Nike’s Latest Job Opening Hints at More Pre-Orders for Sneakers

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Quick Facts

  • Nike just opened a new job position on LinkedIn to help manage pre-orders
  • Pre-order program managers will be responsible for driving "end-to-end readiness and coordinated execution" for pre-orders
  • This hints that Nike is expanding its use of pre-orders

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Nike Expanding Pre-Orders

In the world of sneakers, most news comes from social media posts, brand press releases, or blogs such as this one. It’s not very often that news springs from LinkedIn, but that’s the case today. Nike just listed a new opening via LinkedIn for a lead program manager for energy pre-orders, hinting that the company is expanding its pre-order offerings.

Nike only recently began to offer pre-orders for in-line products, but in the past, we’ve seen The Swoosh offer reservations for kicks with the now-defunct RTFKT web3 program. In September 2024, Nike’s .SWOOSH program offered pre-orders for its Air Max 1 Low Polygon collab, and in April 2025, did the same for the GoldenEye 007-inspired Air Max 1.

SNKRS Reserve Screen for the Nike GT Future Swooshman
SNKRS Reserve Screen for the Nike GT Future Swooshman

Following this, the .SWOOSH program helped with a pre-order for the Nike GT Future Fire, limiting the pair to just 300 units at the NY vs NY basketball tournament in August 2025. A few weeks later, Nike formally introduced its own pre-order system with Nike SNKRS Reserve.

The first SNKRS Reserve was for the Kobe 3 Protro Christmas, which went up for pre-order on August 24, 2025, shipped pairs by December 24, 2025, and more followed in the first few months of 2026. So far this year, SNKRS Reserve drops have been used for the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Nike Destroyer Jacket, the .SWOOSH GT Future Swooshman, the Nike Kobe Dunk Low Lower Merion Away, and the latest .SWOOSH ReactX Rejuven8 Slide.

Now that Nike is hiring for a lead program manager for energy pre-orders (energy, in simple terms, basically refers to collabs and high-end products with demand), we may begin to see this SNKRS Reserve drop used more often. Online rhetoric around the drop method has been positive, as unlike other brands like Aimé Leon Dore, which often makes consumers wait upwards of 9 months for products, Nike is shipping products within 3 to 4 months.

The listing for this new opening at Nike is only a few days old, so if you think you’ve got the experience to usher in the next generation of pre-order products for The Swoosh, check out the LinkedIn page here. In the meantime, download the Sole Retriever mobile app for updates on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.

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Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy attending concerts, catching the latest movies, and trying new food. For tips, reviews, or any shoes in a size 13, email nick@soleretriever.com