Footwear Innovation Developer II, Racing Footwear

Your Job:

The Footwear Innovation Developer II - Racing Footwear utilizes advanced, technical product and process knowledge, to work with a cross-functional product creation team from the collection of insights through commercialization to deliver the highest-performing racing footwear for Brooks professional athletes like the Beasts Track Club, Hansons-Brooks ODP, Mavericks, NIL athletes, and Brooks runners of all levels.. Your work has a direct impact on the Brooks professional athlete results, Brooks Sports Marketing strategy, and technology learnings that trickle into the full Brooks performance product line. You have successful hands-on experience and knowledge of the total footwear construction process including outsole/midsole technical 2D/ 3D, pattern engineering, material construction and properties, and costing. You understand, through curiosity, intuition, and direct feedback, the nuanced needs of elite track & road racing athletes and foresee innovation opportunities to equip them with revolutionary racing product. Other critical responsibilities include understanding manufacturing capabilities, anticipating issues, problem solving, and timely resolution. Your ideas around engineering principles that enhance product performance, product value, and your ability to communicate them across the product teams is a must for this role.

Your Responsibilities:

• Own leading execution and management of multiple New Upper, New Tooling racing footwear projects including leading projects from brief creation to final confirmation with T1, T2, and T3 factories at overlapping stages and intro dates.
• Deliver on Brooks Fit, Feel, Ride principles and goals via an unwavering dedication to always deliver product excellence at every prototype round.
• Empathize with the needs of elite athletes require from their racing footwear and be able to craft stories on how their success in racing impacts the overall Brooks Enterprise. Collaborate with Sports Marketing and Brooks professional athletes to ensure product development and introduction timing meets Enterprise needs.
• Manage racing shoe & track spike development sample and production approval process with World Athletics and be an industry representative for Brooks on the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). Be the technical product expert in the room on the WFSGI to ensure rules and implementations match to Brooks racing footwear product vision. Plan and execute project development according to the highly-accelerated seasonal critical dates that lead to on-time delivery of development samples and production confirmation in time for major competitions, international championships, national championships, and World Majors.
• Identify gaps in technologies; lead new innovation technology projects to solve, test, implement and commercialize for your racing footwear projects; and ultimately tech transfer learnings to other cross-functional teams.
• Partner with and influence vendors and factories in the manufacturing process with the ability to steer the process to advance and achieve new manufacturing techniques which enhance the overall performance of product.
• Partner with and guide Design. Asia Development, and PLM teams to ensure that designs are manufacturable and meet cost and quality objectives for each product.
• Critique, adjust and evaluate technical blueprints (outsole/ midsole/ upper), 3D CADs, upper patterns and materials from a performance, manufacturing, and functional perspective.
• Recommend and specify to Product team the material, component, and construction options to meet pricing targets and product’s functional goals, as well as ensure product performance integrity through product testing (physical and field testing).
• Partner with more senior members of the team to support their projects as needed...Initiate and lead meetings with product teams during various phases of development to review, evaluate, update, and drive the decision-making process that leads to on-time production confirmation.
• Collaborate with our Research, Design and Development, Marketing and Costing teams and Color Designers to show sample materials that meet the criteria for the category based on material performance data.
• Create and build a knowledge base and stay informed about vendor capabilities and performance, factory relationships, quality issues, materials pricing, and lead times.
• Keep abreast of market trends, new technologies and consumer needs to ensure that products incorporate the functional needs our athlete’s demand.
• Participate in quarterly domestic travel for key athlete testing, insights gathering, and competitions.
• Participate in Asia development trips, 3 - 4 per year, to work with manufacturers and suppliers on existing and current development projects.
• Additional responsibilities and projects as assigned.

Your Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biomechanics, Engineering, Kinesiology, Desing or related technical field; equivalent combination of education and years of experience can be considered in lieu of degree(s)
• 5+ successful years’ experience leading the development of high performance, technical running footwear projects; experience developing track & field spikes and/or road racing shoes
• Expertise in technical running footwear product development, process, project management, costing, and manufacturing of product from conception to athlete race day
• Proven ability to lead and influence in a collaborative, cross-functional group without command/ control to meet strategic objectives
• Experience participating in and/or high knowledge of nuances surrounding track & field events and road racing (familiarity with the sport); knowledge of World Athletics footwear competition rules and regulations
• Experience developing plates and other thermoplastic materials through injection and carbon fiber molding process
• Demonstrated ability to develop highly productive relationships with individuals and teams composed of diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds resulting in effective working relationships across the company
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with an advanced ability to communicate new ideas, concepts, and functional expertise within global project teams and to external stakeholders
• 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
• Ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our athletes, 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
• Strong computer skills including experience with Adobe Illustrator, MS Office software. Flex PLM and 3D CAD knowledge is a bonus
• Passionate participation in Brooks’ sports activities a plus, overridden by the ability to understand and empathize with the runner to develop loyal, engaging relationships with our professional athletes and the Brooks community
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally 15-20% of the time