Design men’s and women’s footwear across multiple fashion and lifestyle brands, taking concepts through production-ready specifications and final sample approval. Create detailed tech packs, manage prototypes and TOP approvals, communicate corrections to overseas factories, anticipate production risks, and maintain technical files. Collaborate with design, production, and merchandising teams to balance brand direction, aesthetics, manufacturability, costing, and seasonal deadlines.
DNAM Brands is a family-owned and operated company that owns and licenses a portfolio of globally recognized fashion and lifestyle brands, including Von Dutch, Ed Hardy, Valentino Orlandi, Allbirds, Badgley Mischka, and more.
We're looking for a Footwear Designer to join our growing design team. You'll take styles from concept through to production-ready specs, working closely with product development, merchandising and overseas factories. This role suits someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, thinks in materials and construction, and has a strong instinct for what's next on the shelf and on the street.
Responsibilities
- Design both men and women’s footwear across multiple brands.
- Involvement throughout the production process, from the initial concept through final sample approval, aligning with brand DNA and merchandising direction.
- Create detailed tech packs including material callouts, colorways, construction notes, and measurements
- Own the process from first proto through TOP approval, ensuring consistency and alignment with brand standards
- Document feedback clearly, and issue detailed, production-ready corrections to factories
- Ensure timely sample turnaround by anticipating production risks and communicating daily with factories
- Partner cross-functionally with Design and Production to balance aesthetic intent with manufacturability and cost efficiency
- Manage multiple projects against the seasonal calendar and keep deliverables on track
- Maintain organized, up-to-date technical files to support seamless development-to-bulk transitions
Qualifications
- 2+ years of footwear design experience in fashion, lifestyle, or athletic categories
- Advanced proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and familiarity with 3D tools
- Strong portfolio showing range across casual, fashion, and/or performance footwear
- Deep knowledge of footwear construction, lasts, materials, and manufacturing processes
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage several brands or projects at once
- Experience working with overseas factories and a clear understanding of costing and production timelines
- Excellent hand-sketching and communication skills; comfortable presenting ideas and taking direction
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