KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Specify and understand the sport-specific and/or injury-related needs and requirements of the elite athlete for product customization for MTM factory / Sample Shops.
• Gain specific product feedback from the elite athlete. Discuss any product-related issues the athlete/coaches/medical staff may be experiencing.
• Establish data and fact-based relationships to athletes and their environment (management, medical staff, coaches, physiotherapists).
• Serve as key contact to athletes next to Sports Marketing for product related issues (in solving problems on existing products and involving the athlete in the creation of new products) and act as point person for all other internal departments in communication with the athlete.
• Support adidas athletes prior to major sports events (i.e. Olympic Games, World Championships) and ensure they have the best possible product to perform.
• Work with footwear creation teams to develop and test all respective inline products with elite athletes to make use of available data to allow for data driven decisions.
• Stay connected to relevant current and upcoming research, technologies, methods, and industry trends. Build an effective information network.
• Plan and manage athlete data acquisition and analysis activities in close cooperation with other APEX Managers and other functions involved.
• Develop tools and software to evaluate gained feedback on our products during pro-athlete testing and athlete data acquisitions.
• Drive athlete related research projects aligned with Sports Science teams, Engineering teams, and external partners.
• Build and maintain an authentic relationship to both internal and external partners in order to develop data-driven processes for product creation.
• Carry out mechanical testing and data analysis, transferring the results into more precise, faster and automated processes.
• Plan and manage the operational business including the maintenance and analysis of athletes’ data and feedback.
• Store, structure, and analyze athletes’ data and feedback.
• Document and evaluate gained knowledge, act as a resource to provide validated feedback on our products during the relevant sample stages.
• Prepare concept and results-based reports and presentations, communicating to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proactively contribute to establish a cross category learning within the Athlete Product Excellence team.

KNOWLEDGE, CAPABILITIES, AND EXPERIENCE

• Passion for sports in general and in-depth knowledge of the responsible sport categories.
• Knowledge in anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and/or sports medicine (e.g. functional assessment and profiling, sport-specific movements, wear pattern and injuries; treatment specification).
• Knowledge of product creation and development (e.g. Materials, Components, Modifications, Technologies, Assembly).
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, extensive travel during peak periods and regularly visit adidas contracted athletes & teams as needed.
• Ability to work individually, with a high degree of flexibility and collaborative mindset.
• Ability to openly communicate and collaborate with cross-functional teams at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to use scientific tools to analyze athlete data.
• Skills:
• Excellent communication skills required
• Experience in project management
• Strong problem-solving skills
• MS Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel – advanced
• Programming and data analysis skills of advantage
• Language: German – fluent, English - excellent
• Manage Business (Project & Processes)
• Provide a framework for performance
• Result orientation
• Influencing others

QUALIFICATIONS

• Four-year college or university degree in Sports Medicine, Orthopedic/Biomedical Engineering, Physiotherapy, Sports Science, Biomechanics, Sports Engineering, Data Analytics in Sport, or similar studies.
• Three years of relevant experience.
• Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be substituted for degree.
• Strong sports experience/background in respective categories and passion for sport and products.

• Responsible within Athlete Product Excellence (APEX) in the defined area.
• Build and maintain an authentic relationship to adidas athletes to gather relevant product feedback from athletes and their professional and medical environment.
• Enable customized product creation workstreams to create custom made footwear for contracted athletes according to their individual needs.
• Ensure that professional athletes’ product testing and validated feedback is an implemented part of the adidas inline product creation process in order to constantly improve adidas products.