Director, Advanced Concepts

Location Type: Not Specified

 

About ASICS

ASICS was founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka on a single belief: that sport and movement are among the best ways to create a healthy and happy society. The company name is an acronym of the Latin phrase Anima Sana In Corpore Sano – “a Sound Mind in a Sound Body” – the founding philosophy that still guides everything we make. The ASICS Creation Center (ACC) is the Group’s product creation and innovation engine, bridging world-class sport science and the commercial categories that bring it to runners around the world.

The opportunity

The Director, Advanced Concepts is the bridge between sport science and product. Working closely with our Institute of Sports Science (ISS) in America and the Performance Running category, you will help influence the research agenda and turn its findings into a clear, actionable innovation plan. Grounded in the inline business plan, the running marketplace and a deep understanding of the runner, you will set the stage for the future of the ASICS brand in performance running, shaping where existing franchises go next and where new franchises should emerge. You will own the decision on which concepts deserve investment. We are looking for someone who already has a deep understanding of the global running market and remains curious and eager to learn more.

Responsibilities

Partner with ISS America and the Performance Running Category

• Work alongside ongoing research to help translate its findings into a clear, actionable innovation plan with defined priorities.
• Share your team’s working concepts with ISS America to influence what gets studied and to pressure-test concepts against the science.
• Align with ISS America, the Performance Running category and other key stakeholders on the innovation roadmap, so all teams are working in the same direction.
• Use these insights to build concepts that push performance running forward.

Set Concept Direction and Strategy

• Synthesize consumer insight, sport-science research and product-testing results into a clear, decision-ready view of the runner and use it to set concept direction.

• Bring concepts to life through compelling stories, so partners across the business can see the opportunity.

• Stay close to the sport and business of running: the marketplace, competitive landscape, retail dynamics and where the category is heading.

• Set the stage for the future of the ASICS brand in performance running through defining where existing franchises should go next as well as identifying new opportunities.

• Build and manage a portfolio of advanced concepts, each with a clear hypothesis, runner benefit and business case.

• Ground every concept in the ASICS Design Philosophy: athlete testing, research and sustainable innovation.

• Set the concept roadmap across near- and long-term horizons, aligned to the inline plan and ASICS growth strategy.

• Align with Brand & Category Marketing, Corporate & Category Strategy and Digital on target consumer profiles and running priorities that support the OneASICS Vision.

• Socialize ideas early and widely to build alignment and gather honest input, then use that input to judge whether a concept is right for the business.

• Own the decision on which concepts advance and drive a clean handoff into product creation and inline teams at a defined stage gate.

Lead concept projects and the team

• Own the Advanced Concepts project portfolio end-to-end. Set priorities, timelines and delivery milestones, and keep concept work moving from idea to handoff.

• Lead cross-functional concept project teams, directing the contributions of design and development on each project while holding no line-management responsibility for those functions.

• Lead and develop the consumer research and insights capability on the team, setting its direction so concept decisions stay grounded in the runner.

• Set clear success measures for the concept portfolio and the team’s work.

• Be the face of ASICS innovation in performance running: champion concept direction across the business and bring in external partners to support the work.

Who you will work with

You will lead the Advanced Concepts team and work closely with ISS America as your primary research partner. You will collaborate closely with the Performance Running Category, share regularly with other categories (Core Performance Sports, SportStyle, Walking) and also partner with:

• Product line management and merchandising for core running franchises
• Footwear design and development
• Marketing, consumer insights and brand
• Sales, retail and regional teams
• Senior leadership, to align concept direction with business strategy

Supervisory responsibilities

Directly supervises the consumer research and insights staff on the Advanced Concepts team (e.g., the consumer research strategist). Leads cross-functional concept project teams, including design and development partners who are not direct reports, and is accountable for their delivery on concept projects. Reports to the CEO, ASICS Creation Center.

What you bring

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in business, marketing, engineering, design, sport science or a related field.
• 10+ years in performance running or athletic footwear across innovation, product strategy, merchandising or product management (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years leading and developing high-performing teams, including people outside your own area of expertise.
• Deep knowledge of the sport and business of running: the marketplace, competitors, retail dynamics and the running consumer.
• A track record of building or leading a consumer research and insights capability and using it to shape product or concept direction.
• Experience owning an innovation or concept portfolio through go/kill and investment decisions, including building the business cases behind them.
• A track record of setting concept direction that led to new or reinvented products in market, and of handing upstream concepts cleanly into product creation and commercial teams.
• Experience turning sport science and research into a clear innovation strategy.
• Strong understanding of how core franchises are built, managed and evolved over time.
• Experience working with a Japanese or international parent company, and a proven ability to get things done in a highly matrixed organization.

Competencies and attributes

• Ability to inspire a team to think boldly while keeping its work focused on business priorities.
• Sound judgment to tell a good idea from a good idea for the business, and the confidence to pivot when the evidence says so.
• Strong strategic and analytical thinking.
• Comfortable with ambiguity, with the ability to move forward without all the answers.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and build alignment at all levels.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to make future concepts tangible.
• A passion for running and the runner.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience working with a sport science, biomechanics or research lab.
• Experience in an advanced concepts, innovation lab or similar upstream team.
• A personal connection to running, as a runner, coach or member of the running community.

SALARY RANGE: $150,000 – $180,000, Actual base pay will vary based on factors such as but not limited to relevant experience, equitable pay practices and time in position.

Physical demands

This role operates in a professional office and occasional lab and product-testing environment. The employee is regularly required to sit, use a computer, and communicate verbally and in writing. Occasional standing, walking, and lifting of up to 25 pounds (for example, product samples) may be required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Work environment

In general, the following conditions of the work environment are representative of those that an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow differently abled individuals to perform the essential functions of the job within the environment.

This position is based at the ASICS Creation Center and operates in a standard office setting alongside design, development and testing spaces. Given ASICS’s global structure, the role requires comfort working outside a traditional schedule, including frequent evening calls with partners in Asia. Domestic and international travel is required approximately 20% of the time.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employee(s) assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employee(s) assigned to this job. ASICS Creation Center LLC reserves the right at any time, with or without notice, to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job position or assign additional job responsibilities within your general skill set or capabilities. ASICS Creation Center LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

ASICS CCPA Pre-Collection Notice for Job Applications:

We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with ASICS Creation Center LLC, including the following categories of PI: identifiers, personal records, professional or employment information, and inferences drawn from your PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing services and operations related to your potential employment. For additional details or if you have questions, contact us at hrccpa@asics.com.

Equal opportunity employer

ASICS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

California applicant privacy notice

ASICS collects personal information from applicants as part of the recruiting process, including the information in your application and any information you provide during interviews. This information is used solely to evaluate your candidacy and to manage the hiring process and is handled in accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other applicable privacy laws.