Principal Program Manager, Athlete

Job description

**Who We Are:** At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line. Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation. Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success: - ***Runner First*** - *We act in the best interest of the runner* - ***Word is Bond*** - *We do what we say we’ll do* - ***Champion Heart*** - *We give our all in everything we do* - ***There is no “I” in Run*** - *We stay generous with our humanity* - ***Keep Moving*** - *We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!* We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement - because we’re *all* moving towards something. Let’s run there. ### Your Job: The Brooks Athlete Product team exists to lead the brand into the future of performance running across road, track, and trail. Our mission is to deliver a complete, competitive, and innovative Hyperion product ecosystem while shaping the technologies, experiences, and processes that define the next decade of athlete footwear. As Principal Program Manager, Athlete, you will partner with the Senior Director, Innovation to shape our long-term athlete footwear vision and lead the development of the roadmap and strategies to achieve that vision. You will guide how Brooks identifies athlete needs, translates them into breakthrough product concepts, and brings performance enhancing solutions to life. You will play a key role in setting the direction for athlete driven innovation 4–10 years into the future and will influence the global running industry. This role demands a deep understanding of athletes across disciplines, a strong command of product innovation, and the ability to architect a cohesive, future forward strategy for athlete footwear. You will lead and influence cross-functional teams across Product and Marketing to bring our athlete strategy to life. ### Your Responsibilities **Athlete Strategy & Leadership** - Partner with the Senior Director, Footwear Innovation to define a clear, long-range vision for athlete driven innovation that solves complex performance challenges. - Lead the strategic direction for athlete footwear across **road, track, and trail**, ensuring each category reflects the evolving needs, behaviors, and performance demands of elite athletes. - Build and manage a balanced portfolio of athlete projects, from breakthrough technologies to future forward concepts, ensuring representation across all athlete disciplines. - Connect race day and training product architecture to deliver disruptive innovation that elevates athlete performance and strengthens the Hyperion ecosystem. - Represent the athlete perspective on the Future Creation Leads team (FCLs), ensuring cross functional alignment on decisions that shape multi-season athlete strategy. **Strategic Planning & Execution** - Lead the cross-functional Athlete team through bi-annual Footwear Portfolio meetings, aligning with Footwear Management and brand leadership on strategic priorities. - Collaborate with the Senior Director, Footwear Innovation to integrate athlete driven projects into the broader innovation pipeline, shaping the Hyperion line architecture and long-term roadmap. - Serve as lead or key stakeholder on high impact athlete innovation initiatives, research programs, and technology pathways that define the future of performance footwear. - Influence cross functional partners to secure alignment, resources, and adoption of athlete innovation projects across road, track, and trail. **Athlete Product Roadmap & Portfolio Management** - Own the creation, evolution, and communication of the athlete product roadmap across all disciplines, ensuring alignment with medium and long-term business objectives. - Continuously update project timelines and integrate new athlete initiatives into the roadmap in partnership with the PLM Athlete/Innovation team. - Ensure the roadmap reflects a strategic balance of near-term deliverables and long-range innovation bets. **Story Crafting & Cross Functional Influence** - Develop compelling, athlete centered narratives that translate latent needs into powerful briefs and product direction. - Inspire the brand by delivering athlete stories at key milestones, sales meetings, GTM moments, and PR events. - Partner closely with Product Marketing to ensure athlete insights and innovation stories are authentically embedded in go to market plans. - Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Apparel, Run Research, Athletes & Sports marketing to drive head to toe athlete programs. **Collaboration & Culture Building** - Foster a collaborative, exploratory environment where experimentation, creative problem solving, and calculated risk taking thrive. - Work closely with Asia development partners to identify new opportunities with existing and emerging vendors. - Build strong, consistent collaboration across global athlete, innovation, and footwear teams. **Leadership** - Lead the trajectory of athlete footwear at Brooks by inspiring the Athlete PLM team and cross functional partners to push the boundaries of performance innovation. - Champion a culture of curiosity, innovation, and continuous improvement across product teams. - Serve as the internal expert on athlete strategy, coaching teams to deepen their athlete understanding and product needs. - Promote a fail fast, learn fast mindset and encourage crosspollination of ideas across teams and disciplines. ### Your Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, or related field—or equivalent experience. - 10+ years of experience in product management or related discipline. - Demonstrated ability to generate innovative product and process ideas. - Proven ability to lead, influence, and build trust across teams without direct authority. - Strong leadership experience with the ability to manage both long-range initiatives and short-term priorities. - Track record of delivering high-impact, strategic projects. - Expert knowledge of materials, constructions, and biomechanics. - Strong analytical skills, business acumen, and proficiency in Microsoft Office. - Ability to travel up to 30%, including internationally. - Excellent interpersonal, storytelling, and communication skills. - Ability to build productive relationships across diverse teams and cultures. - Curious, open-minded, detail-oriented, and comfortable challenging the status quo. - Strong problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in a fast paced, evolving environment. - Lives and embodies the Brooks values.