Job Overview
As the Material Quality, Testing, and Color Lead for Apparel and Accessories, you will play a pivotal role in establishing global quality standards, developing and scaling new processes, and managing multi-team contributions to ensure exceptional material quality, outstanding color achievability, and peak performance across our entire A&A product range.
Utilizing your technical knowledge and analytical skills, you will facilitate cross-functional communication in quality, color, and systems discussions. The Color and Quality teams will rely on your leadership to drive progress, demonstrate technical acuity, and support their professional growth. You will proactively deliver material quality and color expertise, demonstrating a precise ambition for detail-driven problem-solving and executing product integrity strategies in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. You will report directly to the Head of Materials for A&A and collaborate closely with Material Development, Product Quality, Material Sourcing, Product Compliance, as well as material vendors and product factories worldwide.
Your Mission
- Maintain complete ownership of the internal quality standards for Apparel and Accessories concerning materials, trims, and color.
- Oversee the roll-out of updated standards and requirements for internal stakeholders and external partners (T2/T1/third-party labs).
- Manage the Material Color Team responsible for the Lab Dipping process, drive the creation of new color processes, and redistribute team workloads based on business priorities, while ensuring the enforcement of Color guidelines with external partners.
- Act as the key contact for system creation, updates, and alignments to support the integration of quality, color, and related data within the broader product creation technology ecosystem.
- Ensure all prospective materials are tested promptly to support the end-to-end material approval process.
- Create, plan, and execute Tech Branding strategies based on business needs dictated by the Product Strategy and Product Management teams.
- Lead material-level quality initiatives that yield significant and lasting improvements at the product level.
- Conduct regular touchpoints with Compliance, Returns, and Quality Teams to evaluate the integrity of past, present, and future products.
- Allocate and manage the budget and resources necessary for all development-round material, trim, and color testing.
- Drive the collection, interpretation, and communication of all material testing data (3rd party, T2, and Internal).
- Maximize information availability and optimize the translation of product range and material specifications into a seasonal testing plan.
- Collaborate with product creation teams, sourcing offices, and suppliers to identify and mitigate material quality risks before production.
- Work with sourcing offices to resolve bulk material quality issues effectively.
- Serve as an ambassador to standards organizations (ISO/ASTM/AATCC) to align our testing methodologies with international norms and ensure representation and influence within these communities.
Your Story
- Experience: You have 10+ years of experience in materials quality, materials development, or textile production.
- Technical Expertise: You possess extensive knowledge of textile fibers and production processes (including spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and finishing), along with a strong understanding of standard test methods for quality testing. Experience with trims and hard goods is a plus.
- Analytical Mindset: You can extract meaning from large datasets and identify patterns to determine the best actions for achieving premium quality.
- Communication: You have exceptional verbal and written communication skills to collaborate effectively with internal and external partners globally, presenting complex information to audiences with varying technical backgrounds.
- Organizational Skills: You are detail-oriented, capable of managing and executing multiple short-term and long-term projects simultaneously.
- Global Exposure: Experience with global material sourcing and development, including travel to key manufacturing hubs, trade fairs, and global sourcing offices, is essential.
Meet the Team
We are responsible for creating innovative products for On. Our mission is to meet the needs and demands of runners and new customers alike. We research, design, develop, and test a multitude of ideas, both scientifically and aesthetically. Only products that meet our rigorous testing standards make it to market.
Application Process
Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.