Manager, Materials Development (Footwear)

Position Overview

At adidas, we never launch a product unless we consider it perfect.

Our product development teams create every shoe, every garment, and every piece of equipment for athletes and style communities worldwide as if it were one of a kind. Translating designs, drawings, and renderings into real products requires strong decision making, technical expertise, and cross functional collaboration.

As Manager, Materials Development - Footwear, you will play a critical role in supporting performance cleats for the U.S. team sports category, including baseball, softball, and U.S. football. You will drive material development that enhances on field performance, durability, and athlete confidence while aligning with brand standards for quality and innovation.

You will ensure the availability and development of materials that support strategic marketing and design direction, working across timelines, target pricing, sourcing strategies, and quality requirements. This role is essential in delivering commercially successful products that meet the unique demands of athletes in U.S. team sports.

Key Responsibilities

Material Development Leadership: Act as the key contact and consultant for all material related topics across internal teams, providing expertise and guidance throughout the development process.

Cross Functional Material Alignment: Lead cross functional discussions related to materials, steer the material selection process, and drive material consolidation to improve efficiency and consistency.

Stakeholder and Supplier Collaboration: Build and maintain strong relationships with Design, Product Development, Sourcing, Quality, Sustainability, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to ensure alignment and successful execution.

Material Sourcing and Innovation: Identify and develop new material sources in line with sourcing strategy and product allocation, guiding suppliers to translate design intent into innovative and commercially viable materials.

Seasonal Development Execution: Initiate and manage all seasonal material developments in collaboration with suppliers and cross functional teams, ensuring alignment with timelines and business objectives.

Cost Management and Negotiation: Lead initial material price negotiations during the development phase, ensuring alignment with target costs and margin expectations.

Quality and Testing Compliance: Ensure all materials, composites, and components are tested and approved according to adidas quality standards and development timelines.

Material Data and Systems Management: Ensure accuracy and availability of material data within internal systems to support product creation and decision making.

Material Consolidation and Efficiency: Partner with cross functional teams to achieve material consolidation goals and drive efficiencies in material usage and selection.

Material Library and Continuous Improvement: Maintain and improve the material library through consolidation and verification, enabling material sharing and best practice adoption across teams.

Trend Research and Insight Sharing: Provide insights on emerging material trends through research, supplier engagement, and industry events to inform Business Units and category strategies.

Innovation and Sustainability Integration: Collaborate with horizontal teams to translate innovation and sustainable material concepts into scalable business solutions.

Team Support and Mentorship: Support and guide junior team members while helping onboard and train new employees on adidas material development standards, systems, and processes.

Project Support: Contribute to cross functional projects that support material innovation, process improvement, and product excellence.

Required Qualifications

• College or university degree in engineering, materials science, chemistry, textiles, or a related field.

• Minimum 4 years of experience in material development or a related field.

• Strong understanding of footwear materials and the product creation process.

• Proven ability to identify material issues and provide effective solutions.

• Strong communication and presentation skills.

• Strong influencing skills with a solution oriented mindset.

• Strong planning and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience working with material databases and reporting tools.

• English language proficiency required.

• Ability to travel internationally approximately three times