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Product Creation Academy - Product Design

Location: Zurich

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Product Operations

In short

Are you a visionary designer ready to bridge the gap between imagination and high-performance product? Our Product Academy program is an immersive, 2-year rotational program designed to cultivate the next generation of creative talent at On. The journey is designed to develop you into a true functional expert with the potential to grow in our dynamic organization. You will embark on a specialized learning journey, with rotations designed to build depth in product Design. You will journey from the conceptual sketch to the final product on the shelf. You will rotate through the core pillars of our design organization, gaining a holistic, 360-degree view of what it takes to build world-class, disruptive sportswear. Your two-year path is structured to build your expertise across our ecosystem:

Rotation 1: Apparel & Accessories Design (6 Months) Master the foundations of On’s design language. You will collaborate with our Apparel team to translate consumer insights into functional, aesthetic, and performance-driven collections.
Rotation 2: Footwear Design (6 Months) Pivot to the core of our business. You will dive into the technical complexities of footwear design, learning how to balance biomechanics, innovation, and our signature aesthetic.
Rotation 3: Production & Development Insights (5 Months) Theory meets reality. You will travel to Vietnam to work directly with our development teams. You will witness firsthand how your designs are industrialized, solved for manufacturing, and brought to life in the factory.
Rotation 4: Tailored Specialization (7 Months) The final rotation is shaped through a balance of your performance and interests, alongside the needs of the business. Based on this, you will deep-dive into a specialised area such as Innovation Design, Color & Material, Visual Exploration, or Sustainability.

Start Date: September 1st, 2026.

Your Mission

Collaborative Creation: Work closely with cross-functional partners in Product Development, Material Science, and Product Management to ensure design integrity from inception to mass production.
The Design Lifecycle: Engage in the full end-to-end design process: research, ideation, 3D modeling/sketching, fitting, and finalization.
Global Perspective: Act as a conduit between the Design Studio and our global manufacturing partners, sharing feedback loops and finding solutions to complex technical challenges.
Market Intelligence: Stay at the forefront of the industry by identifying newness in sports, fashion, and technology, translating these findings into actionable concepts for our collections.

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Your story

Background: You hold a Master’s degree in Fashion Design, Industrial Design, Footwear Design, or a closely related creative field.
The Portfolio: You have a compelling portfolio that demonstrates a mastery of form, color, silhouette, and a deep understanding of technical garment or product construction.
Cross-Disciplinary Mindset: You don’t see barriers between categories; you see opportunities for innovation. Whether your primary passion is footwear or apparel, you are genuinely excited to master both. You are a "product creator first," meaning you are eager to challenge your comfort zone, apply textile knowledge to performance footwear, or use biomechanical insights to inform apparel. You are fully committed to diving deep into every rotation, regardless of the category, to become a truly versatile designer.
Technical Toolkit: You are proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign). Proficiency in 3D design software (e.g., CLO3D, Rhino, Gravity Sketch) is highly valued. The "On" Mindset: You possess an entrepreneurial spirit. You are as comfortable with a messy, conceptual brainstorm as you are with the precision required for technical specs and critical timelines.
Communication: You have the ability to articulate your creative vision to designers and non-designers alike, using mood boards, sketches, and prototypes to tell a story.
Language: You are fluent in English (written and spoken).
Curiosity: You are naturally inquisitive about culture, arts, architecture, and technology, and you are constantly looking for ways to apply these influe

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About the Team

You will be based in the heart of our vibrant and diverse Global Design Studio in Zurich – the creative engine responsible for all of On’s disruptive product designs. The studio encompasses footwear, apparel and accessories design, color and material, innovation design and sustainability. While our teams are structured into verticals to cater to the unique needs of different communities, we operate as a deeply connected ecosystem. Throughout your rotations, you will collaborate with a multitude of multidisciplinary teams across the entire product organization, from innovation and development to color and material. In close collaboration with Innovation and Product Creation, our team ensures the holistic conception and development of every product. By leveraging cross-functional expertise and diverse design backgrounds, we ensure that every innovation, silhouette, and detail meets the highest standards of quality and performance.

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Dennis

Specialist, Apparel Product Manager

We’re at the heart of the action, helping out different people and teams across R&D and the wider business every day. There’s a learning curve, sure, but the variety of projects and topics we cover is unmatched.

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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.