Job opening: Madshus is looking for a cross-country ski boot design engineer to the factory in Biri, Norway.

Job opening: Madshus is looking for a cross-country ski boot design engineer to the factory in Biri, Norway.

Position Title:  Design Engineer – Cross Country Ski Boots
Budgeted Department Name:  Madshus AS dept 27
Reports To Title:  Product Line Manager Madshus Nordic
Site: Madshus AS, Biri, Norway

How to apply:

Submit your CV (resume) and cover letter to martin.berge@madshus.com with the subject line “Job application – Design Engineer”

Position Summary:

The Cross-Country Boot Design Engineer leads all aspects of the design, development, and commercialization process of our XC boots. The Design Engineer manages the process from inception of new boot designs all the way through production readiness as well as sales force and retail education. 

Essential Job Duties:

• Nordic skiing
  • Keep in tune with the consumer product needs and industry direction in footwear to keep the XC boot product relevant in the marketplace.
  • Conduct on-snow testing to evaluate current and new products.
• Project Management 
  • Keep product development and samples on a proper timeline to hit the applicable gate meetings and sample deadlines to get input and approval from the global markets. 
• Design
  • Work with internal teams and manage outside designers to develop all new aspects of the boot line. 
  • Develop new patterns, outsole and lacing designs to meet product roadmap objectives.
• Innovation
  • Work with the global markets and PLM to identify industry segments and line positions where new ideas can be launched
  • Develop and prototype new designs that create a competitive advantage and new market opportunities. 
• Quality
  • Receive feedback from the markets and work with the factory to make improvement plans to resolve the issues through process, QC and design changes.
  • Set up, manage and filter lab and on-snow testing to try out new designs and improve on existing current and future designs
• Travel
  • Travel to the factory to work on new development, quality and production readiness
  • Travel throughout the market to get feedback from retail partners and to evaluate industry innovations and direction. 
  • Travel to sales meetings to impart product knowledge to the sales force. 
• Costing
  • Develop new cost saving designs and negotiate cost with factories
  • Manage and review cost sheets from the factories to identify mistakes or additional cost saving opportunities to meet the targeted price points for each Color SKU. 
• Delivery
  • Manage the development schedule and stay on track to meet major Delivery milestones for Photo-Samples, Sample/Demo and Production.
  • Work with PLM and the planning team to identify boots that are high, medium and low risk, and build a factory production plan that is achievable and provides production to the various markets to meet their sales needs.
  • Manage the factories and internal development support staff with the buyoff schedule so that all new designs are approved by the required deadlines to meet production delivery on time.

• Education
  • Work on descriptions, stories, and visual aids with the Marketing team for accurate market communication on important product features and benefits. Communicate with the sales force and retail partners at sales meetings, trade shows and retail events.
• Communication
  • Communicate ideas and concepts effectively with the boot factory, global team, in-house team, product testers, vendors, retailers. 
  • Accurately communicate the understanding and development of the boot line through team meetings, virtual meetings, email and calls to progress. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Industrial Design
• 5 years of footwear development experience
• Proficient XC-skier
• Proficient in Microsoft suite (Excel)
• 3D modeling familiarity

Must be able to travel frequently (once COVID restrictions allow). At a minimum, must be able to make the following trips:

• Trade Show and On Snow Demo (1-2 weeks per year)
• Development On-Site Factory Support (3-4 two-week trips)
• Sales Meetings (1 week as necessary)
• Testing Travel (1-2 weeks throughout year as necessary)

Desirable Qualifications:

• Cross-country ski shop or industry experience 1-3 years
• Background in Biomechanics 
• Project Management experience 1-3 years
• Expertise in Adobe Products
• 3D modeling experience (rhino, solidworks, creo…)

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