Senior Director, Footwear Development

Department:

Footwear

Reports to:

VP, Footwear Development and Engineering

Location:

Portland, OR

Overview
As the Senior Director, Footwear Development, you will lead the product creation and development processes to deliver disruptive, aspirational, and sustainable products to the market. You will oversee the execution of our seasonal footwear plans from design concept through production readiness, ensuring a consistent level of quality, fit, and performance. You will operate at the intersection of balancing the athlete’s needs, technical feasibility and business objectives while you work in lockstep with Merchandising, Design, Manufacturing and other cross‑functional teams to deliver product that inspires the core mountain athlete to reach new levels of performance.

If you were in the Senior Director, Footwear Development role now, here are some of the core activities you would be responsible for:

Overseeing the footwear product development process from initial concept to commercialization ready, driving sustainability, performance, and profitability goals.

Acting as a critical thought partner to Supply Chain and Footwear Leadership Team as we evolve our teams’ strategic priorities.

Collaborating with the Footwear and Sourcing leadership teams to establish and execute a medium to long-term partner strategy grounded in product excellence, on‑time delivery, quality, and risk mitigation.

Developing recommendations on our future organizational structure and the technical resources needed to support growth, and hiring the technical talent needed to address current and future needs.

Fostering deep, collaborative partnerships with Tier 1 and Tier 2 partners to ensure Arc’teryx’s standards and processes are agreed upon and followed. You will establish technical metrics and scorecards in collaboration with Supply Chain and Footwear team partners and develop a regular cadence of reviewing and acting upon them.

Collaborating with cross‑functional stakeholders and establishing and driving a footwear innovation agenda. You will recommend an approach to finding solutions to the technical aspects of all projects, including leveraging teams in Portland and North Vancouver, external resources, and with Tier 1 partners in Asia.

Providing a strong point of view on and heavily influencing our Sustainability agenda and our corporate mission to “Leave It Better”.

Driving profitability goals through collaboration with all Footwear and cross‑functional stakeholders (including Sourcing, Materials, etc.) and establishing a system by which margin targets, cost breakdown, sheets and other financial and technical data are scrutinized and reviewed.

Leveraging your deep functional expertise to educate, coach and mentor others

Here are some of the things you could be working on in the future:

Creating a culture of unmatched footwear product and operational excellence

Hiring, coaching, and inspiring a team of talented footwear experts to drive innovation and creative vision

Continuously innovating and evolving how we craft and create product to meet and exceed the needs of the guest

Leading the collaboration of your team as well as the manufacturing team members to enable them the best product through clear product spec documentation of construction and engineering insight.

Are you our next Senior Director of Footwear Development?

You have 15+ years’ experience in a technical aspect of the footwear industry (engineering, development, manufacturing, etc.), ideally with extensive experience in manufacturing environments in Asia

You have proven experience building processes and teams from the ground up, and can lead an organization through scale and growth. You have strong influential leadership, with the ability to drive alignment across diverse cross‑functional stakeholders at all levels of the business

You set a clear vision, align your team around common objectives, and foster commitment to these objectives

You have an in‑depth knowledge of footwear construction, foams and rubbers, pattern making, manufacturing, costing, lasts, and materials

You have proven skills in interpreting design intent and product innovation

You have proven performance history with domestic and offshore vendors and manufacturers

You have excellent communication skills – interpersonal, written and verbal

You are entrepreneurial with the ability to make decisions and take calculated risks

You are proactive in identifying the root cause of issues and developing solutions

You remain highly flexible and adaptable when faced with ambiguity

You effectively balance autonomy and collaboration

You inspire breakthrough thinking and continuous improvement

You seek the best (sometimes not the easiest) solutions, with an unwavering commitment to do what is right

Your passion for sustainability is paralleled by your passion for getting outside and living it

$188,000 - $245,000 a year

A reasonable estimate of the pay range is USD$188,000 - $245,000 at the time of this posting. Within the range, individual pay is determined by factors such as job‑related skills, relevant experience, education and/or training. The upper end of the range is typically reserved for candidates with demonstrated expertise that is above job requirements or who bring exceptional directly transferable experience.

Benefits

Health & wellbeing -

Extended health, dental, and vision coverage, including mental health support, fertility benefits, and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Financial wellbeing

- Immediately vested 401(k) retirement savings plan matching, eligibility for Arc’teryx Annual Incentive Plan and access to Employee Stock Purchase program (ESPP) where applicable.

Time & Flexibility

- Paid time off and No Wasted Day program (dedicated paid days to get outside & explore).

Family support

- Parental leave for birthing and on‑birthing parents, including an option to ease the transition back to work.

Growth, community & gear - Professional development opportunities, Arc’teryx Academies (outdoor skill‑building events), Employee Belonging Councils, and access to employee discounts and Pro Deals (exclusive discounted pricing on gear).

*Eligibility for certain programs may vary by role.

Equal Opportunity
Arc’teryx is committed to actively creating and fostering a culture of inclusivity where voices are heard, people are seen, and values are respected. We care about the uniqueness of our applicants, employees, and guests, and we do so in a safe space fueled by curiosity and acceptance. All applicants, employees, and guests can expect equality of opportunity and fair treatment in alignment with our values.

Leave it Better
We believe that the mountains transform us, that how we adventure matters, and that there’s always a better way. Join us in creating positive change in ourselves, our communities, and the world.

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