WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON
The Footwear Energy Team creates culturally relevant, groundbreaking footwear that surprises our most discerning consumers. The team delivers Nike’s pinnacle expressions across collaborations, fashion collections, and athlete-led initiatives. We routinely partner with athletes and influencers to create performance and lifestyle products through dynamic, evolving processes.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Lead Footwear Product Developer drives product creation from concept through commercialization. This role provides project and process direction within fast-paced, close-to-market development environments while ensuring each project meets design intent, quality, performance, cost, sustainability, and timing expectations.
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, material development, engineering, physical sciences or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training.
- 6+ years of Footwear Product Creation experience
- Background in engineering, material development, and footwear manufacturing is a plus.
- Lead footwear product development projects at an accelerated pace, through all phases of product creation.
- Leverage deep technical knowledge across lasts, uppers, materials, tooling, costing, engineering, testing, and manufacturing.
- Motivated and driven self-starter who can exhibit strong project management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Communicate effectively across functions, geographies, and leadership levels.
- Demonstrate resilient leadership with high tolerance for ambiguity and changing priorities.
- Build strong partnerships across global, culturally diverse teams.
- Balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution to deliver product excellence.
- Travel up to 10% as needed.
WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH
This role sits within Nike’s Product Creation Team—a collective of developers, engineers material experts, and testing analysts obsessed with raising the bar of footwear product excellence. The Lead Developer partners closely with Design, Marketing, Product Creation and Innovation teams, and collaborates daily with both onshore and offshore manufacturing partners to bring bold ideas to life.
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 marketing, business, material development, engineering, physical sciences, or a related field, or a suitable combination of education, experience, and training
- 6+ years of footwear product creation experience
- Experience or background in engineering, material development, and footwear manufacturing
- Strong project management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
- Effective communication across functions, geographies, and leadership levels
- Ability to lead projects in ambiguous, fast-paced, changing environments
- Ability to build partnerships across global, culturally diverse teams
- Willingness to travel up to 10% as needed
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
Similar Jobs
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.
Gallery
.jpeg)
