Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization: 

To design industry leading executions of Footwear through color, material, and construction.  

Key Responsibilities:  

Partner with footwear product creation team to: 

• Drive newness to inspire and lead franchises to a culturally relevant direction  
• Execute creation of industry leading footwear 
  • Continuously aware of the information needed to design a consumer and brand relevant collection.  Should include all possible sources to gain this information, such as: 
    • Trade fairs, cultural events, and sporting events, athlete insights 
    • Trade publications, general interest press, trend services, fashion and sportswear magazines and websites 
    • Store checks, market visits, and team travel as provided 
    • Relevant forecast and sell-through numbers from our Marketing counterparts 
    • Store checks, market visits, and team travel as provided 
• Collaborate and contribute meaningful seasonal and long-term design direction for their category within the following topics: 
  • Footwear Color 
  • Footwear Materials  
  • Silhouettes  
  • Graphics/Print Direction 
• Providing trend forecasting content relevant to our consumer and brand 
• Providing direction and assisting in developing materials with the Material Team 
• Working with Local and Global counterparts to provide category relative Color and Material direction  
• Supports Team Lead to build content for collaborative stakeholders among Marketing, Product Managers, Designers and between Key Account and Inline  
• Builds top-line range strategy into their product range. This includes but is not limited to: 
  • Support Senior Team Lead by owning holistic category overviews, rollouts, and merchandising strategy for the category 
  • Supports communication content to Footwear, Apparel, and Graphics Teams to align strategy  
  • Support and inform horizontal brand moments and category moments by leading products, Color and Material narratives/executions, and tiered rollout plans in partnership with Design, Marketing, and Development. This is a collaborative effort across disciplines & functions together. 
• Creating 3D concept representation, 3D assets, digital product information for an accurate development and decision-making process

PRODUCT EXECUTION:

Design Footwear Color and Material executions for Key Account ranges with input from Design, Marketing, and Development. This includes but is not limited to: 

• Seasonal prep and research  
• Product design presentations; both physical and digital 
• Exploratory process to reach final solution 
• Color CADs, Material Maps, and Graphic Maps 
• Considers the larger impact of creating merchandized range 
• Works closely with Development to assist in development process & costing; meet development timelines and calendar deadlines per seasonal milestone 
• Travel to connect with account counterparts, participate and contribute to key milestone meetings 
• Assists in communicating inspiration and storytelling to Marketing 

Key Relationships:  

• Footwear Designers 
• Color and Material Designers 
• Product Development 
• Project Marketing Managers 
• Digital Creation Leadership  
• Product Operations and Marketing Operations 
• Factory Development and Virtualization Teams 
• External Creative Resources (agencies, freelancers, developers, etc) 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  

• Highly skilled in Footwear creation software (Adobe Creative Suite, Power Point/Key Note, 3D not required but beneficial)
• Self-motivated, high level of organization skills, ability to deliver on timelines in full 
• Strong visual skills with the ability to create impactful/exciting visuals 
• Understanding of brand and marketplace history, consumer and current positioning 
• Has a strong understanding of color and material trends and the ability to apply them formally onto footwear and relevant products 
• Ability to understand design concepts and think conceptually 
• Ability to create designs that meet category needs and commercial opportunities 
• Ability to design for new initiatives and products with a fresh, innovative perspective 
• Ability to operate in a fast pace, ever changing work environment 
• Works well in a team environment. This position requires employee to engage with many stakeholders, as well as manage various information and relationships 
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and group situations  
• Ability and desire to push themselves, others, and the brand forward. 
• Ability to influence and collaborate with key business partners 
• Experience designing footwear and/or apparel product is a plus 
• 3D skills and knowledge of virtual tools are beneficial but not required

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications: 

• Four-year college or university degree in industrial, graphics, apparel or footwear design or related education experience 
• Practical experience in footwear design, fashion design or any design relevant environment 
• Thorough knowledge of art and design with clear understanding of visual design or any design related environment  
• Three years relevant work experience in product creation environment (project scope, planning, timelines, production/execution of design solution) 
• Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be substituted for degree 
• Passion for adidas and its mission 

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at adidas means championing individual uniqueness and cultivating a culture of belonging in which everyone can create at their best.  We embrace diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and seek to create a workforce that reflects our consumers and communities.​
• adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance, which can be supplemented with employee-paid coverage. Employees are able to enroll in adidas’ 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 12 weeks of paid parental leave. ​
• Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and personal performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years.​
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday. The working location of this position is Portland, Oregon.​
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.