As our Footwear Design Director for Nike Basketball Signature Athlete, you will direct the creation of industry-leading footwear bringing bold concepts to life. You will solve complex design challenges and create iconic products that inspire through both function and form.
Inspired by the signature athlete, you will help define a new visual language for Nike Basketball—one that expresses sport through style, performance, and modern design. This role requires both creative ambition and strategic focus, partnering across a global brand to build scalable design systems and advance creative innovation.
The ideal candidate is a visionary designer with exceptional taste, a refined aesthetic point of view, and an unwavering commitment to craft. They bring a sharp eye for detail, proportion, materiality, and execution, consistently delivering elevated design solutions. Through strong creative leadership, they will develop compelling products that resonate emotionally with consumers both on and off the court.
With a deep understanding of cultural relevance, consumer insights, and emerging trends, this individual will continually challenge industry conventions and set a high standard for creativity, desirability, and aesthetic excellence.
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training
- 10+ years working in Design or related field
- Exceptional knowledge of design, art, and fashion, as well as passion for sport and youth culture
- Expert 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 - basketball design is a plus
- Strong Photoshop, Illustrator skills
- Must be able to build accurate 2D technical drawings (tech packs)
- Cobbling and prototyping skills are a plus
- 3D design programs experience is a plus
- Strong sketching, illustration, and rendering skills
- Expert knowledge of manufacturing processes and materials
- Must be able to generate a broad range of concepts and solutions for each project
- Experienced with presentation programs: Keynote, PowerPoint, Acrobat, etc.
- Positive personality and energy
- Ability and passion to lead, coach, collaborate, and onboard Design teammates
- Contribute and align to shared team culture and behaviors
- Catalyst to make connections with other Design groups
- Lead + drive partnerships beyond the Design function (Marketing, Engineering, Development, etc.)
- 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
- Being a hooper is not a requirement but being passionate and curious to learn about basketball and the athlete* is.
*If you have a body, you are an athlete
**TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROLE, PLEASE SUBMIT A FOOTWEAR DESIGN FOCUSED PORTFOLIO (PDF OR URL ON RESUME WITH PASSWORD PROVIDED IF APPLICABLE)
WHO YOU’LL WORK WITHYou will collaborate and mentor within the design community (concept designers, industrial designers, materials, color, graphics, computational, etc.), and work hand in hand with a large project team of different professionals (product managers, developers, researchers, marketing, costing, etc.). This role reports directly the Sr Creative Director, Kobe Brand + Nike Basketball. You will also manage a Lead Footwear Designer.
WHAT YOU’LL WORK ONIn Nike Basketball, you will work on designs that push the possibilities of the human potential through footwear (and beyond). We expect you to explore new opportunities, take risks, and change the game! In your day to day, you will engage with project teammates on researching, gaining insights, problem solving around performance and manufacturing, working with athletes, and crafting a vast range of creative and appealing solutions, that are also sustainable and considerate of cost. With each project, you are encouraged to also participate and present the work in informal and formal reviews. In addition to individual project work, the Footwear Design Director will also collaborate and help build the design direction with the Senior Creative Director. As a top-tier designer with deep knowledge and experience in footwear, you will be seen as a team leader and mentor for other designers
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design or related field (or equivalent experience)
- 10+ years working in Design or related field
- Exceptional knowledge of design, art, and fashion and passion for sport and youth culture
- Expert knowledge of form, color, materials, and human factors
- Ability to translate consumer insights into product solutions and narratives
- Experience in technical footwear design
- Basketball footwear design experience
- Strong Adobe Photoshop skills
- Strong Adobe Illustrator skills
- Ability to build accurate 2D technical drawings (tech packs)
- Cobbling and prototyping skills
- Experience with 3D design programs
- Strong sketching, illustration, and rendering skills
- Expert knowledge of manufacturing processes and materials
- Ability to generate a broad range of concepts and solutions per project
- Experienced with presentation programs (Keynote, PowerPoint, Acrobat)
- Ability and passion to lead, coach, collaborate, and onboard design teammates
- Experience leading cross-functional partnerships (Marketing, Engineering, Development)
- Positive, open-minded personality; receptive to feedback and diverse viewpoints
Nike Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nike and has not been reviewed or approved by Nike.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with a company match is complemented by options such as a Mega Backdoor Roth and deferred compensation for eligible earners. Financial coaching and structured savings programs support long-term financial security.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a stock discount sits alongside broad-based equity vehicles like RSUs and non-qualified stock options. These avenues expand wealth-building opportunities beyond base pay.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave includes maternity and paternity time, recently expanded in the U.S. to 16 weeks and extended to part-time retail teammates. Additional supports include childcare assistance at select locations and family-building benefits such as fertility, surrogacy, and adoption.
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What We Do
At NIKE, Inc., we innovate to serve athletes*. Every teammate - from coder to creator - plays a role in making these athletes’ dreams real. Our tech, data, and digital teams push limits every day, building the future of sport and the tools that drive it. Here, curiosity is fuel. Innovation is the game plan. Different perspectives keep us on the offense. You’ll solve challenges worth tackling, grow fast and belong to a team that backs you to do the right thing. Bring your drive. Bring your bold. Let’s move the world, together. Take your first step at nike.com/careers * If you have a body, you’re an athlete.
Why Work With Us
At NIKE, Inc., your dedication fuels the future of sport. There is a sense of pride that comes from representing an iconic brand and shaping its future. Here, we treat every day as a new opportunity to push boundaries, ask tough questions and share whole-hearted convictions. We are a team – united by the belief that anything is possible.
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