Lead – Footwear Developer (Performance Trail)

Location: Zurich

Apply for this role

Person wearing a green cap sketches shoe pattern templates on paper spread over a green cutting mat with shoe components nearby.

Footwear Product Creation

In short

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.

Your Mission

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.

Two women in athletic clothing sit on a bench with takeaway coffee cups, smiling and chatting after a workout.

Your story

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.

Two women in activewear run outdoors, smiling, surrounded by greenery and other runners.

About the Team

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.

Four people work on laptops around a high table in a glass meeting room, while another person walks by outside holding a drink.

A man in a black t-shirt with his hair tied up is standing and smiling

Ernest

Footwear Development, Ho Chi Minh City

Unlike other brands, we aren't just executioners out here in Vietnam, we give ideas as well. Sometimes they have a new idea in Zurich and we might find a process to make it more efficient and we share that.

Group of people sit and talk at curved concrete benches on a rooftop garden with a city skyline in the background.

What we offer

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.

Build the better you

What to expect

We want to set everyone up for success, so here’s the lowdown on how we hire. Our process is a two-way street – bringing you into our culture, while helping us learn how you think.

Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things.

Before you get started, feel free to consider if you want to work with us. Strange question? Well, we give people a lot of space to navigate their day-to-day and that style isn't for everyone. We want you to be passionate about what you do and be sure this is the right fit. Because when skills and passion combine – it creates that 'Wow' moment.