CONTEXT AND PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Senior Manager, Product Development Color & Material leads the global execution of color, material (C&M) development across footwear categories. This role is responsible for translating design and brand intent into scalable, manufacturable, and premium material executions, ensuring innovation, quality, cost targets, and speed-to-market are achieved.

 

Acting as a critical bridge between Design, Materials Innovation, Product Merchandising, Sourcing, and Manufacturing, this role sets standards, drives process excellence, and leads teams across HQ Paris and Asia to deliver consumer-right color and material solutions at scale.

 

MAIN REPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & Team Management

·       Lead, inspire, and develop global Color & Material Development team across HQ and Asia.

·       Set clear priorities, ways of working, and accountability across regions and categories.

·       Coach and mentor senior developers, building strong succession and capability pipelines.

·       Foster a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Product Development & Innovation

·       Own end-to-end color and material development from design handoff through production approval.

·       Ensure feasibility, manufacturability, durability, and performance meet brand and consumer expectations.

·       Partner with Design and Materials teams to push innovation in materials, finishes, dyes, and sustainable solutions.

·       Translate creative vision into scalable executions without compromising quality or intent.

·       Drive seasonal material strategies aligned to category, price point, and margin targets.

 

Operational Excellence

·       Partner with Sourcing and Manufacturing to optimize cost, lead time, quality, and material availability.

·       Establish and monitor KPIs across development timelines, material adoption, cost targets, and quality performance.

·       Lead seasonal development calendars and manage risk across multiple product pipelines.

·       Proactively troubleshoot material, color, or production challenges and implement scalable solutions.

 

Cross-Functional Collaboration

·       Act as a key liaison between Design, Product Merch, CSR, Quality, and Supply Chain.

·       Influence long-term material roadmaps and platform strategies with leadership and innovation teams.

·       Ensure sustainability goals are embedded into material and color development decisions.

·       Partner with leadership on strategic planning and future capability building.

 

·       Extensive experience in footwear color and material development, with proven people leadership experience.

·       Deep technical knowledge of materials, finishes, color application, dyeing, and manufacturing processes.

·       Proven experience managing cross-regional teams with direct exposure to Asian manufacturing hubs.

·       Strong track record of delivering premium, innovative footwear at scale.

·       Strong project and calendar management skills in fast-paced, consumer-driven environments.

·       Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-cultural collaboration skills.

·       Strong business acumen with ability to balance creativity, cost, and scalability.

Na Lacoste, estamos comprometidos com o fazer da igualdade de oportunidades uma realidade. Herdada da nossa visão única do fashion-sport, a igualdade de oportunidades impulsiona-nos e o nosso processo de recrutamento está alinhado com este compromisso, focando-se em competências e abraçando todo o tipo de talentos. Temos o compromisso de promover um ambiente diverso e inclusivo, onde a elegância vai além do estilo e cada um de nós tem a oportunidade de realizar o seu maior potencial.