Who We Are:
At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.
Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.
Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:
· 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!
We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.
Your Job:
The purpose of the Future of Manufacturing (“FOM”) team is to diversify and automate our source base in order to mitigate risk, increase capacity, drive quality, improve environmental impacts, reduce total landed cost, improve service and deliver growth closer to our consumer.
As a Chemical Engineer II in Future of Manufacturing, you will play a key role on the Footwear Sourcing Team responsible for driving execution of complex chemical compounding projects through all phases of the Innovation Phase Gate process through to Production. In your role, you may act as a project lead with a local team or as the key advisor for other innovation and sourcing leaders on more complex projects. Your primary focus will be on factory and vendor partnerships and seamless technology transfers from the innovation team to Inline Development and Commercialization. You will work with cross-functional and global innovation teams to research and develop new technologies and explore new materials, processes, validation techniques, and construction methods to ensure the cutting-edge footwear solutions are manufacturable at a mass scale creating product runners will love, with the lowest environmental impact possible. You will be a key part of the Footwear Innovation and Commercialization process, including identifying opportunities for improvement and driving change. You will be responsible for communicating ideas, concepts, and project status to managers and the Innovation Lead Triad (Product Design, Product Development and Product Line Management).
Your Responsibilities:
- Execute chemical/compound/technology developments by delivering insights into mass manufacturability in bottom unit (outsole/midsole) performance for a portfolio of projects.
- Run assigned research and development programs from concept through exploration, development, testing, validation, scaling plans, and confirmation of new materials technologies.
- Ensure product performance integrity by working directly with Product Validation teams in the U.S. to determine testing needs/criteria, explore new test methods that relate to runner experience, understand results and make decisions based on learnings.
- Identify and partner with materials vendors, factories, and the Sourcing team to discover and advance new manufacturing techniques which enhance the performance, sustainability, cost and quality of product.
- Partner with Sustainability teams to discover new materials and manufacturing processes that meet and exceed brand goals.
- Collaborate with Technology Integration and Sourcing Chemical teams to manage scaling and proliferation of new chemical compounds.
- Ensure product quality by collaborating with Tooling Engineering and Quality Assessment teams at all stages of the creation process.
- Build team knowledge for how multiple materials interact in footwear bottoms along with midsole design geometries.
- Participate in development trips as needed to work with manufacturers and suppliers on existing and current development projects.
- Stay informed about vendor capabilities and performance, factory relationships, quality issues, materials pricing and lead times.
- Keep abreast of market trends, new technologies and consumer needs to ensure that products incorporate the functional needs of our consumers’ demand.
- Lead project management of multiple individual component projects from Brief Phase through Design, Development, and delivery to In-line, Commercialization, or other Innovation teams.
- Execute projects according to project critical dates that lead to on–time delivery of project goals.
- Effectively communicate with Factory and Asia Development teams to share product expectations and product details that lead to on-time delivery of samples.
- Ensure good communication between core innovation team members, subject matter experts, external partners and leadership.
- Initiate and lead meetings with project teams during various phases of development to review, evaluate, update and ultimately drive the decision-making process that leads to on–time project delivery
Qualifications:
- Bachelors’ degree in in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Process Engineering or other applicable technical degree; may be substituted with relevant experience.
- 5+ successful years’ experience leading the development of high-performance materials and compounds for technical running footwear.
- Proven leadership in technical running footwear material development, manufacturing processes, project management, and costing
- Must be optimistic that a solution to difficult challenges can be found, with the perseverance to keep investigating options until it is.
- Curious and open minded; always open for a challenge, inventive, and seeking creative solutions. With the ability to challenge the status quo – always looking at improving our products and processes while also displaying a willingness to dive into the details.
- Ability to work in new arenas of footwear material development where specific direction and solution path is unclear at the start.
- Proven ability to drive a decision in a collaborative, cross-functional group without command/control to meet strategic objectives.
- Demonstrated ability to develop productive relationships with individuals and teams that are made up of diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds resulting in effective working relationships across the company.
- High level of independent work ethic and ability with the instinct to know when to reach out for support.
- Keen attention to detail in planning, organization and execution of tasks. Willingness to dive into the details to better understand the “why.”
- Early ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our customers, our partners, our products or other departments’ operations and/or morale; “connecting the dots.”
- Strong computer skills including experience with Illustrator, Smartsheets, and MS Office software. Flex PLM knowledge is a bonus.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in English that inspire and build trust resulting in effective working relationships across the company.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
- Passionate participation in Brooks’ sports activities is a plus, overridden by the ability to understand and empathize with the runner in order to develop loyal, engaging relationships with our customers and the Brooks community.
- Embraces and lives the Brooks values!
At Brooks, we celebrate diversity & equity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment, and encourage people of all backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills to apply. Brooks is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, two-spirit identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), honorable discharge or military status, protected citizen status, actual or perceived victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, HIV or Hepatitis C infection, political ideology, use of a trained guide dog by a person with a disability, or on any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, or any other non-merit based factors.
