Associate Designer - Men's & Boys Footwear

Job Description

Job Description

About Us

American Exchange Group is an industry leader in fashion accessory products and brand management. By facilitating distribution to major retailers internationally for their globally recognized brands, custom private label brands, and exclusive licensed brands—including footwear, tech wearables, watches, jewelry, handbags, fashion accessories, home, and beauty—American Exchange Group raises the bar by disrupting the status quo with value and quality, while staying at the forefront of trends.

Joining American Exchange Group means being part of a dynamic and diverse team where your contributions drive real impact—and where there’s always room to grow. If you're looking to be part of a company that blends heritage with hustle, we’re excited to meet you.

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Associate Footwear Designer

Position Overview

We are seeking a creative and detail-oriented Associate Footwear Designer to join our Design team. Working closely with the Director of Design, this role will support the development of innovative, trend-right, and commercially successful footwear collections from concept through production. The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of footwear design, materials, color, and construction, along with an eye for emerging trends and the ability to translate market insights into compelling product. This is an excellent opportunity for a designer who is looking to grow their career while gaining hands-on experience across the full footwear design and development process.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Work directly with Director of Design to research and develop concept, color, materials, patterns and constructions for the Footwear Collection.
• Utilize and develop technical knowledge of footwear construction to communicate specifications for designs and pattern layouts to overseas partners
• Efficiently CAD final designs for line presentations and specs
• Design according to style plans, sales needs and emerging trends; ensure timely execution of product development calendar.
• Create Illustrator sketches; review specification sheets and line sheets; ensure accuracy of product development logs, line sheets, boards and design archives library; ensure maintenance of designs
• Select and review raw materials and trims; ensure maintenance of fabric/trim library
• Research the market and trend services to build trend accurate designs.
• Design innovative, trend right, saleable product to drive sales.
• Prepare presentation decks.
• Prepare development packages for the Footwear Collection.
• Follow up on all preproduction details: color, materials and design; to ensure consistent high quality.
• Other related job functions are at the discretion of the manager as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accessories Design, Fashion Design, Industrial Design, or related field
• 2+ years of design experience in footwear or accessories design
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign
• Strong Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Strong organizational, communication, and multitasking abilities
• Detail-driven with a collaborative mindset and eagerness to grow

  What We Offer

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness Benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with company match
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays
• Half Day Fridays with shortened hours during both Summer and Winter seasons
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Tax-free commuter benefits
• Exclusive employee merchandise discounts

Salary: The anticipated base salary is  $75k-$85k annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, internal equity, and location.

This position description is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of responsibilities, skills or working conditions associated with this position. While this description is intended to accurately reflect the position's activities and requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add or remove duties as necessary. The compensation package is dependent on a number of factors, including, for example, experience, education, market data, and business needs.