Lead Materials Developer, Basketball Footwear R-59455

Nike; Beaverton (OR); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Lead Material Developer to enhance the materials development process for basketball products. This role involves collaborating with various teams to ensure timely delivery and product excellence. You will leverage your expertise in materials, chemistry, and product engineering to drive innovation and sustainability. The ideal candidate will have strong problem-solving skills and the ability to mentor team members while managing multiple priorities. Join a dynamic team focused on creating high-quality products for athletes and consumers alike.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in materials or product development.
• Knowledge of footwear material types and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage materials creation process from concept to commercialization.
• Collaborate with vendors and product creation teams for excellence.

Skills

Material Development

Chemistry

Product Engineering

Problem-Solving

Communication Skills

Mentoring

Attention to Detail

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Outlook

Job description

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

You will partner with Product Development, Design, Engineering, Materials Planning & Supply Chain to provide transparency when issues or concerns arise, and you’ll collaborate on a solution. You’ll partner with Material Design to ensure seasonal developments and material palettes are infused with energy, while considering source base, price, performance, and sustainability.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for a Lead Material Developer in Basketball to collaborate with vendors, the product creation team and other functions to drive the materials development process, establish seasonal material direction, attain timely delivery and ensure product excellence for both consumers and athletes! You will provide tools, palettes and data across multiple material types to enable effective material selection for end-use and category ease of use.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, experience or training

• A minimum of 5 years directly relevant work experience

• Experience working in Materials, Chemistry, Product Development or Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, Industrial Design or equivalent combination of education, experience or training

• Knowledge of footwear material types including fibers, yarns, textiles, leathers, synthetic leathers, components or trims, manufacturing technologies and equipment, tooling, and materials is highly preferred

• Solid understanding of various material manufacturing processes

• High communication and influencing skills, including the ability to interact with leadership and cross functional product creation team members

• Knowledge of the product creation process

• Successful experiences mentoring or managing people

• Ability to translate lab testing results for end-use application

• Strong problem-solving abilities and a commitment to fostering innovation.

• Ability to balance multiple priorities, interpret design intent and offer alternative solutions

• Ability to articulate thoughts clearly and effectively, fostering collaboration and innovation.

• Ability to anticipate needs, address problems, perform research and analyze results

• Attention to detail, active follow-through, assertiveness, self-motivation and a phenomenal teammate

• Computer proficiency with working knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook

• Ability to travel up to 15% of the time

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

As a member of the Nike Materials Development team, you will be focused on driving functional excellence and material readiness with a sharp focus on execution of material creation, material sourcing, cost, quality, and implementation of sustainable solutions. Materials Development collaborates with vendors, Nike product creation, and other functions to establish seasonal material direction, attain on-time delivery, and ensure product excellence for both consumers and athletes.

• Manage the materials creation process from initial concept through to commercialization for assigned materials ensuring on time delivery and development according to critical dates and specifications

• Drive functional and cross dimension strategies and initiatives (e.g. Palettes, sustainability, PCX, etc.)

• Keep abreast of market trends, new technology and consumer preferences

• Mentor team members

• Partner with Planning & Sourcing to enable best-in-class vendor base

• You will engage in all phases of the product process to ensure projects are managed according to critical dates and completed on time, while meeting design intent, performance goals, costing/profitability and sustainability targets.

• You will ensure that your projects are ready for the commercialization process and can ultimately be manufactured.

We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.