Product Creation Academy - Product Design

In short

Are you a visionary designer ready to bridge the gap between imagination and high-performance product? Our Product Academy program is an immersive, 2-year rotational program designed to cultivate the next generation of creative talent at On. The 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 product Design. You will journey from the conceptual sketch to the final product on the shelf. You will rotate through the core pillars of our design organization, gaining a holistic, 360-degree view of what it takes to build world-class, disruptive sportswear. Your two-year path is structured to build your expertise across our ecosystem:

• Rotation 1: Apparel & Accessories Design (6 Months) Master the foundations of On’s design language. You will collaborate with our Apparel team to translate consumer insights into functional, aesthetic, and performance-driven collections.
• Rotation 2: Footwear Design (6 Months) Pivot to the core of our business. You will dive into the technical complexities of footwear design, learning how to balance biomechanics, innovation, and our signature aesthetic.
• Rotation 3: Production & Development Insights (5 Months) Theory meets reality. You will travel to Vietnam to work directly with our development teams. You will witness firsthand how your designs are industrialized, solved for manufacturing, and brought to life in the factory.
• Rotation 4: Tailored Specialization (7 Months) The final rotation is shaped through a balance of your performance and interests, alongside the needs of the business. Based on this, you will deep-dive into a specialised area such as Innovation Design, Color & Material, Visual Exploration, or Sustainability.

Start Date: September 1st, 2026.

Your Mission

• Collaborative Creation: Work closely with cross-functional partners in Product Development, Material Science, and Product Management to ensure design integrity from inception to mass production.
• The Design Lifecycle: Engage in the full end-to-end design process: research, ideation, 3D modeling/sketching, fitting, and finalization.
• Global Perspective: Act as a conduit between the Design Studio and our global manufacturing partners, sharing feedback loops and finding solutions to complex technical challenges.
• Market Intelligence: Stay at the forefront of the industry by identifying newness in sports, fashion, and technology, translating these findings into actionable concepts for our collections.

Your story

• Background: You hold a Master’s degree in Fashion Design, Industrial Design, Footwear Design, or a closely related creative field.
• The Portfolio: You have a compelling portfolio that demonstrates a mastery of form, color, silhouette, and a deep understanding of technical garment or product construction.
• Cross-Disciplinary Mindset: You don’t see barriers between categories; you see opportunities for innovation. Whether your primary passion is footwear or apparel, you are genuinely excited to master both. You are a "product creator first," meaning you are eager to challenge your comfort zone, apply textile knowledge to performance footwear, or use biomechanical insights to inform apparel. You are fully committed to diving deep into every rotation, regardless of the category, to become a truly versatile designer.
• Technical Toolkit: You are proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign). Proficiency in 3D design software (e.g., CLO3D, Rhino, Gravity Sketch) is highly valued. The "On" Mindset: You possess an entrepreneurial spirit. You are as comfortable with a messy, conceptual brainstorm as you are with the precision required for technical specs and critical timelines.
• Communication: You have the ability to articulate your creative vision to designers and non-designers alike, using mood boards, sketches, and prototypes to tell a story.
• Language: You are fluent in English (written and spoken).
• Curiosity: You are naturally inquisitive about culture, arts, architecture, and technology, and you are constantly looking for ways to apply these influe

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.