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Director of Human Performance Laboratory, Busan Korea
‘To Bring the Enjoyment of Sports to All’
Descente LTD is establishing an Apparel R&D center in Japan and a Footwear R&D center in Korea. Descente is determined to improve the competitiveness of its products and to become a global leader in athletic footwear. The Footwear R&D Center is under construction in Busan, Korea. The state of the art facility opened its doors in October 2018. It will feature human performance, consumer research, product testing and material laboratories, design studio, product sample room, a 50-meter indoor track and an outdoor track.
The Footwear R&D Center aims at delivering game changing innovation through resolved world class research, development and design. If you value Creativity, Challenge, Integrity and Harmony, you are invited to apply to lead our Human Performance Laboratory (HPL)
Mission of the HPL
To conduct the research necessary to create technically superior athletic footwear. Research knowledge and understanding of the human-footwear-ground interactions will translate into innovative performance footwear while fostering safety, comfort and enjoyment of sports. The HPL research will focus primarily on the biomechanics, physiology and ergonomics of sports people and athletic footwear.
Main Responsibilities
Your research organization will comprise scientists from the fields of human biomechanics, ergonomics and exercise physiology. You will champion a working environment, implement processes and develop structures that are conducive to individual and team performance. You will partner closely with members of the Advanced Innovation Team to formulate Descente footwear innovation agenda. You will lead your team, possibly including external research groups, and manage the execution of a research program that supports the footwear innovation agenda from ideation to finished product. The results of the HPL coupled with those from the Consumer Research (CRL) and Material Testing Laboratories (MTL) will allow for a holistic assessment of performance, comfort and safety that will drive decision making throughout the innovation cycle. You will set the research priorities, create learning opportunities and assess the performance of HPL staff. In that role, you will also insure all projects meet high scientific and ethical standards. The later will require that you establish a process by which all experimental protocols including data handling are approved by an independent Institutional Review Board. In collaboration with Legal, CRL and MTL leaders, you will produce the scientific material that will support product marketing statements and claims. You will also be an active member, a strong contributor to the Footwear R&D Center leadership team.
Qualifications
· Hold a doctoral degree in biomechanics, bioengineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 7-year experience conducting human locomotion and footwear research. Prior footwear industry experience is a plus.
· Strong understanding of the research scientific process from project experimental design to communication of research findings at scientific meetings.
· Demonstrated familiarity with the research tools used for biomechanical, physiological and ergonomics study of human performance and footwear.
· History of leading “outstanding” research programs/teams involving people from different scientific fields and background.
· Minimum 5-year experience managing a diverse team of researchers and support personnel from goal setting through coaching to end of year performance evaluation.
· Have experience at teaching and developing team members.
· Demonstrated ability to collaborate with people across different disciplines and to work around obstacles.
· Proven ability at juggling multiple priorities, managing expectations and delivering results in a timely manner.
· Previous experience at managing the budget for a research team/program.
· Strong PR skills to represent the HPL, to collaborate with internal/external groups and to communicate with the media.
· Strong passion for sports.
To apply, please send your application letter and resume (CV) to recruit@descente.co.kr. For more information about this position, please contact Mario Lafortune at Mlafortune99@gmail.com.