Lead Product Material Developer

Lead Product Material Developer, GC Express Lane

What we are looking for:

Here at Nike, we are looking for a Lead Product Material Developer for Footwear! The Lead Product Material Developer will support the development and management of new materials specific for footwear with an emphasis on aesthetic, performance, quality, cost and sustainability. The role collaborates with the external vendors, the product creation team, and other functions in order to establish seasonal material direction, attain on-time delivery and ensure product excellence for both consumers and athletes. We expect the successful candidate to use their technical expertise and product creation experience to help differentiate Nike’s product in the marketplace through materials excellence.

What you will be doing;

• Provide tools, palettes and data across multiple material types to enable effective material selection for end use and category ease of use; including technical assistance to product creation teams
• Drive adherence to product creation calendar within your category to ensure seasonal materials are developed, tested and commercialized on time
• Lead vendor communication and have deep understanding of vendor capabilities. Be the primary contact for vendor as it relates to category specific issues (price, technical specs, performance). Maintain positive working relationships.

Who you will work with;

• This role will see you work with Material Planning and Procurement to ensure you are providing transparency to both your Category, Planning, and Procurement when issues or concerns arise
• Collaborate with product creation team, innovation and sourcing to provide training and education for footwear product creation as well as best practices to enable informed decision making
• Partner with Material Design to ensure the material palette is infused with seasonal energy, while considering source base, price, performance and sustainability

What you will bring;

• Bachelor's degree in Apparel, Textiles, Business or equivalent, with 10+ years' relevant experience, which may include footwear industry experience or experience in materials development, manufacturing or engineering (or 8+ years with advanced degree)
• Understanding of the product creation process, and experience of translating lab test results for end use application
• Strong understanding of various material manufacturing processes, and the ability to interpret design intent and offer alternative solutions
• Ability to anticipate needs, mitigate risks, tackle problems, perform research and analyze results
• Attention to detail, active follow-through, assertiveness, self-motivation and the ability to work in a fast-paced team environment
• Ability to balance multiple competing priorities and independently manage workload
• PC literate with working knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook. PTC/material management systems experience preferred.
• Strong verbal/written and intercultural interpersonal skills
• Ability to travel up to 15% of the time