Principal Designer, Inline Footwear Design

Overview

Join to apply for the Principal Designer, Inline Footwear Design role at Brooks Running
.

Who We Are:

At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. We’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line. Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.

Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:

• Runner First
• Word is Bond
• Champion Heart
• There is no “I” in Run
• Keep Moving

We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.

Your Job

As a Principal Footwear Designer, you lead the most complex and high-impact projects across Brooks Running’s Spring, Fall, and Innovation design teams. You own the long-term design strategy (1–5 years) for next-generation performance running footwear, blending future-focused concepts with seasonal execution. Through bold thinking and craft leadership, you evolve our design foundation, developing principles by using our creative foundation, CRAFTED BEAUTY, to create new expressions of performance and their functional boundaries while maintaining alignment with brand identity and runner needs.

You serve as a strategic partner across cross-functional teams, including Product Line Management, Innovation and Inline Development, Engineering, Color/Material & Trend Design, 3D CAD, and the Run Research Team. Drawing from biomechanical insights, performance data, and emerging material and manufacturing innovations, you translate research into compelling, buildable design solutions that redefine how runners experience speed, fit, and efficiency.

You implement best practices, with digital visualization tools central to your workflow. You lead the adoption and elevation of advanced 2D/3D digital design tools, driving clarity, iteration, and storytelling across the team. Your files are execution-ready and universally shared with global teams, including Asia development partners, to ensure seamless alignment from concept to prototype.

You also serve as a senior design voice, mentoring both junior and senior designers, guiding creative exploration, elevating design standards, and championing a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and experimentation. You help shape the creative process within the broader design organization and influence product strategy across the brand.

You keep a close pulse on global design trends, competitive market shifts, and cultural signals that inform future running experiences. You lead early-stage storytelling and drive the visual expression of future concepts and pilot programs. Your ability to inspire through design, articulate ideas across audiences, and turn insight into action ensures Brooks continues to lead and remains the most loved brand by runners worldwide.

Your Responsibilities

• DESIGN
• Lead the end-to-end design of performance running footwear across Spring, Fall, and Innovation initiatives, from concept through prototype, including upper, tooling, and construction.
• Define and own the aesthetic expression and functional design language of cross-season and innovation projects, ensuring alignment with brand identity, athlete needs, and future consumer expectations.
• Drive design excellence through iterative exploration, applying identity principles that maximize perceived value and elevate competitiveness.
• Set the vision for advanced 2D and 3D design tools, pioneering new digital methods that unlock future possibilities in form, function, and manufacturing.
• Stay ahead of market trends, materials innovation, and digital prototyping techniques; integrate insights from global design networks to inform and shape breakthrough concepts.
• Deliver compelling design presentations, both physical and digital, clearly communicating intent, process, and storytelling to internal stakeholders.
• Mentor and provide support to junior and senior designers, fostering a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and high craft.
• Influ…