitations from recruiters.