Footwear Developer, Special Projects & Collaborations

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At Altra, we are on a never-ending journey to seek out opportunities to unlock potential in ourselves and others and to create a more diverse and inclusive running community. When we’re all working together as the best versions of ourselves, we can feel empowered both individually and as a community.

So, before we get to the job details, take a minute to learn a little more about us – our values and our culture. If you can see yourself working side-by-side with a team of people driven to discover more about ourselves and the world around us, Altra just may be the place for you.

To learn more about our values and our culture, visit Altra Careers or www.altrarunning.com.

Footwear Developer, Special Projects & Collaboration

What Will You Do?

A day in the life of a Specialist Footwear Developer – Special Projects & Collaborations centers on supporting high‑visibility development programs that often involve designers, partners, athletes, and third‑party collaborators, while maintaining Altra’s performance, fit, quality, and cost standards.

This role contributes to the development from Design Review through Commercialization, with increased emphasis on coordination, cross‑functional alignment, and external collaboration. You will support alignment between creative vision and development execution.

Let’s break down that day-in-the-life a bit more.

• Support special projects and collaborative footwear initiatives from concept through production, ensuring alignment between design intent, performance requirements, and manufacturability.
• Partner with external collaborators and internal cross-functional partners, guiding product feasibility and execution while protecting Altra standards.
• Assist in building and maintaining accurate workback schedules and milestone tracking to drive cross-functional alignment.
• Work closely with Merchandising, Product Management, and Design to align seasonal and project‑specific objectives, timelines, and deliverables.
• Proactively manage project timelines, highlighting risks and helping teams stay aligned to key milestones.
• Collaborate with VF Asia Development, Engineering, Costing, and Manufacturing teams to deliver products at target margin and cost.
• Ensure complete and accurate technical packages are created, published, and maintained in Flex PLM, including CADs, BOMs, specifications, patterns, and project documentation.
• Assist in addressing quality concerns, working cross‑functionally to protect brand integrity and performance claims across marketing, sales, and product supply.

What Do You Need to Succeed?

We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundation skills you’ll need to succeed and excel. Additionally, while formal education in a related field is great to have, we are most interested in your 4 years of experience and professional achievements.

The foundation skills you will need in this position are:

• 4 years of footwear product development experience, with exposure to special projects, collaborations, or premium initiatives preferred.
• Experience working on cross-functional projects within the product development lifecycle.
• Understanding of the end‑to‑end footwear development process, from brief hand‑off to production confirmation.
• Knowledge of footwear materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple timelines and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Highly collaborative communication style, able to build trust across Merchandising, Product, Marketing, and Design.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, PLM systems, and Microsoft Office.
• Willingness to support domestic and overseas travel and flexibility during peak development periods.

Now WE have a question for YOU.

Are you in?