Senior Lead Materials Development for Performance in Apparel
As the Senior Lead Materials Development for Performance in Apparel, you will be a pivotal driver of material excellence for our diverse apparel lines within our lifestyle product ranges. Your expertise will significantly influence apparel design, aesthetics, and product quality. You will inspire cross-functional teams with a strategic vision, championing ambitious and sustainable solutions aligned with ON Running’s brand identity.
Your Mission
- Guide, Curate, and Develop a Premium Material Palette: Ensure that material selection enhances the garment's fit, trims, and finishes, aligning with our design and performance identity as the world's most premium sports brand. Continuously feed a pipeline of material concepts for design.
- Manage Concept Stage through Commercialization Handoff: Oversee material development from the initial design brief to product commercialization handoff, adhering to timelines and ensuring clear communication with suppliers.
- Drive Sustainability & Implement Innovation: Collaborate with the Head of Apparel Materials and our innovation and sustainability teams to incorporate new preferred materials and commercially ready innovations into inline products. Identify and onboard new material partners while working with global sourcing to build a robust supplier network.
- Financial Acumen: Manage upfront material pricing and lead times with suppliers, ensuring alignment with project goals and business objectives.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as a key partner to all product creation stakeholders, including Design, Product Management, Development, Testing, and Sales.
Your Story
- Experience: You possess over 10 years of global experience in apparel, material development, or a related industry, with a strong focus on performance apparel products. You can identify materials that enhance the athlete experience and promote ON's mission, “Feel nothing to feel everything.”
- Technical Expertise: You have extensive knowledge of materials, trims, natural and synthetic fiber types, wovens, knits, performance finishes, insulation, and print techniques. You have developed directional material franchises with global suppliers.
- Strategic Vision: With a strong eye for product aesthetics and a deep awareness of industry trends, you think and act strategically regarding ON Running's market positioning.
- Communication: You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, enabling collaboration with internal and external partners globally while presenting complex information effectively. You can deliver dynamic visual material stories that are easily understood by Design and Product Marketing.
- Organizational Skills: Highly attentive to detail, you possess strong project management skills, able to balance creative direction with organization in a fast-paced environment.
- 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 vital responsibility is to meet the needs and demands of our runners and new customers. We research, design, develop, and test numerous ideas, scientifically and aesthetically. Only those products that pass our rigorous testing standards ever reach the market.
What We Offer
At ON, we focus on growth and progress. We provide an environment designed to equip individuals with tools for holistic development—encouraging an active lifestyle, continuous learning, exploration, and innovation. Our unique approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere with access to personal self-care for physical and mental well-being, ensuring that each person is driven by purpose.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
ON is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all recruitment, advancement, and retention decisions are made free of discrimination.