Lead, Footwear Color & Materials Designer, Performance, Local Creation GC
Nike · Shanghai
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NIKE, Inc. does more than outfit the world’s best athletes. It is a place to explore potential, obliterate boundaries and push out the edges of what can be. The company looks for people who can grow, think, dream and create. Its culture thrives by embracing diversity and rewarding imagination. The brand seeks achievers, leaders and visionaries. At NIKE, Inc. it’s about each person bringing skills and passion to a challenging and constantly evolving game.
Nike Local Creation GC is one of the fastest product engines at Nike, enabling designers to connect with geo-specific consumers quickly and effectively. Reporting to the Local Creation Design organization, this role focuses on creating inspiring products tailored to specific marketplaces and geographic audiences, capturing fast-moving trends and delivering regionally relevant narratives with flexibility and speed. Local Creation team's mission is to amplify and incubate new ideas while driving and extending consumer favorites, serving local consumers with executions that offer greater relevance and immediacy. We seek a candidate who embodies our values of authenticity, accountability, collaboration, and courage—someone eager to grow, challenge themselves, and act independently as a self-driven contributor.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for a Lead Designer, Footwear Color & Materials, Performance, Local Creation GC to lead color and material expression across selected performance footwear opportunities for the Greater China marketplace.
The ideal candidate combines advanced color and material craft with a strong understanding of performance product expression, consumer behavior, local marketplace needs, and Nike design direction. They can turn Greater China consumer and sport insights into relevant product stories without losing sight of performance purpose, athlete needs, product integrity, or Nike brand standards.
This designer is expected to lead through creative influence. They will establish a compelling point of view, guide complex projects, align partners around design intent, and help elevate the color and materials capability of the wider team.
WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH
This is an individual contributor role reporting to the Design Director, Footwear Design, Local Creation GC.
You will collaborate with:
GC Footwear and Apparel Design, Color & Materials, and Graphics
GC Product Management, Merchandising, Development, and Marketing
Performance category and sport partners
Global and Geo Design counterparts
Material developers, vendors, manufacturers, and external creative partners
Consumer insights and marketplace teams
You’ll also engage with external vendors and suppliers to bring your designs to life, ensuring alignment with Nike’s brand standards and regional consumer expectations.
WHAT YOU BRING
Education:
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Footwear Design, Color Design, Material Design, Textile Design, Industrial Design, Fashion Design, or a related field preferred.
Equivalent combinations of education, professional experience, and training will be considered.
Experience and Capabilities:
Typically 5 to 7 years of relevant professional design experience, with demonstrated advanced capability in footwear color and materials.
A portfolio demonstrating strong color sensibility, material thinking, product storytelling, executional craft, and consumer relevance.
Advanced understanding of color theory, color blocking, material selection, material application, finishes, trims, and color achievability.
Strong knowledge of footwear construction, manufacturing, product development, and commercialization.
Ability to translate consumer, sport, cultural, and marketplace insights into product opportunity.
Ability to lead complex creative projects with limited direction.
Strong presentation and communication skills across design, business, and development audiences.
Experience influencing cross-functional teams and resolving competing creative, technical, and business priorities.
Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Experience with 3D and AI-enabled visualization tools such as Vizcom, and collaborative tools such as Miro.
Ability to travel as required by the role.
WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON
As the Lead Designer, Footwear Color & Materials, Performance, Local Creation GC, you will:
Lead seasonal color and material direction for assigned GC performance footwear projects, aligned with global creative direction, sport intent, product briefs, and local consumer opportunity.
Translate Greater China sport, athlete, consumer, cultural, and marketplace insights into clear color and material strategies.
Create original palettes, color-blocking systems, material concepts, finishes, trims, and product details that strengthen both performance purpose and product emotion.
Set the product point of view across broader or more complex programs, including projects spanning multiple consumer groups, price points, product types, or seasonal tracks.
Connect individual product decisions to broader franchise, category, seasonal, and marketplace strategy.
Lead material briefs and work with Development and material partners to explore, test, refine, and commercialize material applications.
Review prototypes and samples, resolve color and material achievability issues, and protect design intent through final execution.
Build consumer stories, concept narratives, product presentations, and broadcast materials that clearly communicate the “why” behind the work.
Lead creative alignment with Product Management, Development, Merchandising, Marketing, and Global Design partners.
Make informed decisions around cost, feasibility, sustainability, timing, and product quality.
Guide project teams through ambiguity, changing inputs, and compressed Local Creation timelines.
Provide craft guidance and mentorship to other designers, helping elevate team standards in color, material selection, storytelling, and presentation.
Contribute to the continuing development of GC footwear color and material tools, standards, libraries, and working methods.
Support required digital product files, CAD pages, line art, and workflow submissions associated with assigned Local Creation projects.
#MYNEXT: Be Empowered to Grow within Nike and Create the Future
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
NIKE, Inc. is a growth company that looks for team members to grow with it. Nike offers a generous total rewards package, casual work environment, a diverse and inclusive culture, and an electric atmosphere for professional development. No matter the location, or the role, every Nike employee shares one galvanizing mission: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
NIKE, Inc. is committed to employing a diverse workforce. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability.