R&D Tech Lead

About Cult - Curefit Healthcare Pvt Ltd, founded in 2016, is India's largest fitness company and wellness platform. Cult, from the house of Curefit, was established with a mission to make fitness easy, fun and accessible to everyone, and has emerged as a community celebrating the joy of fitness. The brand today offers a range of fitness services ranging from group workouts, gyms and personalized fitness solutions, as well as an expansive selection of quality fitness products for the everyday athlete. The company's vision is to empower everyone towards an active and healthier lifestyle through innovative fitness solutions, enabled by technology.

We are looking for a
highly driven and deeply technical R&D Technical Lead – Footwear
to join
Brand Cult
at our Bahadurgarh location. This is not a process-bound role — it is a
full ownership role
for someone who takes
complete accountability
for
product excellence, innovation, and problem-solving
at every level of footwear creation.

The right candidate will lead with
technical depth, creative curiosity, and execution rigor
, driving innovation not only in manufacturing or SOPs, but across
systems, last design, materials, packaging, new category development
, and overall
product performance
. This is a high-impact position with full visibility and ownership of product evolution.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Innovation & Technical Ownership

• Own the
  end-to-end technical development
  of footwear products across all categories — from idea to shelf.
• Drive
  continuous innovation
  in construction methods, component engineering, insole, sole technologies, material blending, and ergonomic performance.
• Actively lead
  new last development programs
  across sport and lifestyle categories — ensuring comfort, fit consistency, and biomechanical support.
• Take complete responsibility for
  packaging innovation
  — optimizing for sustainability, protection, unboxing experience, and cost.

Root-Cause Analysis & Problem Solving

• Be the
  go-to person for solving complex product problems
  arising from field performance, customer feedback, or production variability.
• Lead detailed
  RCA (Root Cause Analysis)
  for every significant product complaint or failure — across materials, construction, fit, or wear performance.
• Fix issues at the root level and ensure learnings are
  documented and fed back
  into future product cycles and SOPs.

SOPs, Standards & Norms Creation

• Build and standardize
  robust SOPs, material standards, performance benchmarks, testing protocols
  , and production guidelines for all current and future product lines.
• Institutionalize
  knowledge into documentation
  that scales — ensuring consistent output across factories, vendors, and internal teams.

Material & Construction Excellence

• Research, source, and test advanced materials (textiles, leathers, foams, rubbers, composites) based on functional need, sustainability goals, and cost targets.
• Lead new development trials and
  optimize manufacturing processes
  for durability, comfort, and scalability.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate deeply with
  design, merchandising, sourcing, production, and QA teams
  to ensure technical feasibility and execution integrity.
• Train and upskill junior engineers, QC teams, and vendor partners on technical developments and standards.
• Actively contribute to seasonal and long-term
  product strategy discussions
  , bringing in a strong
  technical and consumer lens
  .

Experience & Qualification

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in
  Footwear Technology, Industrial Design, Leather Technology
  , or related field.
• 7–8 years of strong technical leadership experience
  in footwear development or R&D — preferably across multiple categories.
• Demonstrated expertise in:
• Last development and foot anatomy
• Insole and midsole innovation
• Outsole tooling and grip systems
• Material and compound development
• Wear and field performance analysis