Senior Materials Designer

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANIZATION

Through partnership with adidas and YEEZY, the purpose is to bring Ye’s creative vision to life. In collaboration with the entire Product Creation Team, the goal is to innovate and develop against future Collection design ideas for bringing Product to Market. These advanced design ideas and solutions will shape the future look and feel of YEEZY footwear. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Creatively explore product-to-market material designs that bring Ye’s material vision to life.
• Create a motivational team experience facilitated by a team first approach to leadership.
• Design timely seasonal material newness within the Footwear Material Workstream.
• Create material narratives and business strategies across seasonal product rollouts.  
• Be a key voice for material design to the cross-functional team.
• Create technical Material Maps and supporting documents for Collection material design projects.
• Deliver/present Material Map handovers to the cross-functional team.
• Proactively lead and communicate project updates across both existing and new material project tracking tools.
• Increase team and project working efficiencies.
• Collaborate and partner with Material Design and Development team leads.
• Collaborate closely with the Collection Color and Footwear Design team.
• Collaborate closely with the Concept Material Design team.
• Build a strong working relationship with both the Material Development Team Leads and their team. 
• Build a collaborative relationship with Adidas material suppliers.
• International and Domestic travel to work with the sample room team/ factories (as needed)
• Support the Design team when setting up for Collection design Ye review sessions.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS 

• Senior Leadership Team (Design, Development, Marketing)
• Design Team (3D, Color, Materials, Design)
• Cross Functional Team (Marketing, Development, Costing)
• Yeezy Sample Room
• External Creative Partners
• Material Suppliers – Global and Local

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES 

• Highly skilled in creating foam, rubber, and various footwear polymer innovations.
• Holistic understanding across knit, woven, and non-woven material methods of make.
• Strong knowledge of sustainable footwear materials.
• In-depth understanding of the in-line product creation process.
• Ability to create material designs that meet category needs and commercial volume needs.
• Understand technical material details relating to Yeezy Collection Product.
• Experienced in material and footwear factory work travel.
• Ability to lead teams through complex and ambiguous projects while maintaining positivity, productivity, and speed.
• Ability to quickly shift focus when Ye/BU design direction changes
• Ability to collaborate with key business partners to meet project timelines and seasonal milestones.
• Ability to communicate project updates to Yeezy Senior Leadership Team and provide proactive creative problem-solving opportunities
• Strong knowledge and use of Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator)
• Strong presentation and communication skills – digital and physical
• High level of creativity, initiative, maturity, and organization skills
• Ability to work with teammates on the ground and in remote locations
• Must have a Team first mindset
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)

REQUISITE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• 6 - 8 years of relevant work experience in footwear design, fashion design, material 
• sciences/engineering, or similar design related areas.
• 4 year college or university degree in textile design, textile engineering, material science, footwear design, apparel design, and industrial design.
• Thorough knowledge of art, design, and fashion related subject areas. Contemporary and Historical.