Materials Developer II, Jordan Footwear

This role sits within the Jordan Footwear Materials Development team and is responsible for driving functional excellence in materials creation, sourcing, costing, quality, and the implementation of sustainable solutions. The developer collaborates with cross-functional footwear teams, material vendors, and other key functions to establish seasonal material direction, achieve on-time delivery, and ensure product excellence for athletes and consumers. They serve as the primary contact for material vendors on category-specific issues such as price, technical specifications, performance standards, and material lead time.

• Collaborate with cross-functional footwear teams, material vendors, and other key functions to establish seasonal material direction, attain on-time delivery, and ensure product excellence for athletes and consumers.
• Serve as the primary contact for material vendors on category-specific issues such as price, technical specifications, performance standards, and material lead time.
• Collaborate with the innovation team to scale and deliver relevant ideas to market.
• Provide tools, guidance, and data analysis across multiple material types to support effective material selection across a wide range of products.
• Present facts and solutions clearly, balancing athlete needs and business priorities, to help cross-functional teams make informed decisions.
• Drive functional excellence with a sharp focus on materials creation, sourcing, costing, quality, and the implementation of sustainable solutions.
• Work on complex footwear projects and convert project briefs from 2D design renderings into 3D samples that balance athlete and business needs.
• Engage in all phases of the product creation process to ensure projects are managed according to critical dates and completed on time while meeting design intent, quality and performance standards, margin targets, and sustainability goals.
• Ensure projects are ready for commercialisation and can ultimately be scaled for manufacturing.
• Build toolkits and material palettes to help optimise material choice.

• Bachelor's Degree in Materials, Chemistry, Product Development or Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Design or equivalent combination of education, experience or training.
• Minimum of 2 years directly applicable work experience.
• Strong technical expertise in materials development.
• High communication and influencing skills, including the ability to interact with leadership and cross-functional product creation team members.
• Ability to interpret design intent and offer alternative solutions.

• Knowledge of footwear material types including fibres, yarns, textiles, leathers, synthetic leathers, components or trims, manufacturing technologies and equipment, tooling, and materials is highly preferred.