Junior Design Engineer for AM (FFF) Footwear

Job Description

The role

You'll turn footwear concepts into manufacturable 3D geometry. Our production team handles slicing and printing; your job is to hand them models that print well the first time. Expect a fast loop between your models and their test parts.

What you'll do

Model Upper midsole, outsole and structural components for FFF, from concept geometry to release-ready files

Apply design-for-AM constraints in the geometry itself: self-supporting angles, wall thickness, orientation-aware features, tolerance and shrinkage compensation

Build and grade parts across a full size run, working from lasts and fit data

Work closely with the production team on printability feedback, and revise geometry based on what comes off the machines

Maintain clean, parametric, well-organised files so models can be regraded and revised without rebuilding

Collaborate with designers, pattern makers and production through sampling and pre-production

What we're looking for:

Essential

Degree in product design engineering, industrial design, footwear design, 3D/digital design or equivalent hands-on experience

Proficient in poly and sub-d modelling — clean topology, controlled edge flow, creasing and support loops, the ability to hold a surface where it matters and let it relax where it doesn't

UV unwrapping — sensible seam placement, minimal distortion, packed and consistent texel density

Rendering — you can light and present a shoe well enough for design reviews and client-facing imagery (Cycles/Eevee, or comparable)

Blender as your primary tool, or fluency in something close enough that you'll be up to speed in weeks

Working understanding of FFF constraints and how they shape geometry — overhangs, wall behavior, layer adhesion, anisotropy, warping

Clean, organized, revisable file habits — someone else should be able to open your scene and change it

Understanding of how a shoe is built: last, upper, midsole, outsole, fit and sizing

Comfortable with iteration and being wrong quickly

English, written and spoken

Strongly preferred

Blender geometry nodes — we use procedural setups heavily to keep our modelling non-destructive and editable. Comfort building and reading node trees, working with attributes, instancing and field-driven geometry matters more here than any specific technique. Strongest signal in this whole application.

Computational or generative design background: Grasshopper, nTop, Python scripting, or your own tooling

Understanding of how flexible materials (TPU/TPE across shore hardnesses) behave when printed, and how to design around it

Hands-on printing experience of your own — not part of the job, but it shows in the geometry

Familiarity with FEA or simulation for compliant structures

Footwear-specific software (Shoemaster, ICad, Romans CAD) or last modification experience

Sports or biomechanics knowledge — gait, pressure mapping, foot anatomy

Full-time