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Lead - Footwear Developer - PAD + Young Movers
Location: Zurich
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In short
As the Lead Developer for PAD (Lifestyle) + Young Movers (Kids), you will be responsible for inline Lifestyle products in our fastest-growing, largest product vertical, alongside specialized development engineered specifically for the young movers in our community.
Honing craft takes time. It requires patience, resilience, and a dedication to the complex integration of footwear construction and systems. In this role, you are an individual contributor operating at the intersection of high-performance design for all-day wear and disciplined Swiss Engineering.
Your Mission
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Commit to the Craft: You will lead the technical development for new silhouettes across both Adult and Kids categories, ensuring that every product meets strict engineering standards for performance, aesthetic, and fit.
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Master Complex Integration: You will serve as the primary technical partner to Design, converting creative dreams into commercial reality without compromising on function.
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Bridge the Generations: You will translate adult performance concepts into kid-specific footwear, understanding the unique biomechanical and durability needs of younger, developing feet.
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Execute the Technical Lifecycle: Manage the end-to-end development process from initial 2D/3D design concepts through tech-packing, prototyping, and final production-ready samples.
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Drive Material & Tooling Innovation: Partner with material sourcing and tooling teams to test, validate, and implement new compounds, textiles, and manufacturing methods.
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Lead Fit & Wear Testing: Oversee rigorous fit and wear testing protocols for both adults and kids, analyzing feedback to iterate and optimize comfort, support, and durability.
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Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Act as the central technical hub between Design, Product Management, Sourcing, and Tier 1 factory partners to ensure timelines and margin targets are met.
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Optimize for Scale: Ensure blueprints and construction methods are optimized for mass production while maintaining the pristine aesthetic integrity of the brand.
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Your story
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The Technical Authority: You bring 7+ years of footwear development experience, with a proven track record of launching highly complex, performance-driven lifestyle or athletic products. Experience in kids' footwear development is a massive plus.
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Resilient Individual Contributor: You have the patience and persistence to navigate the long development road. You take full accountability for the technical lifecycle and thrive when managing independent projects.
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A Problem Solver by Nature: Ingenuity is at your core. You think differently, challenge the status quo, and find elegance in solving the most difficult construction puzzles while maintaining superior performance.
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Global Collaborator: You have extensive experience working directly with overseas commercialization centers and factories, understanding how to communicate technical nuances across cultures.
Your Keys to Success...
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Thrive in Ambiguity: You don't wait for a perfect roadmap. In a fast-scaling environment, parameters change quickly; you view shifting priorities as an opportunity to innovate rather than a roadblock.
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Biased for Action (With Guardrails): You possess a strong sense of urgency. You know when to move fast and trust your gut, and when to pause to ensure Swiss-engineered quality isn't compromised.
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The "No Job Too Small" Mindset: Despite your seniority as a Lead, you are a hands-on builder. You are just as excited to brainstorm high-level platform concepts with Design as you are to roll up your sleeves and fix a tech-pack error.
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Comfortable with Constructive Friction: Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You welcome diverse perspectives, lean into healthy debate with Design and Product management, and use pushback to sharpen the final product.
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Continuous Learner: The footwear landscape—especially in sustainable materials and circularity—is evolving daily. You are naturally curious, constantly scouting new methods, and eager to apply fresh learnings to the PAD and Kids lines.
About the Team
You will join the Zurich-based Footwear Development team, serving as a senior pillar of expertise. 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 Biomechanical Research, Material Science, Design, and Sourcing, ensuring that every innovation is grounded in technical reality before it reaches the athlete.
Our mission is to relentlessly elevate the performance and technical attributes of our footwear. We don't just facilitate product creation; we engineer the "ride." As part of the vertical, you will be surrounded by specialists who are obsessed with creating the best fitting, performing and desirable products in the market.
We pride ourselves on a culture of technical rigor and "Swiss Engineering," where we challenge the status quo to solve the most complex biomechanical hurdles in the industry. Your role within this team is to ensure that as our category expands, our technical standards and the performance "soul" of our footwear remain uncompromised.
About the Team video
Ernest
Footwear Development, Ho Chi Minh City
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.
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.