Jr. Designer, Global Footwear at
Asics

POSITION PURPOSE / SUMMARY STATEMENT (defines the major functions/purpose of the position):

The Performance Running Footwear Design Team at Asics is seeking to add a passionate and focused Footwear Designer to our diverse team of creatives.  In this role, you will apply your proven design skills toward the seasonal delivery of innovative category defining running footwear for our spectrum of athletes.  As a self-motivated critical thinker, you will push the bar on tangible performance benefits through striking modern design solutions grounded in your problem-solving skills, collaboration with triad team members, Athletes and Asics R&D department.  With a complete knowledge and practice of footwear constructions, manufacturing processes, and materials, you will multi-task projects that satisfy briefing targets for the consumer and price points.  Communicating your designs to team members and management is clear and inspiring to others, with narrative concepts that drive form and function seamlessly.  Above all else, with a deep understanding of Asics brand heritage, your work details a bold and modern evolution of Asics design DNA.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES (include titles of positions directly reporting to this position):

• This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

• Interacts with all levels throughout organization including employees and outside vendors.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborates with the Design Manager to create seasonal creative direction for category silos, material concepts, and artwork examples and blue-sky ideas.
• Creates trends and competitive market research data and provides in a format for product managers and team members review easily for seasonal inspiration, competitive research, and line planning.
• Creates design options in an acceptable format, meeting deadlines, to present to product managers and team for selecting and narrowing down of the lines.
• Follows provided briefs by product managers and team targeting consumer and price point efficiently.
• Provides completed upper and tooling tech packs and materialization specs to development meeting deadlines in an acceptable format to begin sourcing for the season with cost in mind. Communicate designs to color team with clear and simplified CAD documentation.
• Collaborates well with other team memberds and assists on projects as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Brings a track record of skillful technical performance athletic design with proven success on the market
• Strong conceptual thinking, technical problem-solving skills, and ability to advance creative dialogue with team members
• Expert Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate of Sketch book Pro.  3D/VR software experience a plus.
• Clear 2D and 3D design communication skills in digital and hand sketching, presentation preparation
• Ability to translate current footwear trends and athlete insights into forward looking performance running footwear
• Thorough knowledge of shoe construction, materials, color, and maneuverability to affect pricing, sustainable design, and manufacturing knowledge a plus
• Expertise in tooling design and precise tech pack creation
• Hand prototyping skills a plus
• Establishes an understanding of the US consumer market and all global regions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including presentations, contributing to meetings, communicating with 3rd party vendors, and supporting team members
• Commitment to continuously researching both the competitive landscape as well as maintaining thorough knowledge of our customer base
• Strong organizational skills for managing timelines and assisting team members as needed
• A motivated self-starter that also thrives in a diverse collaborative environment
• Strong merchandising skillset.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Customer Orientation
• Innovation & Creativity
• Collaboration & Mutual Respect
• Leadership
• Results Driven

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

• 1-3 years footwear design experience
• Bachelor’s degree (B.A. /B.S.) in Industrial Design or similar or equivalent work experience
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate or Sketch book Pro.
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Experience with Office 365 like applications a plus.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

• N/A

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:  In general, the following physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow differently abled individuals to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Must be able to see, hear, speak, and write clearly in order to communicate with employees and/or other customers.
• Manual dexterity required.
• Office work, some lifting, considerable walking.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:   In general, the following conditions of the work environment are representative of those that an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow differently abled individuals to perform the essential functions of the job within the environment.

• The office is clean, orderly, properly lighted, and ventilated.  Noise levels are considered low to moderate.