In Short
At On, innovation, performance, and sustainability go hand in hand. It’s in the creation process where groundbreaking ideas meet real-world impact. As the Senior Lead for Sustainability - Footwear Creation, you will transform sustainability vision into scalable reality. Operating at the intersection of Footwear Development, Engineering, Materials, and Testing, your role is to ensure that every product decision drives us closer to a lower-impact, higher-quality future.
You will serve as the change leader and trusted advisor for sustainable creation, providing the structure, expertise, and insights that empower teams to make timely, informed decisions. Additionally, you will collaborate closely with our Sustainability Design, Strategy, and Innovation Management leaders to bridge the gap between concept, creation, and scale, shaping how sustainability integrates into On’s entire footwear ecosystem.
Your Mission
- Translate sustainability from concept to scale, guiding how sustainability ambitions are realized in day-to-day creation activities.
- Define and implement frameworks, tools, and metrics that help embed sustainability within Development, Engineering, Materials, and Testing.
- Act as a thought partner, assisting teams in data interpretation, LCA deconstruction, and informed decision-making regarding materials, processes, and product construction.
- Provide clarity, structure, and alignment across functions, ensuring consistent application of sustainability principles throughout the creation process.
- Anticipate dependencies and translate complex goals into practical roadmaps that balance innovation, performance, cost, and manufacturability.
- Communicate progress through clear storytelling, connecting data to meaningful impact across product lines and teams.
Drive Sustainable Creation and Material Integration
- Lead the scale-up of key initiatives such as dope dye and low-impact dyeing solutions across core footwear franchises.
- Integrate sustainability into creation workflows, from material selection and component engineering to prototyping and testing.
- Partner with Sourcing to build supplier readiness and facilitate successful transfers at the commercialization level.
- Collaborate with Testing to validate product durability, quality, and lifespan, ensuring sustainability choices support performance and longevity.
- Work alongside Materials Leadership to evolve the footwear material toolbox, accelerating the adoption of preferred and low-impact materials while maintaining On’s premium quality standards.
- Track and report on creation-centric KPIs, contributing to On’s Impact Progress Report.
Enable Teams and Lead Change
- Serve as a change catalyst, encouraging teams to embrace sustainability as a driver of innovation and quality.
- Deliver training and tools that empower creation teams to make sustainability-led decisions confidently.
- Offer expert guidance on LCA interpretation, material trade-offs, and sustainable decision-making.
- Foster collaboration between the Zurich Lab and VN creation hubs to ensure consistent adoption of sustainability practices.
- Influence leaders and peers to embed sustainability into planning and success metrics across Product Creation.
Your Story
- 8+ years of progressive experience within the apparel or footwear industry, facing similar production challenges.
- Educational background in material or environmental science.
- A proven operator who excels at setting targets, meeting deadlines, and translating complex strategy into structured execution.
- Understanding of the complete journey from concept to manufacturable product, with experience in footwear product creation.
- Motivated by practical challenges, aligning people, processes, and priorities to achieve measurable progress.
- Ability to balance sustainability with performance, aesthetics, quality, cost, scale, and manufacturability.
- A project-management mindset that turns ambition into actionable roadmaps.
- Comfortable in fast-paced, cross-functional environments where precision and accountability matter.
- A trusted partner and change enabler, simplifying complexity, providing clarity, and using data and storytelling to boost decision-making confidence.
- Visionary ambition coupled with operational discipline, driven by a passion for transforming ideas into sustainable footwear solutions.
About the Team
We are a small team with significant responsibilities. In our Footwear Materials team, we execute the sustainability strategy for the entire company through our footwear materials, helping to shape the future of our organization. Our work encompasses research, strategy development, project implementation, and product innovation, all with a focus on sustainable materials and footwear.
A key objective of our team is to turn strategic material sustainability priorities into tangible realities, collaborating effectively across departments. As the Senior Lead, you will play a vital role in leading and influencing our current team while fostering collaboration across our global footwear creation team.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.