Manager, Advanced Polymers (Boost) at Adidas in Location not listed

Purpose

• A key player in Product Development & Sourcing in driving to be the Most Agile, Most Competitive, Most Digitalized & Cleanest Supply Base in the industry.

• Drive engineering & manufacturing innovations on both process and product level from concept validation to full deployment to create overall industrial competitiveness.
• Take priority action as a consultant pool of technical experts guiding to a world-class supply of foams, rubber, plastics, adhesives, ink/paint, coloration, textiles and other polymer compounds and their manufacturing processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Understand IP (Intellectual Property) landscape.
• Run individual project team-based collaboration for engineering & manufacturing innovation product concepts and ingredients from validation to full deployment via technical expertise and action throughout the readiness levels, gate 1 & 2 meetings, and scalability for projects and phases assigned to.
• Identify challenges & opportunities during the innovation readiness level stages and follow up the workstreams needed while maintaining an emphasis on performance, efficiency, cost and sustainability benefits.
• Receive seasonal compound requests from product creation teams and guide supply partner counterparts to experiment, formulate, test and effectively transition from development to production to satisfy those needs.
• Maintain Material Lifecycle Management system for bottom material creation and management (clean ups).
• Give technical consultant feedback to Ops/Materials teams for new supplier onboarding, Costing and Quality.
• Ensure all sourcing operations and practices fully comply with adidas’ Responsible Sourcing & Purchasing Policy, adidas standards and legal requirements, while managing the relevant processes internally and externally.
• Role model adidas values and behaviours and foster a culture of Diversity Equity & Inclusion that strives for an inclusive workplace.

Key Relationships

• Global Sourcing: costing, materials operations, sourcing operations, sustainability sourcing, engineering and manufacturing innovation team
• Headquarter innovation, innovation management and Product Development teams.
• External stakeholders: Sourcing Suppliers T1 and T2

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of polymer chemistry, and other chemical products including formulations, processing, machinery, and physical testing.in the field of “Solid”, “Liquid”, and/or “Gas” specialties:

• “Solid”: rubber, injected plastic components, textiles
• “Liquid”: ink/paint, textile coloration dyes/finishing chemicals, adhesives and primers
• “Gas”: Chemical Foams (EVA, PU) and physical foams (SCF, beads)

• Strong analytical skills for problem solving and for creation, planning and delivering of project work.
• Ability to explain highly technical concepts to a non-technical audience.
• Constantly challenging the status quo.
• Basic understanding of costing principles.
• Good influencing, interpersonal, presentation and communication skills.
• Fluent in English and Chinese (written and spoken).
• Strong Microsoft office and AI skills.

Requisite Education and Experience

• University Degree in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Textile Engineering or related engineering areas.
• Minimum 3+ years of relevant experience.