Product Creation Academy - Computational Footwear Engineer

In short

This is your chance to kickstart your career in the sportswear industry!

Become part of On's unique rotational development program - the Product Creation Academy. This 2 year journey is designed to develop you into a true functional expert with the potential to grow in our dynamic organization. You will embark on a specialized learning journey, with rotations designed to build depth in Footwear Engineering. But that’s not all! One of your rotations will take you to vibrant Vietnam, where you will learn first-hand what it takes to bring our products to life. To top it off, you’ll receive personalized mentorship from one of our senior leaders, ensuring you make the most of this transformative experience.

Are you ready to shape the future of the fastest growing sportswear company in the world? Dream On!

The starting date for this program will be September 1st, 2026.

Application period: Due to the expected high volume of applications, the role will be open for a limited time. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Your Mission

Over the course of the program, you will rotate through multiple connected teams, building a deep understanding of how Footwear Engineering contributes to bringing products to life. From working with data and engineering inputs to uncover insights, to learning how to translate these into parametric 3D models, digital tools, and repeatable workflows, and collaborating closely with engineers, developers, and innovation teams — over the 24 months, you will gain hands-on experience in rethinking how footwear is engineered through a computational and systems-driven approach. Operating at the intersection of data, AI, and physical product creation, you will contribute to building tools, toolboxes, and processes that transform complex engineering standards, testing data, and product feedback into actionable outputs for footwear development. You will help design and implement digital solutions that automate workflows and elevate how teams create and engineer products. This experience will set you up for success to start as a true functional expert in computational footwear engineering and support your long-term growth as a key contributor to shaping the future of data-driven, digitally enabled product creation at On.

Your story

• Preferably you have an educational background in a relevant field such as Computational Design, Industrial Design, Engineering, Architecture, or similar.

• Approximately 2-3 years of hands-on work in computational design or engineering, whether through professional roles, academic research, or significant personal technical projects.

• You have hands-on project experience (academic or personal) where you built something — e.g. a parametric model, script, or small tool, showing a “builder mindset”.

• You have experience with computational design tools (e.g. Rhino 3D, Grasshopper or similar) and show interest in using them beyond visual design (e.g. solving geometry or process-related problems).

• You have programming competency, ideally in Python, and are comfortable writing scripts to automate tasks or process data.

• You have experience working with data, using tools such as Python libraries (e.g. Pandas) or similar, and are able to apply data or AI in a product design or engineering context.

• You demonstrate structured problem-solving skills and an interest in translating complex, real-world problems into simple, repeatable approaches or workflows.

• You are able to communicate technical ideas clearly, and can explain your thinking to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• You resonate with the On spirits, bring a positive and proactive attitude, and are eager to learn and grow in a fast-paced environment.

• You communicate clearly and effectively and are fluent in English (written and spoken).

• You have the right to work in Switzerland or the EU.

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.