Senior Specialist - Apparel Developer

As a Senior Apparel Developer at On, you will oversee the development of advanced performance apparel, driving technically complex products from concept to commercial readiness. This role requires deep expertise in functional garment construction, professional-grade utility, and the rigorous demands of high-intensity, competitive use environments.

The Senior Developer creates world-class athletic products that lead in innovation, fit, durability, quality, and functionality. You will own the development journey from concept and sketch through detailed Tech Pack creation, ensuring product integrity and technical excellence before handing off a style fully ready for manufacturing.

You will partner closely with Design, Innovation, Materials, and Sourcing to deliver technically robust, competition-ready products that meet the standards of elite athletes while scaling for global distribution. As a senior member of the Apparel Development team, you will mentor others, support operational excellence, and act as a key technical authority within the category.

This role requires a strategic thinker with strong category credibility, confident communication skills, and advanced knowledge of performance garment engineering.

Your Mission

Execute the development of complex technical apparel styles and seasonal projects, ensuring excellence in performance, durability, and fit consistency across all size scales.

Deliver technical solutions tailored to high-performance environments, including durability for high-intensity movement, repeated laundering, and complex branding integrations.

Partner closely with Design to translate creative concepts into scalable, production-ready Tech Packs that maintain visual identity while delivering elite performance standards.

Oversee fit, grading, and size-set consistency for premium product lines, ensuring accuracy across global consumer and professional size ranges.

Collaborate with Materials and Innovation to advance lightweight constructions, moisture management systems, bonded or seamless applications, and advanced ventilation mapping.

Serve as the technical focal point for high-visibility product launches, managing risk, timelines, and stakeholder alignment with professional authority.

Work directly with global manufacturing partners to ensure repeatability, durability, and quality at scale for large-volume product programs.

Manage seasonal costing excellence by advising on material choices, yield, construction methods, and vendor suitability while maintaining quality and performance standards.

Drive hands-on cost engineering initiatives, making development decisions that balance performance, margin targets, and scalability.

Maintain data integrity and ensure accuracy of all development information within PLM, enabling clear communication, traceability, and scalable execution.

Provide mentorship to Junior and Mid-Level Developers, sharing technical expertise in apparel construction and industry best practices.

Stay ahead of industry innovation in team apparel systems, including advancements in lightweight fabrics, athlete data integration, and sustainable material solutions.

Your story

Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, Apparel Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

8+ years of apparel development experience, with significant hands-on expertise in complex, high-performance product systems.

Demonstrated expertise in technical performance apparel, tiered product ranges, and advanced functional construction methods.

Strong understanding of complex branding integration, global regulatory standards, and technical placement constraints for high-visibility product lines.

Advanced knowledge of garment construction, grading, and durability testing specific to high-intensity, high-frequency use environments.

Proven experience collaborating with elite-level end-users or professional consultants to validate performance, ergonomics, and fit.

Advanced proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, PLM tools, and technical documentation.

Professional seniority with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and guide projects through complex, time-sensitive launch cycles.

Experience managing multiple seasonal deliveries aligned to rigid global launch windows.

Fluent in English; additional languages are a plus.

Willingness to travel globally to support technical development, product fittings, and production.

About the Team

We are a collaborative, creative, and science-driven development team working closely to convert cutting-edge ideas into viable prototypes and eventually commercialising them into exceptional performance products sold globally at premium sport retailers, in our global flagship stores, and in our DTC channel. High quality, aesthetically pleasing, and truly functional attributes are top of mind when creating our two season apparel collections and multiple fashion collaborations. Our cross-functional teams combine the best experts in fields such as Development, Design, Materials, Innovation, Sourcing, Testing, and Product Management/Merchandising to create truly extraordinary sportswear products.

Just by the banks of the Limmat you’ll find our largest global hub in Zürich West – On Labs – where you can hike up 12 floors through our custom-built spiral trail.

We always look for better decisions, we always listen to people and listen to different colleagues. We listen, we digest, and we find the most suitable one for all the team and everybody benefits. That process makes us really innovative.

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.

We want to set everyone up for success, so here’s the lowdown on how we hire. Our process is a two-way street – bringing you into our culture, while helping us learn how you think.

Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things.

Before you get started, feel free to consider if you want to work with us. Strange question? Well, we give people a lot of space to navigate their day-to-day and that style isn’t for everyone. We want you to be passionate about what you do and be sure this is the right fit. Because when skills and passion combine – it creates that ‚Wow‘ moment.

Step One:

It starts with you…

You’ll start by submitting your application to a specific role.

We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you’re a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn’t receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.

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