Senior Design Manager, Footwear & Apparel Expression, Nike Basketball Signature Athlete

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We’re looking for an exceptional Senior Design Manager, Footwear and Apparel Expression (Color, Graphics, Materials), who can bring experience, creative problem-solving, and a clear point of view to help shape what’s next for Nike Basketball.

Inspired by the signature athlete, you’ll help define the visual expression of Nike Basketball across footwear and apparel—bringing together sport, style, and performance in a modern, meaningful way. This role requires broad exploration, thoughtful curation, and a clear creative point of view.

The ideal teammate is a visionary design leader with exceptional taste, a refined aesthetic perspective, and a deep commitment to craft. They pursue elevated solutions with a sharp eye for detail, proportion, and storytelling, creating products that resonate with consumers on and off the court. With strong cultural awareness and an understanding of emerging trends, they will shape distinctive expressions that raise the bar for creativity, desirability, and aesthetic excellence.

• Bachelor's degree in Design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training.
• At least 8 years experience in design or related field
• Exceptional knowledge of design, art, and fashion, as well as passion for sport and youth culture
• Ability to translate consumer knowledge and insights into creative solutions and narratives.
• Ability to articulate design intent and strategy
• Expert Photoshop, Illustrator skills
• Experienced with presentation programs: Keynote, PowerPoint, Acrobat, etc.
• Expert knowledge of manufacturing processes and materials
• Must be able to generate a broad range of concepts and solutions for each project
• Ability and passion to lead, coach, collaborate, and onboard Design teammates
• Contribute and align to shared team culture and behaviors
• Catalyst to make connections with other Design groups
• Motivated and hardworking about bringing others along
• Extraordinary teammate, and humble leader
• Collaborator with skill in connecting the dots
• Speaks up with courage for self and the team
• Open-minded, good listener, receptive to candid feedback and diverse points of view
• Being a hooper is not a requirement but being passionate and curious to learn about basketball and the athlete* is.

**TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROLE, YOU MUST PROVIDE A DESIGN PORTFOLIO FOCUSED ON EXPRESSION WORK ON WEARABLE PRODUCT (UPLOAD A PDF OR PROVIDE A URL AND PASSWORD IF APPLICABLE)

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

As a Senior Design Manager in Expression (Color Materials and Graphics) you will be working hand in hand with a large project team of different professionals (engineers, researchers, scientists, marketing, testing, sustainability, materials, costing, etc.), collaborate within the design community (concept, footwear, apparel designers), and mentor other designers. This role reports directly to the Senior Creative Director. You will manage a Lead Expression Designer.

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

Is that you? If so, you will be creating concepts and developments on a range of color, materials, graphic designs for the basketball signature athlete. You will work on elevating new techniques and narratives to influence new product expressions.

Your goal is to aim for product excellence by partnering with key stakeholders cross-functionally on the product creations process, and help bring the vision for the future of Nike Basketball products to life.

You will unleash creativity with a focus on industry leading design as well as leveraging consumer insights to inform our creative response. The daily responsibilities of this role are wide-ranging, ambitious, and dynamic.

In addition to individual project work, the Senior Design Manager will also collaborate and help build the design direction with the Senior Creative Director. As a top-tier designer with deep knowledge and experience in footwear, you will be seen as a team leader and mentor for other designers.

We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.