At Deckers Brands, Together, Every Step is a promise kept that every employee can bring their authentic self, is valued and supported, as a whole person, at work and beyond. Together, Every Step is how we continue to deliver exceptional business results, experience an amazing place to work, and have a positive impact on the communities and world around us.
Job Title: Expert Designer - HOKA Performance Footwear
Reports to: Sr. Director, Footwear Design - HOKA
Location: Portland, OR (Hybrid)
Typically 3 times per week in office, Tuesday – Thursday
The Role
HOKA is redefining product design through a visionary pursuit to create new experiences and style choices for consumers. Guided by an exploration of what’s possible, we push boundaries through bold, disruptive design that advances performance and creates meaningful experiences for athletes.
As Expert Designer, Performance Footwear - HOKA, you’ll bring deep design expertise and creative leadership to advanced footwear concepts across HOKA’s performance categories, with a primary focus on racing, road, and trail running and additional work across training and hiking. As a senior individual contributor, you’ll take on some of our most complex design opportunities, shaping distinctive, commercially relevant products that unite athlete needs, technical performance, innovation, and HOKA’s unmistakable point of view.
Working Better Together with Product Management, Innovation, Development, Engineering, Color, Material and Graphic (CMG), Digital, and Merchandising partners, you’ll influence product direction from concept through commercialization. You’ll also elevate the craft of the broader team by sharing your expertise, mentoring designers through project-based guidance, and championing a Best Possible mindset in every stage of product creation.
Your Impact
- Create and advance performance footwear concepts across Racing, Road, Trail, Training, and Hiking in partnership with the Director and broader Design leadership.
- Develop distinctive product concepts, design languages, branding, and franchise expressions that strengthen HOKA’s performance leadership.
- Translate athlete insights, consumer needs, cultural shifts, competitive intelligence, and emerging opportunities into compelling product experiences.
- Apply a Best Possible design mindset, balancing innovation, performance, usability, manufacturability, aesthetic expression, and commercial relevance.
- Partner with Color, Material, Graphic, and Digital teams to create cohesive, inspiring product stories.
- Maintain strong design intent across silhouette, proportion, details, construction, fit, ride, and the overall athlete experience.
- Serve as a subject matter expert and trusted creative resource for complex performance footwear challenges, sharing expertise and best practices that strengthen the team’s creative and technical capabilities.
- Mentor designers through project-based guidance, design critique, and hands-on problem solving while contributing as an expert individual contributor without direct reports.
- Explore and apply advanced 2D, 3D, prototyping, and AI-enabled workflows to enhance design quality, exploration, and speed.
- Contribute to seasonal design standards, reviews, and creative alignment in partnership with the Director.
- Partner across Product, Innovation, Development, Engineering, CMG, Digital, and Merchandising to bring category visions to life.
- Influence briefs, innovation opportunities, and seasonal priorities through a design-led, expert perspective.
- Protect and elevate design intent from concept through commercialization, solving technical and aesthetic challenges along the way.
- Communicate compelling design narratives and recommendations at key reviews and leadership forums.
- Maintain a sharp understanding of athlete needs, emerging technologies, and the competitive landscape to inspire meaningful innovation and differentiation.
We celebrate diversity—of your background, your experiences and your unique identity. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and equitable workplace where all of our employees can Come as They Are. We believe that when we bring our different perspectives to work, we are truly Better Together.
Who You Are
- You bring a bachelor’s or master’s degree in industrial design, product design, or a related field.
- You have 8+ years of footwear design experience, ideally spanning racing, road, trail, training, hiking, or outdoor performance categories.
- You have demonstrated expertise leading complex footwear design projects and influencing outcomes through exceptional craft, credibility, and collaboration.
- You have strong experience taking footwear from concept through commercialization, including hands-on resolution of technical and design challenges.
- You thrive in a global product creation environment and have experience partnering across Design, Product, Development, Innovation, Engineering, Merchandising, and Brand teams.
- You bring expert-level creative capability in footwear design, concept development, product storytelling, and visual expression.
- You have a deep understanding of performance footwear needs across running, racing, trail, training, hiking, and outdoor use.
- You can turn athlete insight, consumer needs, and competitive intelligence into distinctive product solutions and clear recommendations.
- You bring advanced knowledge of biomechanics, footwear construction, proportion, midsole and outsole design, materials, fit, ride, and performance benefits.
- You have advanced technical drawing, visual communication, prototyping, and presentation skills.
- You influence through expertise, thoughtful feedback, collaboration, and consistently high standards of craft.
- You understand modern digital creative workflows and tools, including 2D, 3D, and AI-enabled exploration.
- Your portfolio demonstrates creative excellence, performance problem solving, technical depth, and successful commercial footwear design.
What We'll Give You –
- Competitive Pay and Bonuses - We’ve created a variety of competitive compensation programs to foster career development, reward success and to show our employees just how much they’re valued.
- Financial Planning and wellbeing - No matter what financial goals our employees have set, we want to help them get there. Our plans provide powerful ways to protect income, pay for expenses and invest in the future.
- Time away from work - Sometimes we need time away to be with family, focus on our health or just simply recharge. Our plans support our employees’ needs to get out, get healthy and come back stronger than ever.
- Extras, discounts and perks - Being a valued member of the Deckers Brands team means more than just a paycheck. From generous discounts to community-based programs, we offer a variety of cool extras
- Growth and Development - Deckers Brands was built on the idea of pursuing passion. That’s why we offer extensive opportunities and support for personal and professional development.
- Health and Wellness - There’s nothing basic about our comprehensive health and wellness programs and offerings. While at work and at play, we aim to support a healthy lifestyle.
$137,500.00 - $185,600.00
The salary range posted reflects the estimated minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for this role in:
Portland, Oregon
Individual pay will be determined by location and additional factors, including job related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your preferred location during the hiring process.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Diversity and inclusion are key to our success. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences and backgrounds who share a passion for our brands. We welcome qualified applicants regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, mental or physical disability, medical condition and all the other beautiful parts of your identity.
