Lead, Material Capability Engineer (Taichung is preferred)

Become a Part of the NIKE, Inc. Team

NIKE, Inc. does more than outfit the world's best athletes. It is a place to explore potential, push boundaries, and deliver what has never been done before. The company looks for people who can grow, think, dream, and create. Its culture thrives on diversity and imagination. At Nike, it’s about bringing skills and passion to a challenging, constantly evolving game.

Nike’s Product Integrity organization is building scalable color and material quality capabilities that strengthen Tier 2 supplier readiness and execution before quality issues occur.

This role reports to the Director of Color & Materials Manufacturing Quality. As the Lead, Material Quality Capability Engineer for Leather and Synthetic Leather, you will serve as the material-class subject matter expert responsible for designing, developing, and scaling quality capability programs across APAC and Footwear. you will translate deep material and manufacturing expertise into practical capability frameworks, assessment methodologies, inspection protocols, training, and technical tools that strengthen Tier 2 supplier readiness and execution.

You will connect common needs across product engines, establish scalable approaches where appropriate, and ensure capability programs address the specific manufacturing and quality requirements of Leather and Synthetic Leather. You will partner with Supplier Management, Material Development, Manufacturing Engineering, Standards & Governance, Materials Quality Engineering, suppliers, laboratories, and third-party assessment partners to assess, verify, and uplift material quality capability.

Build cross-product engine material quality capability

• Develop and maintain a capability strategy and roadmap for Leather and Synthetic Leather that supports priorities across APAC and Footwear.
• Design scalable capability programs, tools, and technical guidance that can be applied consistently across product engines while addressing relevant regional and material-class needs.
• Translate best-in-class manufacturing practices and Nike quality expectations into clear capability requirements for Tier 2 suppliers and partners.

Design programs, assessments, and enablement tools

• Create and continuously improve accreditation and audit frameworks, supplier capability assessments, inspection protocols, scoring logic, readiness criteria, training, and supporting program documentation.
• Define methods to evaluate quality management systems, technical competency, manufacturing process controls, testing capability, visual inspection practices, data integrity, and continuous-improvement maturity.
• Pilot, validate, refine, and scale programs with Nike stakeholders, suppliers, laboratories, and third-party assessment partners.

Advance Leather and Synthetic Leather capability

• Apply deep Leather expertise across tanning, finishing, grading(SATRA), surface aesthetics, physical performance, and related process controls to strengthen supplier capability programs.
• Apply deep Synthetic Leather expertise across polymer systems, coating, lamination, backing construction, finishing, embossing, and related process controls.
• Identify material-class capability gaps and convert them into structured learning priorities, supplier enablement plans, assessment content, and preventive guidance.

Strengthen supplier readiness and enablement

• Design capability and manufacturing-readiness assessment for new or existing suppliers, manufacturing locations, technologies, and material applications using defined assessment criteria.
• Develop and deliver onboarding, calibration, technical training, train-the-trainer materials, and deployment guidance for Nike teams, Tier 2 suppliers, and external partners.
• Build deployment playbooks, auditor or assessor qualification requirements, and program governance tools that enable consistent and sustainable execution.

Turn quality signals into capability insights

• Use assessment results, audit findings, program data, partner feedback, and relevant quality signals to identify systemic capability gaps and emerging material risks.
• Define program data requirements and measures so capability and assessment results can be compared across suppliers, regions, and product engines.
• Translate insights into program enhancements and focused recommendations for Supplier Management, Product Creation teams, Standards & Governance, and other execution partners.

Evaluate and scale new material quality approaches

• Benchmark external practices and evaluate new quality tools or technologies, including digital and AI-enabled material inspection solutions.
• Recommend where new methods can improve assessment consistency, technical learning, program scalability, or supplier capability visibility.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in materials manufacturing, supplier management, product creation or manufacturing.
• 8+ years of experience in APAC or FW manufacturing, quality engineering, product integrity, supplier quality management, or a closely related field is preferred.
• Hands‑on experience working directly with suppliers and factory partners.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and external manufacturing partners while maintaining clear quality governance and accountability.
• Strong project management and execution discipline with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Experience using production quality data, dashboards, or analytics to improve visibility, support decision-making, and prioritize risk mitigation.
• Demonstrated experience leading supplier quality programs, manufacturing readiness work, or capability deployment across regional or global manufacturing networks.
• Clear communication with escalating risks and driving resolution.
• Ability to travel approximately 10%.