Senior, Footwear (FW) Materials Developer Vietnam

SENIOR, FOOTWEAR (FW) MATERIALS DEVELOPER VIETNAM

HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

In this role, you’ll partner with cross-functional teams across the Partner Management Office (PMO), Phil Knight Campus (PHK), and Product Creation Center (PCC) to surface issues early and collaborate on effective solutions. You’ll serve as the primary vendor contact for material-specific matters, including pricing, technical specifications, and performance. As a senior team member, you’ll apply broad experience and deep knowledge of Nike’s expectations to resolve complex challenges with innovative, practical solutions. Based at the Nike Vietnam Office in Ho Chi Minh City, this role reports to the Director, FW Material Development Lead Vietnam.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are seeking an experienced Materials Developer who will help differentiate Nike products in the marketplace through materials excellence. The ideal candidate will have:

- A bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemistry, or a related field, or two additional years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
- Minimum 4 years of directly relevant experience in consumer products or footwear manufacturing.
- Education or professional experience in materials, manufacturing, and product creation.
- A strong understanding of textile engineering and construction, synthetic and natural leather, and sustainable materials is preferred.
- Ability to work with material suppliers on technical, testing, and supply matters and clearly communicate Nike’s requirements.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate goals and objectives.
- Proven experience mentoring or managing people.
- Applies standard operating procedure (SOP) thinking to work and decision-making.
- A proactive, assertive approach, with the ability to manage projects or vendors independently and with minimal direction.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally.

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

In this role, you will provide tools, solutions and data across multiple material types to support effective, end-use-driven material selection. You will clearly present facts and solutions with product creation and consumer needs in mind, enabling the team to make informed decisions.

- Manages the materials creation process from concept through commercialization and production, ensuring assigned materials are delivered on time and meet critical milestones, product specifications, sustainability standards, performance requirements, and profitability goals.
- Leads projects and coordinates communication across multiple stakeholders.
- Creates, updates, and maintains development documentation for assigned materials, including product specifications and prototypes.
- Coordinates material sampling and prototyping, addresses manufacturing challenges, and plans corrective actions to deliver validated, production-ready materials.
- Monitors testing and communicates issues promptly to ensure materials meet integrity requirements.
- Stays current on market trends, emerging technologies, and consumer preferences.
- Serves as a technical materials advisor to stakeholders.
- Manages time effectively to advance project initiatives and deliverables.