Senior Materials Innovator, Performance Textiles

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

Job summary

Nike Inc. seeks a Principal Materials Innovator to lead advanced textile material discovery and development for sport-performance apparel.

This individual-contributor role shapes technical direction, partners with design, manufacturing, and external collaborators, and translates athlete needs into scalable material systems across knit, woven, and additive platforms. You will guide programs from concept through prototyping, validation, and production, applying data analysis, modeling, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in textile engineering, textile science, materials science, textile design, industrial engineering, industrial design, or related field.
• Experience leading textile or apparel-material R&D from concept to prototype, validation, and manufacturing.
• Advanced expertise in knitting, weaving, or additive manufacturing, with knowledge of yarns, dyeing, finishing, testing, and large-scale production.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary technical programs and influence partners without direct reporting authority.
• Strong communication, project leadership, data analysis, and evidence-based decision-making skills.
• Experience applying statistics, machine learning, or AI to material design, experimentation, modeling, testing, or decision-making.
• Experience assessing technical and economic feasibility for R&D investments.
• Experience developing IP related to materials, products, manufacturing methods, or processes.
• Established relationships with textile mills, yarn suppliers, machinery manufacturers, testing laboratories, research institutes, universities, startups, or industry consortia.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction and lead discovery, engineering, evaluation, and scale-up of advanced textile materials for sport-performance apparel.
• Translate performance opportunities into material strategies, briefs, experimental plans, and decision criteria.
• Engineer and evaluate yarn, structure, process, and finishing combinations across knit, woven, additive, and emerging platforms.
• Lead development from early research through prototyping, application trials, testing, data analysis, pilot production, and manufacturing integration.
• Assess technical feasibility, performance potential, scalability, cost drivers, manufacturing readiness, and development risk.
• Build and lead multidisciplinary project teams, influencing decisions across materials, design, product development, manufacturing, digital, and sustainability functions.
• Establish external partnerships with suppliers, mills, equipment manufacturers, laboratories, research institutions, universities, startups, and other technology organizations.

Skills

Strong communication

Project leadership

Data analysis

Evidence-based decision making

Statistical methods

Machine learning

AI

Feasibility assessment

IP development

Industry relationships

Education

Bachelor’s degree in textile engineering or related field

Job description

Nike Inc. seeks a Principal Materials Innovator to lead advanced textile material discovery and development for sport-performance apparel.

This individual-contributor role shapes technical direction, partners with design, manufacturing, and external collaborators, and translates athlete needs into scalable material systems across knit, woven, and additive platforms. You will guide programs from concept through prototyping, validation, and production, applying data analysis, modeling, and