Creative Design Director, Dual Gender Sneakers & Sport Performance Footwear

**\*\*\*Please submit application with a link to an online portfolio or an attachment with work samples.\*\*\***

This is an opportunity to shape the next generation of sneakers and sport performance footwear for an iconic American lifestyle brand. The Creative Design Director will define a bold, modern point of view that brings together style, comfort, performance, and innovation for consumers across genders.

The Creative Design Director, Dual Gender Sneakers & Sport Performance Footwear, will provide creative vision and hands-on leadership from seasonal design strategy through commercialization. This leader will establish a clear design language for the category, create compelling franchises, and ensure every product delivers a distinctive Cole Haan expression while meeting the functional demands of an active, modern lifestyle.

**CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES:**

**Creative Design Direction, Leadership & Vision**

* Own and lead the creative design strategy for dual-gender sneakers and sport performance footwear across lifestyle, court, running-inspired, training, golf, outdoor, and emerging movement categories.
* Define and evolve a recognizable category design DNA, including silhouette, proportion, color, materials, branding, tooling, and signature performance details.
* Translate the enterprise brand strategy into seasonal creative design direction, product stories, franchise roadmaps, and clear briefs for internal and external teams.
* Set a high standard for original design, ensuring the work is culturally relevant, consumer-centered, technically credible, and unmistakably Cole Haan.
* Lead concept reviews and design critiques with clarity, speed, and strong decision-making; identify the ideas with the greatest creative and commercial potential.
* Balance aspirational innovation with commercial realities, margin targets, calendar requirements, and the needs of global channels and consumers.

**Product Creation, Performance & Innovation**

* Direct product from early concept through design development, prototyping, wear testing, commercialization, and final market presentation.
* Partner with Development, Engineering, and Innovation to create proprietary cushioning, traction, fit, flexibility, stability, and comfort solutions.
* Use consumer insight, trend intelligence, and marketplace analysis to identify unmet needs and future category opportunities.
* Build and refresh signature franchises while creating a disciplined pipeline of new platforms and seasonal expressions.
* Guide last, upper, tooling, component, color, and material decisions to achieve intended aesthetics, performance, quality, sustainability, and cost.
* Review prototypes and test results, resolve design and performance tradeoffs, and protect the creative intent through commercialization.
* Ensure responsible design choices are embedded in materials, construction, durability, packaging, and product lifecycle decisions.

**Cross-Functional Partnerships & Marketplace Impact**

* Partner closely with Product Line Management to establish annual and seasonal assortments, price architecture, franchise priorities, and channel strategies.
* Collaborate with Development, Sourcing, Materials, and Supply Chain to deliver exceptional products on time, on cost, and at the required quality.
* Work with Marketing and Brand Design to translate product innovation into clear consumer benefits, launch stories, campaign assets, and retail experiences.
* Build strong external networks across design, sport, culture, technology, materials, and manufacturing to keep the brand connected to emerging ideas.
* Partner with legal and innovation teams to identify and protect meaningful intellectual property, proprietary details, and technical advantages.

**Team & People Leadership**

* Build, inspire, and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary footwear design team with clear roles, priorities, and accountability.
* Create an inclusive creative culture that values curiosity, constructive debate, experimentation, craft, and consumer empathy.
* Establish team and individual goals, provide frequent feedback, and make effective decisions related to hiring, development, performance, and recognition.
* Coach designers to strengthen concept development, storytelling, technical fluency, and executive presentation skills.
* Plan resources and external partnerships to support the seasonal workload, innovation pipeline, and long-range category ambition.
* Serve as a visible cross-functional leader who builds trust, resolves ambiguity, and keeps teams aligned through complex product decisions.

**Qualifications**

The ideal candidate is an inventive, commercially minded footwear design leader who can move seamlessly between future vision and hands-on seasonal product creation. This person combines elevated taste with deep technical curiosity, understands how consumers experience performance and style, and knows how to turn a strong point of view into products that win in the marketplace.

* Bachelor's degree in footwear, industrial, product, or fashion design, or a related field; equivalent professional experience considered.
* Typically 12+ years of progressive footwear design experience, including significant leadership of sneaker and/or performance footwear teams.
* Outstanding portfolio demonstrating original design thinking, franchise creation, technical problem-solving, and commercially successful product.
* Deep knowledge of footwear construction, lasts, fit, tooling, compounds, materials, manufacturing, and development processes.
* Experience designing for consumers across genders and building inclusive product systems without compromising style, fit, or performance.
* Proven ability to connect creative vision to brand strategy, consumer segmentation, assortment architecture, and financial objectives.
* Excellent taste level, cultural awareness, trend judgment, and understanding of the global sneaker and performance marketplace.
* Demonstrated success leading, recruiting, coaching, and retaining diverse, high-performing creative talent.
* Exceptional communication, storytelling, influencing, and presentation skills with creative, technical, and executive audiences.
* Comfort operating in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment with multiple seasonal calendars and competing priorities.
* Proficiency with contemporary footwear design workflows and digital creation tools; curiosity about emerging design and visualization technologies.
* Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

**Base Salary/Hourly Range:** From $200,000 to $240,000 annually\*

**Bonus Eligibility:** Yes, eligible for annual target bonus based on company and individual performance

**Benefits Offered:** Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Care, Health Savings Accounts, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Vacation Time, Sick Time, Paid Parental Leave, Holidays and Cole Haan Discounts

\*Rate of pay dependent upon candidates’ relevant skills and experience
*This position is not available to be performed in Colorado.*