Senior Lead - Sports Engineer

In short

We are looking for a visionary and hands-on Senior Lead of Sports Engineering to drive the future of computer-aided engineering at On. In this role, you will combine deep expertise in simulation with a strategic mindset to lead cutting-edge projects. You’ll work closely with the innovation teams, especially with the design, development, and material science teams to translate scientific insights into groundbreaking product innovations, pushing the boundaries of athletic performance.

Your mission

- Safeguard consistency, performance, and steady innovation of the company's proprietary bottom unit technologies across the performance product portfolio.
- Use interdisciplinary engineering know-how to create new concepts, break performance boundaries, and unleash new running experiences.
- Move beyond physical prototyping by creating high-fidelity Finite Element Models that simulate the complex interaction between the human foot, the footwear, and the surface.
- Use physics-based insights to optimize athletic performance, enhance the running experience, and accelerate the product-to-market timeline.
- Support cross-functionally (interpreting innovation as a horizontal approach) and provide engineering expertise throughout the entire product lifecycle, from ideation to market launch.

Your story

- 10+ years of footwear-specific and proven experience with footwear innovation projects.
- Proven experience leading large scale projects in agile environments
- Deep expertise running non-linear FEA (explicit/implicit) as well as creating digital twins.
- Good understanding of traditional manufacturing processes in high-performance footwear.
- Deep understanding of polymer science and compound mechanics to develop digital material cards for hyperelastic foams, rubbers, and viscoelastic polymers using experimental test data.
- Mastery in Radioss/Abaqus/Hypermesh
- Proficiency in NX/Solidworks/Rhino
- Ability to script, automate simulation workflows
- Integrate machine learning in predictive modeling
- Ability to work independently under a deadline on several projects simultaneously requiring both innovative ideas and engineering problem-solving.
- Must be able to thrive in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent communication skills
- Availability to travel up to 15% of the time.

Meet the team

The Innovation team is responsible for On’s future products, out-of-the-box thinking and athlete-informed technology that differentiates On’s products in the market. Within the Innovation team you will join the Sports Engineering team which is focused on computer aided engineering and concept engineering around our performance footwear. You will have the opportunity to be part of an agile and interdisciplinary department of engineers, scientists and designers. We foster a fast-paced environment with direct decision making and the freedom to design projects and processes.

What we offer

On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an environment designed to give people the tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate. Our distinctive approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, with access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being, so each person is led by purpose.

On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.