Nike are hiring a
Senior Manager, Flex Studio Footwear Product Design
NIKE, Inc. designs the future. At NIKE, Inc. designers chase their curiosities and build what’s next, shaping the culture and advancing human potential. The Design teams include artists, inventors, and specialists, all with different focuses, including color and material experts, and apparel, footwear, and graphic designers. Nike designers look to the future, aggressively pursuing materials, ideas, and forms that further elevate the athlete experience, raise the bar for modern style, and reduce environmental impact.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for a Senior Manager of Footwear product Design for the Nike Core Footwear design team. The ideal designer is a curious observer, eager participant, and a cultural sponge – seeking insights to solve problems. You leverage your expert design skills along with highly creative problem solving to create innovative product solutions that elevate the experience and key benefits relevant to the athletes and communities we serve. You will use your design versatility to create visually stunning and industry-leading product through deeply resonating stories – across the wide range of product in the sport performance and sport lifestyle footwear landscape.
The ideal candidate thrives on team collaboration and building new working relationships, while your project management skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to work through ambiguity will lead your teams to successful project completion - from concept to reality.
WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON
Core Footwear is responsible for design and creation of price point product across 6 category “Fields of Play”, including training, running, basketball, classics, modern lifestyle, and sandals. As part of the Nike Core Footwear design team, you will work with your Snr. Design Director and category Product Manager partners to create groundbreaking footwear across the various categories of Nike design – from lifestyle to performance.
You'll lead or participate in Key Brand and Footwear Initiatives from design through execution. You'll champion a culturally connected vision with an emphasis on product design integrity, forward-thinking innovation, industry-leading quality & product performance. You will bring to life the seasonal creative direction through footwear product design, future forward trends, and innovations.
You will work with the Senior Design Director and your cross-functional teammates to create innovative designs. You will also communicate concepts and consumer insights to internal and external audiences; finalize tech packages and proactively follow the execution of all product details, including construction, color, form, style, detail, fit performance, and cost/value requirements. You will also review all samples and clearly communicate the changes required.
WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH
As a Senior Manager with Nike Core Footwear Design, you will be working hand in hand with large cross-functional project teams consisting of engineers, researchers, scientists, marketing, testing, sustainability, materials, costing, etc. Your role is to represent design within your project team and collaborate within the design community (industrial designers, materials, color, graphics, computational, etc.). You have experience and/or interest in managing, mentoring, and onboarding design teammates. This role has direct reports. The senior manager of Core footwear reports directly to the Senior Director of Core footwear.
WHAT YOU BRING
Design Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training
- 8+ years experience designing and developing innovative footwear and other products
- Knowledge of form, color, materials, human factors, related to elevating the consumer experience
- Ability to translate consumer knowledge and insights into product solutions and narratives
- Experience in technical footwear design
- Strong Photoshop, Illustrator skills
- Interest and experience in digital design processes
- Must be able to build accurate 2D technical drawings (tech packs)
- Cobbling and prototyping skills are a plus
- Strong sketching, illustration, and rendering skills
- Solid knowledge of manufacturing processes and materials
- Must be able to generate a broad range of concepts and solutions for each project
- Knowledge and experience with sustainable design and manufacturing are a plus
- Experienced with presentation programs: Keynote, Powerpoint, Acrobat, etc.
- 3D design experience a plus
Team Requirements:
- Positive personality and energy
- Contribute and align to shared team culture and behaviors
- Experience/Interest in managing direct reports, mentoring, and onboarding design teammates
- Catalyst to make connections with other design groups
- Lead + drive partnerships beyond the design function (Marketing, Engineering, Development, etc.)
- Open, willing, and excited to meet new teammates and forge new partnerships
- Motivated and hardworking about bringing others along
- Experience leading project teams to amazing product results
- Extraordinary teammate, and humble leader
- Interested and exciting in always evolving and bettering their work, process, and capabilities
- Collaborator with a skill in connecting the dots
- Speaks up with courage for self and the team
- Open-minded, good listener, receptive to candid feedback and diverse points of view
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.
