Junior Design Engineer for AM (FFF) Footwear

Job Description

Job Description

The role

You'll turn footwear concepts into manufacturable 3D geometry. Our production team handles slicing and printing; your job is to hand them models that print well the first time. Expect a fast loop between your models and their test parts.

What you'll do

• Model Upper midsole, outsole and structural components for FFF, from concept geometry to release-ready files
• Apply design-for-AM constraints in the geometry itself: self-supporting angles, wall thickness, orientation-aware features, tolerance and shrinkage compensation
• Build and grade parts across a full size run, working from lasts and fit data
• Work closely with the production team on printability feedback, and revise geometry based on what comes off the machines
• Maintain clean, parametric, well-organised files so models can be regraded and revised without rebuilding
• Collaborate with designers, pattern makers and production through sampling and pre-production

What we're looking for:

Essential

• Degree in product design engineering, industrial design, footwear design, 3D/digital design or equivalent hands-on experience
• Proficient in poly and sub-d modelling — clean topology, controlled edge flow, creasing and support loops, the ability to hold a surface where it matters and let it relax where it doesn't
• UV unwrapping — sensible seam placement, minimal distortion, packed and consistent texel density
• Rendering — you can light and present a shoe well enough for design reviews and client-facing imagery (Cycles/Eevee, or comparable)
• Blender as your primary tool, or fluency in something close enough that you'll be up to speed in weeks
• Working understanding of FFF constraints and how they shape geometry — overhangs, wall behavior, layer adhesion, anisotropy, warping
• Clean, organized, revisable file habits — someone else should be able to open your scene and change it
• Understanding of how a shoe is built: last, upper, midsole, outsole, fit and sizing
• Comfortable with iteration and being wrong quickly
• English, written and spoken

Strongly preferred

• Blender geometry nodes — we use procedural setups heavily to keep our modelling non-destructive and editable. Comfort building and reading node trees, working with attributes, instancing and field-driven geometry matters more here than any specific technique. Strongest signal in this whole application. 
• Computational or generative design background: Grasshopper, nTop, Python scripting, or your own tooling
• Understanding of how flexible materials (TPU/TPE across shore hardnesses) behave when printed, and how to design around it
• Hands-on printing experience of your own — not part of the job, but it shows in the geometry
• Familiarity with FEA or simulation for compliant structures
• Footwear-specific software (Shoemaster, ICad, Romans CAD) or last modification experience
• Sports or biomechanics knowledge — gait, pressure mapping, foot anatomy