On - Senior Lead – Footwear Design - Zürich

Team for Career Site

Product Design

In short

We are excited to offer the opportunity for a Senior Lead – Pinnacle Performance Footwear Designer within the Lightning vertical of our design team. This is a senior creative leadership role at the forefront of performance innovation, where you will drive the design vision for next-generation pinnacle performance footwear and lay the foundations for the teamsport space.
You will operate in a fast-paced, future-focused environment, guiding the full creative process—from initial concept and athlete insights through to production-ready product execution.

Your mission

– Lead the end-to-end design exploration of pinnacle performance footwear—from ideation and research to final product delivery.
– Develop and mentor future design talent, helping to build and structure a new design team as the category grows.
– Drive the creation of technology-infused, athlete-driven products that push the limits of performance, innovation, and style.
– Create and present design narratives, mock-ups, and visuals that communicate a clear and compelling performance story.
– Work collaboratively with development, engineering, and innovation teams in Zurich and Vietnam to translate creative vision into functional excellence.
– Identify emerging trends, materials, and processes to ensure our pinnacle products remain at the forefront of performance and design innovation.
– Engage deeply with athlete feedback, biomechanics insights, and consumer data to inform future design directions.
– Stay informed about cultural and regional nuances, ensuring product relevance and resonance across global markets.
– Present concepts confidently to executive and cross-functional stakeholders, influencing strategic direction and brand positioning.
– Champion a progressive, curious, and experimental design culture, inspiring new thinking within the wider design organization.

Your story

– Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related field.
– 8+ years of experience in performance or sports footwear design, ideally with exposure to pinnacle or innovation-level projects.
– Proven track record of leading design initiatives that have resulted in new product categories, breakthrough technologies, or performance innovations.
– Strong expertise in 2D and 3D design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Rhino, Blender, or equivalent); knowledge of AI-assisted tools for concept exploration is a plus.
– Deep understanding of performance materials, including textiles, knits, and engineered composites.
– Excellent conceptual, sketching, and prototyping skills with a clear eye for performance-driven aesthetics.
– Confident communicator and inspirational presenter, skilled in aligning creative direction with strategic goals.
– Strategic mindset with organizational and leadership skills to help shape and scale a new design function.
– Highly collaborative, open-minded, and adaptable in a global, cross-functional environment.
– Fluent in English (written and spoken); additional languages are a plus.

Meet the team

You will work in the On Design Studio within an international team, shaping the future of On’s performance product line up. As part of this team, you will collaborate within a multidisciplinary team of developers, product and athlete managers, material and innovation specialists, sport scientists & engineers.