Principal, Running Footwear Product Developer

Nike Inc; Beaverton (OR); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Nike Inc invites a Principal Footwear Developer to join our Product Creation team in Beaverton. You will oversee transitions of footwear innovations from concept through development to retail, ensuring alignment with design vision, athlete performance, and production feasibility.

Collaboration with engineering, materials, and manufacturing is essential to deliver game-changing footwear. The role emphasizes strategic problem solving, global collaboration, and adherence to Nike’s development gates

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or suitable combination of education, experience, and training.
• Minimum 8+ years directly applicable work experience.
• High profile communication and influencing skills to update leaders for alignment.
• Experience delivering footwear innovation projects through transition to retail.

Responsibilities

• Lead transition of footwear innovation projects from Nike’s innovation team to development and retail.
• Drive development through commercialization and timely manufacturability of quality, crafted products.
• Collaborate with Design, Engineering, Materials, Testing and Manufacturing to meet design vision and performance standards.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Footwear manufacturing

Nike software/tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Product Development/Engineering

Tools

Nike product creation software

Job description

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

We are looking for a Principal Footwear Developer who will work collaboratively with key functional partners throughout the Product Development process. This includes Footwear Innovation, Footwear Engineering, Footwear Product Testing, Footwear Material Design and Material Development, Product Design, Product Management, Product Merchandising, Sourcing and Operations, Manufacturing and our overseas partners – both within Nike and external to Nike.

You will need to navigate the Nike matrix to ensure that our processes model and match Nike’s Footwear Development standard methodologies for product excellence. You are the key point of contact for our overseas partners and ensure that communication during the product development process is clear and accurate.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The Product Brief is the first spark of a product idea sets the Footwear Product Creation team into motion. The team of Footwear Developers, Testers, Engineers and Designers collectively strive for product excellence in every way. They obsess over smallest of details, while collaborating, ideating and refining product construction, performance, fit and style. They use groundbreaking advancements in technology, sustainable design and materials to accelerate innovation. And they work lockstep with Marketing, Design, Materials, Testing, and Manufacturing to produce products that reflect the soul of Nike Footwear, that inspire and ultimately enable our athletes to reach all new levels of performance.

As a member of the Nike Footwear Development team, you will inform, drive and facilitate decisions throughout the product creation process to meet or exceed the design vision, athlete performance and product excellence. You will be an active thought partner with Design, Product Management, Engineering, Materials, and Factory Product Creation Teams to develop processes and tools that push boundaries and create solutions that support the creation of Nike’s game changing footwear products.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Product Development or Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, Industrial Design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education,experience,and training.
• Minimum of 8+ years directly applicable work experience
• High profile communication and influencing skills, including the ability to interact and update leaders on status to ensure alignment.
• Consistent track record of pulling together diverse individuals with conflicting priorities, while identifying a path forward, and championing alignment.
• Prior experience in delivering footwear innovation projects through transition, commercialization and to retail
• Expert knowledge of footwear manufacturing technologies and equipment, tooling, and materials is highly preferred. Including Nike product creation software and tools.
• The ability to anticipate and solve complex footwear manufacturing issues with Asia teammates to ensure mass production can achieve quality and craftsmanship standards.
• Proficient understanding of product planning, forecasting, logistics, process planning, and expertise in project management with strong communication skills
• Instills confidence and empowers a project team in delivering product excellence through collaboration
• Entrepreneurial mindset and spirit to proactive address critical deliverables while identify novel solutions that address technical and business challenges.
• Bias towards action and comfortable working in ambiguous environments
• Adjust to changing circumstances and adapt to ensure product excellence
• In-depth understanding of Nike date and gates, with the ability to adjust project plans based on compressed timelines
• An understanding of consumer electronics product development, preferred
• The ability to travel 20% of the time domestic and international

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

We are seeking a Principal Footwear Developer who will work in Product Creation to transition Footwear innovation projects from Nike’s innovation team through development to retail. You drive the development through commercialization and ensure successful launch to market. As a problem solver, your ability to identify novel solutions while creating innovative product and bringing it to market will be fuel by your love of product. You will have the opportunity to deliver transformative product that will excite and delight Nike athletes* and consumer. You will be passionate about achieving the ultimate goal of timely manufacturability of quality and crafted, tested and validated, sustainable and efficient products, that meet or exceed our performance criteria and design intent.

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.