Lead - Apparel Testing

In short

Product Testing is the voice of the athlete and the consumer at On. We ensure every product delivers a premium, high-performance experience by combining scientific rigor with real-world insight.

As Apparel and Accessories Testing Lead, you will be responsible for validating products from development through to market, focusing on specialized, high performance sport categories.

You’ll work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and act as a key partner across Design, Development, Materials, and Strategy to ensure excellence in the wearing experience including comfort, durability, and performance.

Your Mission

• Command the Validation Strategy: Define and execute rigorous testing strategies across durability, comfort, and performance, taking charge of specialized testing programs. You will identify testing requirements based on product briefs and target consumers, confidently owning the end-to-end testing process.

• Uncover the Truth in Data: Lead qualitative and quantitative apparel and accessories testing, perception studies, and real-world validation to ensure our products reflect authentic athlete and consumer needs. Integrate consumer insights, scientific expertise, and performance analysis into standardized, evidence-based product evaluations.

• Drive Confident Decisions: Translate complex testing results into powerful insights that enable confident decision-making and elevate product excellence across the organization. You will analyze performance and durability data, including behavior and attitudinal insights, developing clear reports for project stakeholders.

• Influence Product Creation: Conduct hands-on performance testing, directly presenting key findings and improvement recommendations to critical stakeholders. Deliver benchmarking and competitor insights to spot opportunities for true innovation and product differentiation in the global sports arena.

• Build the Testing Ecosystem: Establish highly efficient testing processes, timelines, and feedback loops aligned seamlessly with Product Creation calendars. You will actively build and maintain a dynamic tester network of agile, high-performance athletes that supports both everyday testing needs and urgent project timelines. Set up high-energy testing events and initiatives to drive deep engagement within the testing community.

• Elevate Operations: Work seamlessly with testing systems and databases to ensure accurate, high-quality data and optimized reporting flows. As a leader, you will contribute significantly to team goals, process improvements, and the continuous evolution of our testing methodologies.

Your story

• A strategic thinker and natural leader with a proven track record of managing complex projects or product validation cycles from concept to market.

• You possess a deep understanding of specialized, high-performance sports apparel and accessories, and know how to balance scientific testing rigor with real-world, human-centric feedback.

• You are an exceptional communicator who can translate dense data and testing metrics into clear, actionable recommendations to cross-functional teams.

• You are highly organized and capable of building out robust tester networks, establishing efficient processes, and managing global testing logistics.

• You have 7+ years of experience in a field focused on the human experience with a product or service.

• You are willing to travel globally and have the flexibility to work outside of typical hours to align with athlete schedules and events.

• A clear communicator in English, both verbal and written.

We are excited to hear from candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to:

-Apparel Product Testing or Development

• User Experience Research (UXR)
• Biomechanics or Kinesiology
• Materials Science or Textile Engineering
• Ergonomics or Human Factors
• Sports Marketing or Athlete Management
• High-Performance Coaching

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.