Who we are looking for
We are looking for a Lead Designer to join our Concept Excellence team in Nike Global Design. Concept Design at Nike is at the forefront of defining the future, merging innovation, athlete insights, product design, and brand storytelling to bring Nike’s biggest ideas to life. As a Lead Designer, Concept Excellence Design, you will play a pivotal role in developing creative for the Concept Excellence Team centrally in collaboration with the Field of Play Concept Teams and Sportswear Team.
Candidates for this role must be collaborative, imaginative, hands-on and tactical, as they will turn creative strategy and big ideas into visual art direction and storytelling to influence the Nike organization! The Lead Designer, Concept Excellence Design is both an outstanding designer and a highly collaborative teammate, focused on both defining the visual language of concepts, creative strategy, and defining the aesthetics of the experiences to bring them to life, alongside their cross-functional teammates.
You are an experienced strategic and multidisciplinary designer and excel at working across mediums including graphics, type, art direction, moving image, spatial design and AI. You have a passion for creativity and are committed to staying on top of current and future trends in design, creative culture and technology. You’re comfortable with both obsessing typographic details and blue sky thinking.
What you will work on
As Lead Designer, Concept Excellence Design your mission is to visualize Nike worlds by leading the creative process on the company’s most impactful initiatives. You will work across product design, consumer insights, merchandising, and brand teams to uncover opportunities and translate them into compelling creative strategies and visual identities.
Your responsibilities will include brainstorming sessions, overseeing photoshoots, working with agency partners, presenting ideas to senior leadership, and managing creative execution from concept to completion. In this role, you will use your experience in creative direction, art direction, and storytelling to elevate Nike’s global brand identity and influence the next generation of athletes and consumers.
Who you will work with
The Lead Designer, Concept Excellence Design reports to the Senior Director, Concept Excellence Design, and works with the larger Concept Excellence team. You will collaborate regularly with product designers, merchandising leaders, brand teams, and external agencies to bring Nike’s creative vision to life. In this role, your leadership will be essential in aligning stakeholders and ensuring that all creative efforts deliver cohesive and impactful results.
What you will bring
- Bachelor's degree in Design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training.
- 7+ years professional experience in design, preferably within design, product, marketing, brand, or agency environments.
- A passion for the athlete, sport, and culture, with a deep understanding of global trends in these areas.
- Expertise across multiple design disciplines: including type design, branding, art direction, motion, graphic, creative strategy, spatial design and AI.
- Solid portfolio of relevant work, displaying a passion for inspirational storytelling, photo art direction, brand identity, and world building.
- Excellent verbal and visual communication skills; adept at presenting and defending creative ideas.
- The ability to lead multiple projects efficiently, managing time and resources to deliver high-quality creative output.
- A positive mentality with proven ability to flex and adapt to changing business needs while maintaining creative quality.
- Laser-sharp focus to work quickly and efficiently under pressure.
- A high degree of curiosity, with a keen understanding of design culture, youth culture, and emerging trends in creative technology.
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 Design or a related field, or a suitable combination of education, experience, and training
- 7+ years of professional design experience
- Experience in design, product, marketing, brand, or agency environments
- Passion for athletes, sport, and culture, with understanding of global trends
- Expertise in type design, branding, art direction, motion, graphic design, creative strategy, spatial design, and AI
- Portfolio demonstrating inspirational storytelling, photo art direction, brand identity, and world building
- Excellent verbal and visual communication skills, including presenting and defending creative ideas
- Ability to lead multiple projects and manage time and resources effectively
- Ability to adapt to changing business needs while maintaining creative quality
- Ability to work quickly and efficiently under pressure
- Curiosity and understanding of design culture, youth culture, and emerging creative technology trends
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.
Nike Insights
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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