WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are seeking a highly creative and strategic Lead Brand Designer to join our multidisciplinary team. This role requires a dynamic designer who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, working closely with Art Directors, Senior Designers, Studio Managers, Producers, and Narrative teams. The ideal candidate will have a deep passion for sport—particularly basketball—and a strong connection to the creative industry. They will be responsible for driving design excellence across multiple projects, ensuring all creative work remains authentic to athlete stories, product innovation, and key sport moments.
WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON
As a Lead Brand Designer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the visual direction of Basketball brand campaigns, with a focus on Signature athlete product launches. Your work will involve:
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Collaborating with the Creative team to evolve and elevate Basketball’s visual identity.
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Leading the design execution for brand campaigns tied to athlete storytelling and product innovation.
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Developing and maintaining strong relationships with photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, designers, and writers.
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Staying ahead of emerging trends in basketball, fashion, design, film, art, media, and technology, ensuring relevance to Nike’s creative vision.
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Overseeing the planning, execution, and timely delivery of high-quality creative projects.
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Maintaining the highest standards of quality, consistency, and innovation across all design work.
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Presenting creative concepts with confidence, demonstrating strong storytelling and public speaking skills.
WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH
You will collaborate with the Art and Creative Directors, creative studio teammates, Brand Marketing, Digital Marketing and Retail Marketing, the Content Production teams and Geo/City Studios.
WHAT YOU BRING
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Minimum 5+ years graphic design and art direction experience in branded content, agency, editorial or marketing environment.
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Bachelor's degree or higher in graphic design or related field, or equivalent combination of education, experience, or training.
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A passion for the Athlete*, Sport and Culture.
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A stellar portfolio of creative work, exhibiting a seasoned background in digital and editorial design.
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Deep knowledge and expertise in all aspects of layout, typography, illustration, identity, digital and experience production and
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Publishing across formats and platforms.
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Detailed understanding of today’s creative landscape and how people engage with content from digital products to environments and experiences.
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Ability to collaborate with and creatively manage external agency relationships.
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Proven ability as a manager and mentor, with a knack and passion for helping everyone on the team—especially senior-level and entrepreneurial talent—to grow, improve, succeed, and advance toward collective and individual goals.
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Ability to lead team efforts while also working independently to deliver on individual responsibilities.
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Proven ability to flex and adapt to changing business needs while maintaining creative quality.
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Laser-sharp focus with ability to work quickly and efficiently under pressure.
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Strong time management with ability to toggle between daily and long-term tasks, keeping workstreams moving forward simultaneously.
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Excellent verbal and visual communication skills; adept at presenting and defending creative work.
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Strong interpersonal skills with highly developed ability to foster cross-functional teamwork and an open, positive and collaborative environment.
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Highly developed curiosity and in-depth understanding of design culture, current and past.
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Love for Basketball
This is an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of Nike Basketball’s creative evolution, shaping the way the brand connects with athletes and consumers worldwide.
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.
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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