Sr. Product Developer; Hybrid

Job Description Topo Athletic is a young, rapidly growing athletic footwear company on a mission to help people move better, for life. Our core values of authenticity, ambition, clarity, and connection drive everything we do  you join our team, you’ll not only have an impact on our business but the opportunity to have an impact on the communities and people we serve.

The Opportunity

At Topo Athletic, a Designer Brands company, we're passionate about creating footwear that helps people move naturally and perform at their best. As a Senior Product Developer
, you'll play a pivotal role in bringing innovative footwear concepts to life, guiding products from initial design through commercialization and into the hands of our customers.

This is an opportunity for a product development professional who thrives at the intersection of design, performance, technical expertise, and collaboration. You'll partner closely with Product Management, Design, Engineering, Sourcing, and global manufacturing teams to transform ideas into high-quality products that deliver on performance, fit, comfort, and value. Your expertise in footwear construction, materials, and manufacturing processes will help shape products that reflect our brand vision while meeting quality, cost, and timeline expectations.

If you enjoy solving complex challenges, collaborating across functions and cultures, and influencing product outcomes from concept to production, this could be an exciting next step in your career.

• Lead the end-to-end footwear development process from concept through production for assigned projects.
• Partner closely with Product Management and Design to align on seasonal goals, project objectives, deliverables, and timelines.
• Coordinate development activities across cross-functional teams and track progress against key milestones.
• Guide products through the development lifecycle while identifying opportunities and proactively addressing potential risks.

• Leverage your knowledge of footwear construction, patterns, grading, materials, molding processes, and manufacturing techniques to evaluate prototypes.
• Review technical drawings, material test data, and wear-test results to identify potential product improvements or risks.
• Drive development processes that ensure products achieve intended performance, fit, quality, and specification requirements.
• Support product validation activities to help ensure consistency and quality across the product line.

• Own and maintain critical product information including Tech Packs, Bills of Materials (BOMs), and related data within PLM and digital creation systems.
• Ensure product documentation remains accurate, organized, and aligned across internal teams and external partners.
• Maintain strong data integrity throughout the development cycle to support successful commercialization.

• Collaborate with Topo Athletic and DBI Asia Development, Engineering, Costing, Sourcing, and Manufacturing teams to deliver products that meet margin, cost, and quality targets.
• Foster strong working relationships across product management, design, sourcing, development, and manufacturing teams.
• Maintain open, timely communication with stakeholders throughout the product development process.
• Assist in addressing quality-related concerns and partner across teams to protect product performance and brand reputation.

• Conduct product teardowns and cost analyses to better understand construction methods, materials, and manufacturing opportunities.
• Make recommendations that help balance design intent, consumer expectations, manufacturability, and cost objectives.
• Contribute ideas that improve product development processes, efficiency, and overall product quality.

Required

• 4+ years of footwear development experience.
• 4+ years of experience within the footwear industry.
• Experience utilizing product management and product development tools.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred

• Experience developing athletic footwear.

• Solid understanding of:
  • Technical drawings
  • Footwear construction
  • Molding processes
  • Materials and material testing
  • Wear-test data
  • Footwear technologies
  • Pattern engineering
  • Grading
  • Production and manufacturing processes
• Proven ability to drive decisions and influence outcomes…