Senior Specialist - Footwear Material Sourcing

In short

• As a Senior Specialist, Material Sourcing, you will drive end-to-end material sourcing in line with On’s global sourcing strategy. You will work closely with suppliers, factories and cross-functional teams to ensure materials meet performance, quality, timeline, cost, and sustainability requirements. You will play a key role in material development, supplier management, and sourcing execution for high-performance footwear products.

Your Mission

• Lead end-to-end material sourcing activities in alignment with On’s sourcing strategy.

• Identify, develop, and manage material suppliers to support business and product needs.

• Evaluate supplier capabilities in terms of lead time, manufacturing process, quality standards, and target pricing.

• Ensure material availability according to development timelines, sourcing policies, and commercialization milestones.

• Support the creation and sourcing of technical, high-performance materials in line with design briefs.

• Own material-related execution from concept through production, ensuring smooth integration between T2 suppliers and T1 factories.

• Contribute to material-specific targets linked to On’s sustainability roadmap.

• Identify opportunities to improve material performance, sustainability, and operational efficiency.

• Manage and maintain core and seasonal material toolboxes, material libraries, and relevant PLM updates.

• Define and manage technical specifications, quality standards, and sourcing execution for textiles and components.

• Partner with testing and QA teams to ensure materials meet required physical testing criteria and approval standards.

• Troubleshoot material issues using technical knowledge of yarns, constructions, polymers, and material performance.

• Build strong working relationships with material suppliers, chemical vendors, factories, and internal stakeholders.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Design, Development, Product Marketing, Innovation, Sustainability, Planning, and factory teams.

• Experienced in leather: sourcing, grading, quality guideline, leather process

Your story

• Bachelor’s degree in Textile Engineering, Footwear Technology, Material Science, or a related field.

• 5+ years of experience in the global footwear industry or a related field.

• Strong experience working with material suppliers and manufacturing partners in Asia.

• Good understanding of footwear design, development, and technical performance materials.

• Strong knowledge of textiles, yarns, constructions, polymers, and material testing requirements.

• Experience managing material development and sourcing from concept to commercialization.

• Strong project management and cross-functional communication skills.

• Able to work independently in a fast-paced, international environment.

• Fluent in English; Mandarin is a plus.

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.