Senior Manager, Materials Development (Apparel)

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a key contact and consultant for apparel material topics, leading cross-functional discussions and guiding material decisions from development through commercialization.
• Lead the material selection process and drive consolidation and material sharing opportunities to improve efficiency while supporting product, design, quality, and commercial requirements.
• Collaborate with Design, Product Development, Material Sourcing, Quality, Sustainability, Advanced Creation, horizontal Materials teams, and other partners to enable timely, fact-based material and product decisions.
• Identify appropriate sources for new material developments in alignment with sourcing strategy, product allocation, and global supplier capabilities.
• Guide Tier 2 fabric mills and trim suppliers in translating design vision and business needs into innovative, commercially viable material solutions.
• Initiate and monitor seasonal material developments with suppliers and internal partners, including initial material price negotiations and proto sampling yardage bookings during the development stage.
• Ensure selected materials, composites, and components are tested and released according to product creation timelines and adidas quality standards.
• Provide material-related risk analysis and lead proactive mitigation activities, including decisions regarding material or supplier changes when necessary.
• Ensure the availability and accuracy of material information in internal systems and develop reporting that improves visibility into material usage, performance, and decision making.
• Drive continuous improvement of global material development processes, initiatives, workflows, and material libraries to strengthen operational efficiency.
• Partner with horizontal teams and relevant IT owners to align material development systems, reporting tools, and processes with evolving business requirements.
• Create, maintain, and communicate material development timelines and ensure key Materials milestones are represented within Product Creation Calendars.
• Manage invoice handling associated with fabric development and prototype development bookings.
• Provide relevant research and insights on emerging material trends by gathering information from internal stakeholders, suppliers, industry fairs, material shows, and other external sources.
• Partner with horizontal teams to translate innovation and sustainability concepts into actionable business plans across relevant Business Units and categories.
• Represent the Materials Development team in global cross-functional initiatives, projects, and leadership-level discussions.
• Support and guide junior team members and mentor new employees on adidas technical standards, material development processes, systems, and product creation requirements.

Required Qualifications

• College or university degree in engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, textile engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education, experience, and training.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in material development or a related field.
• Advanced knowledge of product creation and material development processes, with the ability to identify material-related issues and recommend viable alternatives.
• Strong communication, presentation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders across functions, geographies, and organizational levels.
• Strong planning and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced product creation environment.
• Experience leading projects, process improvements, or organizational change across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and solution-oriented mindset with the ability to make informed material and supplier decisions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant material database, administration, and reporting tools.
• English language proficiency required.
• Ability to travel for business as required.

Preferred Experience

• Experience developing apparel materials such as synthetics, films, knits, trims, injected materials, or related material technologies.
• Experience working directly with Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers within a global product creation or sourcing environment.
• Experience with material innovation, sustainability initiatives, material consolidation, and supplier capability development.
• Experience working across global Creation Centers and geographically distributed cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with 3D product creation processes and digital material development tools.
• Experience mentoring or providing technical guidance to junior team members and new employees.