Nike Seeks Engineering Director to Spearhead Data & AI Innovation
BEAVERTON, OR – Nike is actively recruiting a Director of software Engineering to lead a global team focused on revolutionizing the company’s data, analytics, and intelligence capabilities.This pivotal role will be instrumental in driving Nike’s data enablement strategy, integrating generative AI, and establishing a robust data mesh architecture.The newly appointed Director will report to leadership within Nike’s Data, Analytics & Intelligence (DAI) association, collaborating closely with Technical Product Managers, Principal Engineers, and stakeholders across the business and technology sectors. The primary objective is to deliver scalable and reusable data solutions that empower Nike teams to generate impactful insights and analytics with consistency and efficiency.
This position demands an experienced and inclusive engineering leader who excels at the intersection of data architecture, platform engineering, and product advancement. The Director will oversee the creation of frameworks and services to standardize business metric definition, storage, and publication. A key focus will be the integration of Generative AI into existing analytics workflows, alongside the implementation of a data mesh approach to foster federated data ownership.
Beyond development, the role carries critically important strategic weight, requiring the Director to contribute to Nike’s overall data strategy, ensuring all capabilities are secure, scalable, and aligned with industry best practices and enterprise standards.
Key qualifications for the position include:
A bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, coupled with 10+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 5 years in a leadership capacity.
Demonstrated success in building data-centric frameworks, APIs, and services at scale.
A strong foundation in software engineering principles, with expertise in distributed systems and cloud-native architecture.
hands-on experience with modern data platforms and tools such as Databricks, Snowflake, EMR, Airflow, Kafka, and Spark.
Proficiency in CICD and devops tools, including Jenkins, Terraform, Docker, and Kubernetes.
A solid understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Generative AI, and AI-powered automation.
Remarkable communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to lead through influence and navigate complex challenges.
The ability to assess and articulate the strategic and financial implications of new capabilities, features, and investments.
This hire underscores Nike’s commitment to leveraging data and AI to enhance performance, personalize consumer experiences, and maintain its competitive edge in the global athletic market. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply directly through Nike’s careers portal.
