Principal Designer, 3D Modeling & Innovation Concepts

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What will you do?

A day in the life of a Principal Innovation Designer — 3D Modeling & Footwear at VF looks a little like this.

This role sits within our Innovation and Advanced Concepts teams, supporting future product creation with a focus on 3D modeling and visionary footwear concept development. You’ll collaborate closely with Design, Materials, Engineering, Athlete Insights, and cross functional innovation partners. At its core, this position shapes the creative direction of next generation product experiences and brings bold future concepts to life through master level 3D modeling and storytelling.

This role reports to the VP of Innovation.

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

• Lead the creation of breakthrough footwear concepts—from early provocations to highly polished visionary models.
• Develop future design languages, form strategies, and storytelling frameworks that inspire teams and senior leaders.
• Drive exploration around advanced materials, cushioning systems, digital aesthetics, and upper construction.
• Create high‑fidelity, museum‑quality 3D models that communicate bold future product direction.
• Produce renderings, digital assets, and visual narratives used in executive storytelling and design sprints.
• Champion emerging modeling techniques such as parametric, generative, computational, and sculptural workflows.
• Partner closely with Design, Innovation, Materials, Engineering, and Athlete Insights to guide long‑range product vision.
• Lead design reviews, offering clear creative direction and a strong aesthetic point of view.
• Mentor designers and modelers—elevating craft, conceptual thinking, and creative exploration across the team.
• Work with prototyping labs to translate digital concepts into expressive physical prototypes and refine designs through testing.

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 8+ years of experience and professional achievements.

The foundation skills you will need in this position are:

• Expert level 3D modeling skills with a portfolio that demonstrates exceptional form, detail, and conceptual vision.
• Deep experience with digital creation tools such as Rhino, Blender, Alias, Creo, or Solid Works.
• Strong storytelling ability—through renderings, animations, or immersive digital presentations.
• Proven experience leading complex creative initiatives or cross functional design programs.
• Strong understanding of footwear principles: design, materials, construction, and athlete insights.
• Ability to guide teams through ambiguity and unlock new creative directions.
• Strong collaboration skills with comfort working across design, engineering, and innovation ecosystems.
• Ability to translate speculative or conceptual ideas into compelling visual narratives and expressive 3D artifacts. Level 3D modeling skills with a portfolio that demonstrates exceptional form, detail, and conceptual vision.

There are also a few skills that are not required but preferred.

• Experience shaping category or brand level design direction.
• Familiarity with parametric or generative design tools (Grasshopper, nTopology, Houdini).
• Experience working in innovation pipelines, speculative design, or future forward product creation.
• Ability to blend performance insights, user needs, and bold design expression into cohesive future visions.

Now WE have a question for YOU.

Are you in?

Hiring Range : $ USD - $ USD annually

Incentive Potential :
This position is eligible for additional compensation awards that may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive, or commission potential. Specific details of the additional compensation eligibility for this position will be provided during the recruiting and interview process.

Benefits at VF…