Senior Lead - Footwear Testing / Senior Leadess - Footwear Testing

Product Testing at On

Product Testing serves as the voice of the athlete and consumer at On. We are responsible for ensuring that every On product meets the highest quality standards while delivering a premium, high-performance experience. By combining scientific rigor with real-world insights, we validate that only the most exceptional products make it to market.

Position: Footwear Testing Senior Lead

As a Footwear Testing Senior Lead, you will be responsible for validating footwear products from development through to market. You will drive excellence and lead your team in the Running category. Working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, you will act as a key partner across Design, Development, Materials, Product Strategy, and Sports Science, ensuring excellence in fit, comfort, durability, and performance.

Your Mission

• Lead a high-performing team of Specialists, fostering a culture of growth and exploration while enhancing existing successful workflows.
• Act as a senior point of contact for internal stakeholders in the Running category, providing guidance and alignment on testing projects.
• Collaborate closely with key stakeholders to identify testing requirements based on product briefs and target consumers, managing end-to-end processes for assigned projects.
• Define and execute rigorous testing strategies across durability, fit, comfort, and performance, overseeing high-complexity testing programs.
• Lead qualitative and quantitative footwear testing, perception studies, and real-world validation to ensure products align with authentic athlete and consumer needs.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships to incorporate consumer insights, scientific expertise, and performance analysis into standardized, evidence-based product evaluations.
• Translate complex testing data into impactful insights and clear reports that facilitate confident decision-making and enhance product excellence throughout the organization.
• Ensure testing timelines are efficient and seamlessly integrated into the fast-paced Product Creation calendars.
• Expand and cultivate a diverse tester network to support project timelines and boost community engagement.
• Work seamlessly with testing systems and databases to uphold accurate and high-quality data integrity.

Your Story

• 8+ years of experience in footwear testing or a closely related role within the footwear industry.
• A strong passion for running culture and performance running footwear.
• Proven leadership experience, with a commitment to building high-performance teams.
• Ability to influence cross-functional team effectiveness through collaboration and advisory roles.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in engaging with cross-functional stakeholders.
• A detail-oriented, creative, and solutions-focused mindset.
• Flexibility to work outside standard hours when necessary.
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint, as well as the ability to adapt to internal databases.
• Expertise in analysis with complex data and analytical methods.
• Fluent in English (written and spoken).

Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.