Job Title: Lead – Footwear Materials
As Lead – Footwear Materials, you will be instrumental in executing the global performance materials strategy and advancing material technology in alignment with the company's vision. Your role encompasses overseeing material creation, advanced development, and technical execution. You will collaborate across functions to support performance, sustainability, and high-performance product objectives. Reporting to the Footwear Materials Team Lead, you will manage multiple material development projects across various seasons, supporting the global materials strategy while working closely with Design, Development, Product Management, and Sustainability teams. Additionally, you may mentor junior specialists based on project scope and guide cross-functional partners to deliver material solutions from concept through to production.
Your Mission
- Define, develop, and lead the creation and strategic sourcing of technical, high-performance materials in accordance with design briefs, product roadmaps, timelines, sourcing policies, and sustainability requirements.
- Establish and manage material availability standards, sourcing policies, and quality assurance processes, supporting target prices and adherence to program timelines across the supply chain.
- Lead material development workstreams within assigned projects, coordinating across multiple product seasons to ensure alignment with program objectives.
- Drive and report on material-specific targets in line with the company sustainability roadmap, ensuring compliance and supporting continuous improvement.
- Create and maintain material and component specifications, color applications, and related documentation using tools such as Adobe Illustrator and PLM systems, fostering the adoption of best practices within the team.
- Manage the material lifecycle, ensuring all materials are rigorously tested, approved, and continuously improved, leveraging expertise in yarns, material structures, and polymers.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with T2 material suppliers and T1 factory teams to support material development, quality, and process improvements.
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of the material library and tools used across the product creation team, supporting both inline and special projects.
- Support the implementation of next-generation material performance initiatives and achieve material-specific sustainability targets in alignment with the company roadmap, ensuring compliance and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams — Design, Product Development, Product Management, Innovation, Sustainability, and Testing — across regions (EU/NAM/ASIA) to ensure alignment and successful execution of material initiatives.
Your Profile
- Bachelor’s degree (minimum) in Footwear Textile Sciences, Textile Engineering/Technology, or a related field; Master’s degree or equivalent experience preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in performance footwear material development, including collaboration with Asia-based suppliers and factories.
- Extensive global travel experience to T2 material suppliers and T1 factories to create, develop, and source materials.
- Proven experience managing cross-functional material development projects from concept to production.
- Deep affinity for footwear design and technology in the technical performance category, with strong knowledge of performance materials, construction methods, and industry processes and trends.
- Demonstrated success in driving innovation in performance materials, with experience managing multiple seasons of product development.
- Strong attention to detail, with the ability to organize and deliver well-structured presentations and long-term planning documents.
- Deep understanding of footwear industry processes, with the ability to work independently while effectively collaborating across teams and mentoring colleagues.
- Strong collaborative skills and experience engaging with diverse stakeholders, coupled with excellent verbal and written communication and negotiation abilities.
- Able to balance creativity with organization and discipline, thriving in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Proven ability to navigate significant change, demonstrating an entrepreneurial mindset and solution-oriented approach to complex challenges.
Your Team
The Footwear Materials team is dedicated to developing and delivering the company’s sustainability strategy for footwear materials. This team conducts research, defines material strategies, and supports projects aimed at advancing more sustainable materials, products, and processes. Collaborating closely with cross-functional partners, the team embeds material sustainability priorities into footwear creation, with a strong focus on effective communication and knowledge sharing.
As a Lead, you will support the team’s development and contribute to effective collaboration across the global footwear creation organization. Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.