Senior Footwear Product Line Manager

Who We Are

At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. We create gear and experiences that help people reach the places that make them feel more alive—whether that’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line. Our culture sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation. Our brand values bind us together:

• Runner First – We act in the best interest of the runner.
• Word is Bond – We do what we say we’ll do.
• Champion Heart – We give our all in everything we do.
• There is no “I” in Run – We stay generous with our humanity.
• Keep Moving – We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic.

Your Role

The Senior Footwear Product Line Manager is responsible for the end‑to‑end seasonal direction and execution of Brooks footwear products across portals, platforms, and pillars. Reporting to Footwear PLM leadership, you will provide vision and thought leadership as the consumer, market, and business expert throughout the product creation process, aligning with a 5‑year footwear strategy and guiding one direct report to become a global expert on runners.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning and Execution
  • Partner with Footwear PLM leadership and Innovation partners to translate long‑term brand strategy into focused, executable seasonal plans.
  • Own and lead athlete‑focused footwear products outside standard inline assortments, accountable for performance‑driven outcomes.
  • Ensure seasonal assortments are competitive, consumer‑relevant, and aligned to business objectives.
• Innovation Leadership
  • Lead advanced and experimental footwear development, including specialized racing products and emerging performance platforms.
  • Drive rapid prototyping and personalized solutions in partnership with Design, Development, Engineering, and Run Research/Biomechanics.
  • Identify future innovation concepts and create proposals that deliver groundbreaking solutions for athletes.
• Athlete, Insights, Briefing and Product Execution
  • Serve as the internal expert on elite and sub‑elite athlete performance needs, competitive benchmarks, and racing requirements.
  • Build and maintain direct, trust‑based relationships with athletes, gathering real‑time product insight.
  • Translate athlete feedback into rapid product decisions during compressed development timelines.
  • Craft product briefs that combine consumer insights, biomechanics POV, and innovation capabilities.
  • Lead cross‑functional brief creation, defining story, consumer benefits, KPIs, development toolbox, and design concepts.
  • Drive product execution, ensuring readiness at key milestones and providing technical expertise across materials, construction, foams, midsoles, and outsoles.
  • Maintain biomechanics understanding to facilitate dialogue with Engineering and translate technical language for broader audiences.
  • Travel at least twice a year to Asia development centers to finalize changes and meet market timelines.
• Collaboration
  • Work alongside Principal, Footwear PLM Innovation to meet PLM deliverables at key milestones.
  • Partner closely with design, development, costing, and merchandising teams to create a collaborative environment.
• Story Crafting, Presentations and Cross‑Functional Support
  • Build athlete‑led product stories informed by insights and present them to product marketing, merchandising, sales, and external stakeholders.
  • Provide product expertise for presentations, videos, pre‑lines, calibration meetings, GTM meetings, and media events.
  • Craft narratives that inform future innovation pipelines and broader product direction.
• People Management
  • Manage up to one direct report, mentoring PLM‑Is and PLM‑IIs on market intelligence, briefing, and story crafting.
  • Act as a role model across triads and cross‑functional footwear teams, fostering collaboration and camaraderie.
  • Connect cross‑functional impacts to ensure alignment and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of product‑management‑related experience, with a strong track record in performance footwear.
• Direct experience working with elite or sub‑elite athletes on racing footwear, including super shoes, super spikes, or highly specialized products.
• Ability to collaborate with the Run Research Team and interpret data findings.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast‑paced innovation environments with shifting priorities.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% of the time, including international trips.
• Effective presentation, interpersonal, and written communication skills.
• Strong functional and biomechanical knowledge of the footwear development process.
• Business orientation with analytical aptitude; proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Proven leadership capability, including mentoring and motivating others.
• Detail‑oriented planning and execution while maintaining a big‑picture perspective.
• Demonstrated innovation, initiative, and a passion for improving products and processes.
• Passionate participation in Brooks’ sports activities is a plus.
• Commitment to embracing and living the Brooks values.

Compensation

The pay range for this position, based out of the Brooks Seattle headquarters, is $124,324 – $186,404 per year. Base pay varies depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, disability coverage.
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and family & fertility assistance.
• 401(k) Savings Plan with company match.
• Employee assistance program and transportation assistance.
• Generous paid time off: five weeks PTO, eleven paid holidays, paid sick and parental leave.
• Annual performance‑based bonus.
• Product discounts, fitness discounts, employee recognition, volunteer and donation benefits.

Location & Schedule

This role is based in Seattle, WA. Employees are expected to work in the Seattle office four days per week to foster collaboration, creativity, and problem‑solving. Travel up to 30% of the time, including international trips to athlete events and development centers, is required.