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Senior Director - Distinguished Engineer

Location: Zurich

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Technology

In short

In Technology at On, everything we build fuels our mission to ignite the human spirit through movement. We craft technology that improves with every interaction, enhancing the experience for everyone who moves. Delivering Wow through our platforms, apps and services is a core value. We believe in building solutions that not only function effortlessly but also contribute positively to the world. Our work connects communities and makes movement more enjoyable and accessible for all. Joining the Tech Leadership team at On, you'll find yourself at the heart of a fast-paced, diverse environment. Our ecosystem thrives on collaboration: a confluence of curious minds challenging and learning from one another, always seeking the uncharted. Here, we venture into new territories of technology, continuously refining our approach and embracing challenges head-on. Your role will be pivotal in shaping the next generation of intelligence, learning systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI platforms at On, helping create the foundations that power every part of our technology ecosystem.

Your Mission

Strategic & Visionary Leadership :

Architect and spearhead the engineering vision for On’s core intelligence, learning systems, agent platforms, and cloud infrastructure.
Drive the technical strategy for building a connected, event-driven ecosystem that acts as the central nervous system of the company, enabling real-time intelligence, autonomous decision support, and agentic workflows across the enterprise.
Lead high-level architectural decisions that resonate across the organisation, ensuring our technology choices create a compounding competitive advantage and align with On’s long-term strategic vision.
Articulate a compelling vision for the future of intelligence systems at On, spanning data platforms, knowledge systems, agent ecosystems, cloud architecture, and AI-native ways of operating.
Help define the foundational capabilities required for enterprise AI at scale, including identity, discovery, governance, orchestration, observability, interoperability, and trust.

Execution & Cross-Functional Influence :

Serve as the lead engineer and technical authority for cross-company initiatives, guiding multiple teams to deliver on a unified architectural vision.
Leverage your combined expertise in Machine Learning, Cloud Infrastructure, Distributed Systems, and Software Engineering to bridge the gap between our Brand, Operations, Product, and Technology domains.
Establish and champion a "build the core" philosophy, creating durable platform capabilities that enable hundreds of future AI and software use cases rather than solving them one by one.
Shape the architectural foundations that allow data, models, workflows, applications, and people to operate as a connected intelligence ecosystem.
Advise executives and business leaders on technology strategy, implementation choices, platform investments, and the technical feasibility of our most ambitious AI-driven goals.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement :

Foster a culture of world-class engineering and continuous technical advancement, championing direct feedback, rigorous design, and innovative solutions.
Stay ahead of advancements in AI, agent systems, machine learning infrastructure, distributed systems, cloud platforms, and event-driven architecture, guiding R&D efforts to solve On’s most complex challenges.
Evaluate emerging technologies and industry standards that will shape the future of enterprise intelligence, agent interoperability, and cloud-native systems.
Elevate the technical bar across the engineering organisation, mentoring senior engineers and ensuring our systems are built for scale, resilience, adaptability, and long-term evolution.

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Your story

You are a master builder of high-performance, scalable, resilient systems and platforms, with 10+ years of experience architecting and leading the development of complex software, cloud, data, and infrastructure ecosystems.
Challenges fuel your innovation, and your sharp analytical skills lead to creative yet pragmatic solutions that stand the test of time.
You have a proven track record of leading large-scale, cross-functional engineering initiatives from concept to delivery, demonstrating your ability to drive technical alignment and deliver measurable business impact.
Your background uniquely positions you to bridge Machine Learning, Cloud Infrastructure, Distributed Systems, and Software Engineering, with deep expertise in designing systems that enable intelligence to emerge and operate at scale.
You possess a profound understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture, cloud platforms, modern data systems, and infrastructure design, and have applied them to solve real-world business problems.
You have hands-on experience building or operating modern AI infrastructure, including model platforms, inference systems, vector databases, retrieval architectures, agent frameworks, orchestration layers, or adjacent technologies.
You understand that the future competitive advantage of enterprises will increasingly come from the systems that connect models, data, workflows, and people together.
You are fluent in multiple programming languages and frameworks, but more importantly, you possess exceptional judgement in complex system design and long-term technology strategy.
You thrive on defining and advancing world-class engineering practices and possess a deep understanding of evolutionary architecture, platform thinking, and systems design at scale.
Fluent in English, your ability to articulate complex technical ideas clearly and persuasively allows you to influence teams, executives, and partners across the organisation.

At On, you will help build the foundational intelligence platform that enables the company to evolve from using AI to becoming an AI-native organisation.

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About the Team

As a leading running brand, On’s technology division operates in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and plays a critical role in driving our business success. You will play an active role in shaping and accelerating the maturity of our security posture; by being a pragmatic, trusted, and a collaborative partner to Engineering. Your scope is broad, covering cloud, platform, application, and data.

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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.