• Create original footwear concepts primarily for adidas across sports performance (running, training & cleated sports), Originals (high end lifestyle) and Sportswear (value footwear), with the potential to support other strategic brand partners.
• Translate consumer insights, market trends, brand strategies, and commercial opportunities into relevant footwear concepts and product proposals.
• Work closely with HSCC Strategy to identify opportunities where HSCC can proactively bring new product ideas and solutions to brand partners.
• Explore and integrate HSCC innovations including new materials, components, cushioning foams, bottom-unit technologies, constructions, and manufacturing processes into new footwear concepts.
• Partner with HSCC Innovation, Development, Engineering, Materials, and Manufacturing teams to understand emerging capabilities and translate technical innovation into desirable footwear products.
• Develop complete footwear concepts from initial ideation and sketching through design development, color/material direction, technical communication, prototyping, and sample review.
• Create sketches, renderings, technical drawings, color and material concepts, product presentations, and other visual communication necessary to clearly communicate design intent.
• Proactively develop new footwear concepts and product proposals that can be presented to adidas and other strategic partners to generate new business opportunities.
• Research global footwear, sport, fashion, lifestyle, consumer, material, and technology trends to identify emerging product opportunities.
• Benchmark competitor and market products to identify opportunities for improved performance, comfort, aesthetics, sustainability, value, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate closely with footwear
developers, upper engineers, bottom engineers, tooling specialists, material teams, and technicians to ensure designs are technically feasible and commercially viable.
• Participate in prototype and sample reviews and provide clear design direction throughout the development process.
• Work with HSCC's 2D/3D digital creation capabilities to develop high-quality digital footwear concepts and visualizations.
• Create compelling product storytelling and presentations that clearly communicate the consumer benefit, design intent, innovation, and commercial opportunity behind each concept.
• Support the continued development of HSCC's proactive footwear creation and design capability.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in Footwear Design, Industrial Design, Product Design, Fashion Design, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5+ years of professional footwear design experience, preferably within a global footwear brand, footwear creation center, design consultancy, or leading footwear manufacturer.
• Strong footwear design portfolio demonstrating experience taking products from initial concept through development and commercialization.
• Experience designing footwear within Sports Performance, Sportswear, Running, Lifestyle, or related categories is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, materials, lasts, tooling, bottom units, cushioning systems, upper construction, and manufacturing processes.
• Ability to understand new technologies and materials and translate their technical benefits into compelling consumer-facing footwear concepts.
• Strong understanding of global footwear trends, consumer needs, competitive products, and major sportswear brands.
• Strong sketching, rendering, and visualization capability.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Experience with footwear 3D design and visualization tools such as CLO, Rhino, Blender, Gravity Sketch, or similar platforms is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of color, materials, finishes, proportion, silhouette, and footwear aesthetics.
• Ability to balance creativity, innovation, consumer relevance, manufacturability, cost, and commercial requirements.
• Strong communication, storytelling, and presentation skills, with the confidence to present product concepts internally and to global brand partners.
• Ability to work collaboratively across Strategy, Design, Development, Engineering, Innovation, and Manufacturing teams.
• Good English communication skills and ability to operate effectively within an international working environment.
• Previous experience working with adidas or another major international sportswear brand would be highly desirable.