Vans: Senior Designer, Lifestyle Footwear

As Senior Footwear Designer for the Lifestyle team, you’ll sketch and render visionary concepts for uppers, midsoles and outsoles, utilizing the appropriate manufacturing technologies.

You’ll also be responsible for color and material selection. A deep connection to the consumer and culture is essential for this position.

You will partner with Product Development on creation and manufacturing of footwear products. You will produce a high level of output typically consisting of 3 6 new footwear concept and 10 15 color collections per season.

You will interact regularly with various category Design, Development, Merchandising and Marketing in order to gather ideas and create innovative products.

Apply today to be a part of the fun and creative team who designs our original footwear product.

Join the Vans Family

is the original action sports footwear company, rooted in authenticity and creativity. Founded in 1966, we have thrived on a legacy of impacting our greater community through four pillars : action sports, music, art and street culture.

We are constantly inspired by the creative voyagers within our company and community. For them, creativity is about the journey, not just the output.

Our mission is to empower everyone to use creativity to discover themselves. Our vision is to create a world where anyone can be their unique self.

At Vans, our culture sets us apart and influences everything we do. We are driven by our five values : We have also referred to as the Van Doren Spirit .

We are relentlessly about our consumers and the world around us. We are and whole heartedly believe the most Off the Wall thing you can do is be yourself.

We are driven by a spirit of INGENUITY . And we are passionate about local COMMUNITIES . And most of all, we are a family that has fun together.

At Vans we empower creative exploration and inspire youth culture through a commitment to inclusivity. We welcome anyone and everyone into our global family and proudly celebrate and environment where individuality is embraced, equal opportunities thrive, and everyone is empowered to reach their greatest potential.

By joining our family, you will be immersed in an environment of incredibly supportive and collaborative people. We work hard across a multitude of initiatives to bring the Van Doren Spirit to life.

We live for what we do.

How You Will Make a Difference

• Utilizes merchandise briefs to create footwear concepts and collections.
• Conceptualize, sketch and render original footwear concepts.
• Executes in a timely manner upper and tooling designs, techpacks and seasonal color CADS.
• Partners with Footwear Development team to bring ideas to mass production.
• Research consumer attitudes to identify emerging and current trends. Presents to the team via trend boards, prototypes, and samples.
• Expert narrative development, written, and communication skills, including the ability to prepare and deliver project presentations to Senior leadership
• Develop strong cross functional partnerships
• Resilient, agile, and optimistic. Can embrace ambiguity and the fluid nature of early stages of product design and keep teammates and projects moving
• Influential and able to collaborate across a matrix organization, successfully navigating the connectivity between in-line business and cross category partners
• Your diverse experiences and background enable you to provide a unique perspective to fuel our global growth. Additionally, you are inclusive and value differing points of view.

Free To Be,

As a mission-led, performance driven company, we strive to foster a culture of belonging based on respect, connection, openness and authenticity.

We are committed to building and maintaining a workplace that celebrates the diversity of our associates, allowing them to bring their authentic selves to work every day.

Skills for Success

Years of Related Professional Experience : 5+ years

Educational Position Requirements :

A formal education and subsequent undergraduate / graduate degrees are nice to have, but we are most interested in your total experience and professional achievements.

• Expert knowledge and ability of product design, including ideation, development, specification, footwear and sneaker manufacturing process and final execution of designs that balance innovation, performance, and style for Lifestyle consumers
• Understanding of the street culture consumer, market and trends, and the ability to spot trends in advance
• Excellent problem solving skills, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Must be a strong teammate and successful collaborator, who embraces differences and values diverse perspectives
• Proficient with computer design software (i.e. Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop) and business computer software (i.e.

Microsoft Excel, Word, Powerpoint; Apple Keynote)

• Additional 3D design software knowledge a plus
• Professional presentation skills
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret product design briefs

Integrity, Consumer-Focused, Growth Mindset, Simplicity, Win Together

What’s in it For You