Footwear Designer

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

A key member of the Golf Footwear Design team, the Footwear Designer leads the creation of a globally relevant and commercially impactful product portfolio across men’s, women’s, and youth. This role brings a strong point of view, deep category expertise, and a clear understanding of global market dynamics to deliver innovative, industry-leading design solutions. Partnering closely with the Design Director and cross-functional teams, this designer helps define and execute the brand’s creative vision.

Owning the design process end-to-end—from concept through commercialization—the Footwear Designer drives storytelling, innovation, and executional excellence. In collaboration with Product Marketing and Development, this role ensures product aligns with brand direction, consumer needs, and business goals. The position also defines pinnacle product expressions across men’s and women’s and works closely with Apparel Design to deliver a cohesive, unified global visual language.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the design and creation of Golf Footwear collections in alignment with seasonal concepts, brand vision, and cultural leadership.
• Conduct trend, consumer, and business analysis to inform design strategies and ensure market relevance within the golf footwear segment.
• Spearhead the creation of innovative footwear concepts, sketches, and design specifications, ensuring technical feasibility and brand-right execution.
• Collaborate on material selection, color application, and development of finishes (CMF).
• Participate in sample reviews and final approvals for products.
• Implement sustainable design practices and process efficiencies through effective calendar management and tool optimization.
• Cultivate a collaborative and innovative environment that champions creativity, progression, and cross-functional alignment.
• Partner with global and regional teams (Product Marketing, Product Development, Apparel Design, Brand Design, etc.) to drive the GTM pipeline.
• Manage the end-to-end design process from pre-season research and concept development through cost-engineering and bulk approvals.
• Generate capsule collection stories, color concepts, and cad files for sample prototyping
• Ensure clear communication and alignment across all stakeholders involved in the product lifecycle to deliver premium, brand-right collections.

Key Relationships

• Local & Global Design teams
• Footwear Development
• Local & Global Product Marketing
• Product Testing
• Sports Marketing

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Profound knowledge of footwear design and/or industrial design
• Ability to translate consumer insights, trend research, and brand vision into innovative, premium footwear concepts that drive category leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to set clear design direction and lead multiple complex projects in a fast-paced environment, ensuring priorities and deadlines are achieved through strategic calendar and process management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the capability to integrate creative vision, technical feasibility, and commercial goals.
• Expertise in footwear construction, materials, lasts, and manufacturing processes, including cost-engineering considerations to balance creativity and business objectives.
• Proficiency in design software and tools (Adobe Creative Cloud, 3D modeling applications, AI tools, PLM, Microsoft 365 systems) with the ability to leverage technology for innovation and efficiency.
• Exceptional interpersonal and presentation skills, with the ability to lead, influence, and align global cross-functional teams toward shared strategic objectives.
• An understanding of the golf industry and the sport of golf is a plus.
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Footwear Design, Industrial Design, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3-5 years of practical experience in footwear design environment or equivalent

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at adidas means championing individual uniqueness and cultivating a culture of belonging in which everyone can create at their best. We embrace diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and seek to create a workforce that reflects our consumers and communities.​
• adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance, which can be supplemented with employee-paid coverage. Employees are able to enroll in adidas’ 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 12 weeks of paid parental leave. ​
• Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and personal performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years.
• The anticipated low and high end of the base pay range for this position is $103,000 - $118,000. Actual salary will be based on various factors, such as a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills and competencies, proficiency for the role.​
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday. The working location of this position is Carlsbad, California.​
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.