Senior Footwear Material Developer

Your Responsibilities:

• Manage and own Materials’ seasonal development calendar and lead innovations in process creation and execution. Support other team members in the execution of seasonal deliverables.
• Manage and lead all seasonal development toolbox work – Inline, MRA, and Pre-Development.
• Recognize and evaluate the risk factors associated with all material developments and communicate and influence with the product teams to ensure adherence to seasonal calendar dates
• Lead the team to continually create and build a knowledge base and stay informed about vendor capabilities and performance, factory relationships, quality issues, materials pricing, and lead times
• Anticipate downstream effects of decisions as they relate to product and project management. Be proactive in solutions to mitigate delays.
• Lead and collaborate with product teams in the development of materials specifications for product functionality, durability, and aesthetics, including identifying needs and researching solutions.
• Self-initiate and contribute to research of emerging materials trends by attending material shows, machine shows, and industry conferences, and staying informed with literature and industry news. Identify viable opportunities to bring in-house to Brooks and lead implementation of new processes/technology to advance the footwear creation process or improve cost/quality or reduce environmental impact.
• Lead, own, and manage projects having the biggest impact on the business and with new technology/ manufacturing techniques (franchise product, new technology, sustainability initiatives, etc.)
• Mentor material development and other Footwear teammates; may manage up to 1 direct report.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with T2 partners. Act as a key voice and representative of the Brooks’ Materials Team.
• Serve as the materials subject matter expert for members of the project teams
• Oversee coordination and review with Asia materials testing team, to ensure that all materials pass Brooks Sports commercialization process by the specified dates on the seasonal calendar.
• Develop and maintain an organized materials library, complete with up-to-date material resources, testing history, and specifications.
• Continuously build advanced materials expertise and work to create a network of contacts within the industry.
• Lead, recommend, and specify to product team the material options to meet pricing targets and the product’s functional goals, as well as assure product performance integrity through product testing (physical and field testing)
• Initiate and lead meetings with product teams during various phases of development to review, evaluate, update, and ultimately drive the decision-making process that leads to on-time production confirmation and margin goals
• Collaborate with Research, Design, Development, Marketing, Costing, and Color in order to show sample materials that meet the criteria for the category based on material performance data
• Organize and communicate new processes and techniques to the cross-functional teams
• Assist with advanced materials R&D projects (when needed).
• Lead trips to suppliers 3 or more times per year and additional travel as needed.

Qualifications:

• BS in Textile Engineering, Textile Design, Materials Engineering, Textile Chemistry, or related field; may be substituted with relevant work experience
• 7+ years of experience in footwear textile development/ design, material development
• Deep understanding and proven success working with footwear construction methods, a range of material constructions, and material processes.
• Proficient in PLM system to build, support, and maintain digital material library.
• Computer proficiency with office software; MS Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Key Note, and Illustrator.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence in a collaborative, cross-functional group without command/ control to meet strategic objectives.
• Effective project management skills and experience, including the ability to articulate goals and objectives, manage projects independently, and the ability to network and utilize internal and external resources.
• Keen attention to detail in planning, organization, and execution of tasks (self and through others), while still seeing the big picture and understanding how all the pieces fit together and affect one another.
• Outstanding communication skills, verbal and written. Advanced ability to communicate new ideas, concepts, and functional expertise within project teams and to external stakeholders.
• Ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our customers, our partners, our products, or other departments’ operations and/or morale; “connecting the dots.”
• Curious and open-minded; always open for a challenge, inventive, creative. With the ability to challenge the status quo – always looking at improving our products and processes while also displaying a willingness to dive into the details.
• Demonstrated ability to develop highly positive relationships with individuals and teams that are made up of diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds resulting in effective working relationships across the company
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed (15-25% travel time)