Materials Specialist (Footwear)
Impact: Indirect
Develop, select, evaluate, and source materials for footwear products, ensuring optimal performance, quality, and compliance with design and manufacturing requirements. Collaborate with design, engineering, and production teams to integrate new materials and processes into product development cycles.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Never
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Moderate
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $95,000
- Entry-level
- $65,000
- Senior
- $130,000
- Growth by 2033
- Average
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $30,000 - $50,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Material Science
- Footwear Manufacturing Processes
- Supply Chain Management
- CAD Software
- Quality Control
Soft skills
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Collaboration
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5
- Years to senior
- 10
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Materials Specialist
- Senior Materials Specialist
- Materials Manager
- Director of Materials/Innovation
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.8/10
- Meaning
- 3.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 7/10
- Social perception
- Low