Lead - Apparel & Accessories, Material Quality, Testing, And Color

In short

As the Material Quality, Testing, and Color Lead for Apparel and Accessories, you will be responsible for creating global quality standards, constructing and scaling new processes, and managing multi-team contributions that ensure premium material quality, exceptional color achievability, and pinnacle performance across the entire A&A product range. Your technical knowledge and analytical skills will support your cross-functional communication in relevant quality, color, and systems discussions. The Color and Quality teams will look to you to drive progress, exemplify technical acuity, and support their professional growth. You will be proactive in delivering material quality and color expertise, with a clear ambition for detail-driven problem solving and executing product integrity strategy in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. You will report to the Head of Materials for A&A, and work closely with Material Development, Product Quality, Material Sourcing, Product Compliance, and material vendors/product factories around the world.

Your Mission

• Maintain complete ownership of the internal quality standards for Apparel and Accessories as it relates to materials, trims, and color. Oversee the roll-outs of updated standards and requirements for internal stakeholders, as well as external partners (T2/T1/3rd party labs)
• Manage the Material Color Team responsible for the Lab Dipping process. Drive the creation of new color processes, re-distribute team workloads based on business priorities, and control the enforcement of Color guidelines to external partners
• Serve as the point person for system creation/updates/alignments to support the integration of quality, color, and related data within the wider product creation technology ecosystem
• Ensure that all prospective materials are tested accordingly in a timely fashion to support the end-to-end material approval process
• Create, plan, and execute Tech Branding strategies in response to the business needs dictated by Product Strategy/Product Management teams
• Lead quality initiatives from the material level that produce significant and lasting improvements at the product level
• Complete regular touchpoints with Compliance, Returns, and Quality Teams to characterize integrity of past, present, and future product
• Allocate and manage the necessary budget and resources required for all development-round material/trim/color testing
• Drive the collection, interpretation, and communication of all material testing data (3rd party, T2, and Internal)
• Maximize information availability and optimize the translation of product range + material specifications to a seasonal testing plan
• Partner with product creation teams, sourcing offices, and suppliers to identify and mitigate material quality risks before manufacturing
• Collaborate with sourcing offices to support remediation of bulk material quality issues
• Serve as an ambassador to standards organizations (ISO/ASTM/AATCC) to align our own testing methodologies with international norms and ensure representation and influence within these communities.

Your story

• Experience: You have 10+ years’ experience in materials quality, materials development, or textile production.
• Technical Expertise: You have extensive knowledge of textile fibers, production processes (including spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and finishing), as well as a very strong understanding of standard test methods for quality testing. Trims and hard goods experience is a plus.
• Analytical Mindset: You are able to extract meaning and draw parallels from large datasets. You can extrapolate patterns to determine the best course of action in pursuit of premium quality.
• Communication: You have excellent verbal and written communication skills to collaborate with internal and external partners globally. You can present complex information effectively to audiences with minimal technical background.
• Organizational Skills: You are detail-oriented with the ability to manage and execute multiple short-term and long-term projects simultaneously.
• Global Exposure: Experience with global material sourcing and development, including travel to key manufacturing hubs, trade fairs and global sourcing offices is a must.

What to expect

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.

• Step Two

  Interview with a recruiter

  What ignites your spirit? This is where we’ll start getting to know all about you and what makes you tick – and it’s your first chance to get a feel for our culture. Chatting with a member of our talent team, you’ll learn more about On and how we work. We’ll learn about what motivates you and what you could bring to the team.

• Step Three

  Interview with a hiring manager

  Ready to dig into the details? This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum.

• Step Four

  The Case Study

  What's your style? This task will help us understand how you think, face a challenge and give insight into your novel ideas. Designed to give everyone their best shot, your case study is based on something you might typically experience on the job. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got. So express yourself. Be you.

• Step Five

  The Experience Day

  Your first taste of the Oniverse. This is a time to meet some of the people you'll be working closest with. In person or virtually, you'll get a feel for the day-to-day at On and the people who make it happen. You'll chat with a few potential teammates - the conversations will be as equally driven by the role and your experience as by our values. We believe how you do things is just as important as what you do.

• Step Six

  The Result

  Are we a good fit? We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you? No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback.

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.