As a Lead Footwear Developer for Performance Trail, you will own the technical realization and process management of On’s most rugged off-road products. You will manage the entire development lifecycle—from initial concept to on-time production and commercialization—serving as a thought leader who ensures every innovation is grounded in technical reality. This role is for a developer who embodies the athlete spirit, possessing a deep curiosity to engineer industry-leading products for the most demanding environments.

• Process & Timeline Ownership: Own and represent the product development process for the Performance Trail category, ensuring all critical dates and calendar milestones are met through on-time production.

• Technical Stewardship: Act as the technical advisor during briefing and design phases to ensure complex trail concepts are aligned with performance metrics and global manufacturing capabilities.

• Communication Hub: Facilitate technical alignment between Zurich-based teams and Asia-based sourcing partners, acting as a "technical translator" to preserve the performance integrity of the trail category.

• Material & Tooling Expertise: Provide expert recommendations on specialized trail materials, high-traction compounds, and technical tooling to balance functional requirements with pricing targets.

• Validation & Insight: Work hand-in-hand with the testing team and biomechanics experts to validate prototypes, utilizing an athlete and consumer insight mindset to solve complex off-road hurdles.

• Cost & Efficiency Management: Monitor product costs and identify opportunities for construction efficiencies without compromising the technical "soul" of the trail product.

• Innovation Commercialization: Partner closely with the innovation team to successfully bring new trail-specific technologies and "Swiss Engineering" breakthroughs to market.

• Experience: 6+ years of experience in the footwear industry, with a background rooted in high-performance running/trail and technical outdoor complexity.

• Trail Thought Leadership: Recognized for your extensive knowledge of the trail running industry and your ability to translate athlete needs into industry-leading technical solutions.

• Advanced Development Expertise: Proven knowledge in the end-to-end product development process; including prototyping and sampling management.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong ability to connect, lead and influence diverse teams—including design, product marketing, and innovation—across different geographical locations.

• Strategic Judgment: Highly skilled at evaluating technical trade-offs to balance cutting-edge innovation with commercial scalability.

• The Athlete Spirit: You possess a genuine passion for the trails and a relentless drive to build the best fitting, performing, and desirable trail products in the market.

You will join the Zurich-based Footwear Development team, a high-performance collective of engineers, developers, and makers who serve as the technical heart of the brand. In Zurich, our team acts as the primary link between the Consumer, Athlete, Biomechanical Research, Material Science, Design, and Sourcing, ensuring that every innovation is grounded in technical reality before it reaches the athlete.

Zürich

On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an environment designed to give people the tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate. Our distinctive approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, with access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being, so each person is led by purpose.

On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.

• Step One

  It starts with you...

  You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role. We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.

• Step Two

  Interview with a recruiter

  What ignites your spirit? This is where we’ll start getting to know all about you and what makes you tick – and it’s your first chance to get a feel for our culture. Chatting with a member of our talent team, you’ll learn more about On and how we work. We’ll learn about what motivates you and what you could bring to the team.

• Step Three

  Interview with a hiring manager

  Ready to dig into the details? This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum.

• Step Four

  The Case Study

  What's your style? This task will help us understand how you think, face a challenge and give insight into your novel ideas. Designed to give everyone their best shot, your case study is based on something you might typically experience on the job. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got. So express yourself. Be you.

• Step Five

  The Experience Day

  Your first taste of the Oniverse. This is a time to meet some of the people you'll be working closest with. In person or virtually, you'll get a feel for the day-to-day at On and the people who make it happen. You'll chat with a few potential teammates - the conversations will be as equally driven by the role and your experience as by our values. We believe how you do things is just as important as what you do.

• Step Six

  The Result

  Are we a good fit? We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you? No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback.