Manager, Advanced Polymers (Boost)

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.