Principal, Manufacturing Engineer, India

Job description

**Who You Will Work With** You will collaborate across Product Creation, Innovation, Chemical Engineering, Tooling Engineering, Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Demand & Capacity, and manufacturing partner teams. The role is expected to act as the engineering leader to bridge between product creation, factory execution, capability development, and manufacturing system readiness. **Who We Are Looking For** We are looking for a technically strong footwear manufacturing engineer who can combine hands-on process knowledge with structured engineering methods, pattern making, tooling design, factory execution discipline, and enterprise-level collaboration. The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between the sample room, production floor, technical reviews, and leadership discussions. - Any Bachelor’s degree in Footwear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, or related engineering / technical discipline; advanced technical education is preferred. - 12+ years of experience in footwear manufacturing engineering, pattern making, process engineering, product development, commercialization, or manufacturing capability building. - Experience in footwear manufacturing environments across sample, trial, Pattern Engineering, commercialization, and production environment. - Experience in Project Management and Storytelling. - Strong understanding of footwear construction, bottom tooling, upper engineering, bonding systems, assembly flow, manufacturing methods, materials behavior, and quality-critical process parameters. - Demonstrated ability to diagnose manufacturability risks, convert technical issues into corrective actions, and scale engineering solutions across factory environments. - Experience using data, statistical thinking, root-cause analysis, DoE, FMEA, process capability, control plans, and structured problem-solving methods to improve manufacturing outcomes. - Ability to partner with cross-functional teams and factory leadership to evaluate new technologies, standardize best practices, and improve production readiness. - Strong communication skills in English, with proficiency in MS Office and business intelligence / data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent. - Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, FMEA, process capability, measurement systems, standard work, and factory quality systems. - Experience with automation, modernization, digital manufacturing, manufacturing systems, or advanced tooling is an advantage. - Ability to work across cultures, influence without direct authority, and lead complex technical discussions with factory and enterprise teams. **What You Will Work On** - Provide technical leadership to ensure manufacturing partners meet Nike’s strategic goals, quality expectations, and engineering readiness requirements. - Lead manufacturability reviews for new products, constructions, materials, and manufacturing methods; identify risks early and influence corrective action before scale-up. - Collaborate with Manufacturing Systems Engineering and factory teams to drive global strategic initiatives, pilot new capabilities, and define implementation requirements. - Develop, validate, and standardize engineering best practices on the factory floor, including process parameters, standard work, control plans, and capability checks. - Use data-driven engineering methods to improve process stability, reduce rework / rejects, strengthen the performance, and improve production readiness. - Participate in product tear-down meetings and technical reviews to provide manufacturing feedback on construction, tooling, materials, process sequence, and quality risks. - Drive structured problem solving for complex manufacturing issues, including root-cause analysis, experiment planning, corrective actions, and preventive actions. - Support the scale-up of innovative manufacturing methods and technologies by assessing feasibility, process capability, operator readiness, equipment requirements, and risk controls. - Build future-ready engineering capability within manufacturing teams through coaching, technical standards, best-practice sharing, and hands-on problem solving. - Influence cross-functional decisions by communicating technical trade-offs clearly across product, engineering, sourcing, factory, and leadership stakeholders.