Footwear Engineer - Digital Creation

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

We’ll never launch a product unless we consider it perfect. Our product development teams create every shirt, every shoe and every piece of equipment for thousands of athletes and fashion lovers as if it was one of a kind. And it truly is, as they weave their passion into every single product. But translating designs, drawing and renderings into real products requires a lot of decision making.

As Digital Engineer Footwear – Pattern & Tooling ADV3D, you are a key contributor in the footwear product creation and development process for BU Originals Statement LA & Streetwear NAM. In this hybrid role at the intersection of digital creation and footwear engineering, you will work in strong partnership with internal & external footwear designers, developers, technicians, digital experts, material experts as well as marketing, innovation, quality, sourcing and supply chain. The role has ability to impact work from design concept phase to final production.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a technical and digital consultant to cross-functional product creation teams by analysing designs for manufacturability, production efficiency, potential functional or quality risks, and costing opportunities, and by offering alternative solutions that are commercially, technically, and operationally feasible.
• Own the Pattern &/or Tooling creation process by driving the translation of design information into a confirmed set of technical data and leading creation of upper &/or Tooling prototyping.
• Provide advanced 2D and 3D expertise in cross functional projects made up of designers, developers and product marketing.
• Ensure smooth and timely transition and involvement from concept stage to inline process & Statement Partner Product creation.
• Conduct tear down meetings at all key development milestones (i.e. with Product testing, Developers) to ensure that each shoe is engineered and constructed to meet adidas quality standards, functional requirements and potential cost opportunities are identified.
• Help to mentor new employees in technical product development by teaching them about adidas specific technical standards, processes and systems related to the Tech Package creation.
• Offer technical solutions to the product team taking into consideration functional requirements of products, adidas quality standards, target costs and manufacturing constraints.
• Design and create, using algorithmic and parametric methods, future concepts and ideas with a focus on aesthetics.
• Connect insights to design and collaborate with teammates to create innovative products, services, interactions and experiences.
• Enable faster decision making within Marketing, Design, Development and external Partners through virtual prototyping & in house sampling.
• Drive concept ideas and independently plan, execute & evaluate innovative concept projects in cooperation with the key stakeholders in house (LA WRKSHP or PDX Sample Studio) to create physical prototypes.
• Continuously increase your knowledge regarding latest technological trends in CAD systems and processes and Footwear manufacturing.
• Research within Sportswear, Fashion and other related industries to discover adaptable concepts for footwear (online research, supplier and fair visits)
• Document findings and present them to the cross functional teams including marketing, design and development for review on potential inclusion into future footwear products.
• Prepare best practice manuals for new processes and help to imbed these into development calendars across Statement and Streetwear LA.
• Be a catalyst in adoption of AI tools enabled by Adidas to implement in creation workflows.

Key relationships

• Product Development, Marketing, Design
• Liaison Offices and supply partners (Tier 1/2/3)
• Advanced 3D Team
• Fit and Wear Test Department
• Innovation
• Material Development
• Costing

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Advanced knowledge in digital tools and methods, mold making and/or shoe making for pattern engineering
• Progressive work experience with 2D and 3D CAD applications; Rhino experience preferred.
• Progressive work experience in Jevero for pattern engineering
• Passion for tinkering, experimenting & building
• Working knowledge of Grasshopper for Rhino 3D, Botcha, Raven, Blender, and Vizcom as tools to support digital creation and footwear development workflows.
• Ability to provide input for enhancement of Fit and Comfort Engineering
• Ability to integrate & create AI agents or workflows to enhance technical impact & speed of creation.
• Strong communication (both written and verbal)
• Well organized team player who feels comfortable communicating in an international and diverse environment and work in a fast-changing footwear world.
• Ability to anticipate and define problems and develop innovative solutions
• Experience working with Sourcing partners (T1, T2…) in USA & Asia.
• Knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and/or Adobe Photoshop; proficiency with Microsoft 365.
• Knowledge in the latest trends in technology and design
• Highly collaborative
• Continuous learning/growth mindset
• Fluent in English (written and spoken)
• Travel, domestic and International as required by business needs

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• Four-year college or university degree, comparable technical or engineering education or equivalent experience as a Technical Product Designer, technical draftsman, Mold Maker or Pattern Engineer.
• At least 5 years of work experience in the athletic footwear industry, specializing in product development, pattern engineering, tooling or design

• 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 14 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 $103,500 - $122,200. 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 Los Angeles, California.​
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.